TL;DR: Bốc mộ cải táng is a post-funeral rite in which descendants open the grave, gather the remains, clean them and rebury them. The rites include a lễ cáo từ đường (reporting rite at the ancestral hall) on the day before cải táng and a rite to khấn Thổ công (invoke the Earth God) at the new grave site. Customs vary from region to region, and âm trạch phong thủy (feng shui of the grave) is only one way of understanding within the discipline, not a scientific conclusion.
What is bốc mộ cải táng?
Bốc mộ cải táng is a post-funeral rite in which descendants open the grave, collect the remains, clean them and rebury them elsewhere. In Việt Nam phong tục, Phan Kế Bính records that children attend to reburial after the three-year mourning period has ended, or after a few more years[1]. This is a rite of passage within the funeral cycle, not an arbitrary act.
A distinction is often blurred: bốc mộ (opening the grave, collecting remains) and cải táng (reburying the remains elsewhere or in a new grave). People also call the whole thing "cải táng", "sang cát", "dời mộ", "cải mả".
Why do Vietnamese practise reburial?
There are many reasons, and Phan Kế Bính lists them in clear groups[1].
- Poor families who buried temporarily in poor coffins. When parents died and there was no money, people bought cheap coffins, waited three years and then reburied, fearing the coffin would rot and harm the remains[1].
- Ground attacked by termites or flooded. Reburial was needed to save the remains[1].
- Graves hit by roads, or newly opened land. Reburial was unavoidable[1].
- Families who believed in địa lý. If a grave suddenly subsided, trees on it withered, someone in the house went mad, fell ill repeatedly, or lawsuits arose, people blamed the ground and reburied[1].
- Seeking rank and wealth. To gain office and riches, people asked a địa lý master to find an auspicious site for reburial; some, seeing another family prosper, buried their grave near that family's grave hoping to share the blessing[1].
Phan Kế Bính states plainly that although some people follow the reburial custom, in not a few cases where the temporary burial was done with proper coffins, reburial is unnecessary[1]. He also explains the origin of the custom: folk belief holds that ancestors and descendants share a blood bond, and only when ancestral remains rest in peace do descendants benefit[1].
How does the bốc mộ cải táng ritual proceed?
Before the reburial day
A lễ cáo từ đường is performed[1]. This step informs the household ancestors that descendants are about to carry out the reburial.
On the burial day
A lễ khấn Thổ công is performed at the site of the new grave[1]. Phan Kế Bính records the sequence: first khai mả (opening the grave), then collecting the bones and placing them in a clay jar, sprinkling nước vang over them, and finally covering them tightly so no sunlight can enter[1].
Wealthy families used coffins and shrouds as in the temporary burial[1]. Then the remains were taken to another plot. If the old coffin was rotten it was discarded; if still good it was taken home to make a bridge, or a buffalo or horse shed, so the animals would stand on it and not sink into mud[1].
People also handed down that if someone suffered internal pain, burning a piece of rotten coffin wood and placing it under the bed to lie on would end the pain[1]. This is a folk belief recorded in the book, not something medicine confirms.
After reburial
Before temporary burial the mound was square; at reburial it is made round[1]. Wealthy families built lăng, ordinary families set up mộ chí, so that on tuần tiết people could come and visit[1].
What offerings does bốc mộ cải táng require?
Phan Kế Bính names only two rites: the lễ cáo từ đường before the reburial day and the lễ khấn Thổ công at the site of the new grave[1]. The book does not list specific offerings for either; they depend on family means and each clan's custom.
What signs are considered auspicious and should not be reburied?
Phan Kế Bính records three signs considered tường thụy during reburial, which, if met, require immediately filling the grave back[1]:
- Digging and finding a golden snake: considered a long xà khí vật.
- Opening the coffin and finding tơ hồng (dodder) vines entwined: considered đất kết.
- The grave pit dry with no water, the earth warm, or water beading like milk: all good.
This is the reading of those who believed in địa lý and of the phong thủy discipline, not a conclusion of natural science.
How do reburial customs differ between regions?
Phan Kế Bính gives the marker of three years of mourning, or a few years more, without naming any particular region[1].
In the Central Highlands, ethnic minorities hold lễ bỏ mả. This rite formally closes the funeral process, sending the deceased away from the world of the living to join the ancestors[2]. Trần Đăng Hiếu (2025) describes the nhà mồ as the second house of the deceased in the other world; it is cared for with wooden statues, carvings, motifs, expressing ideas about the cosmos, the life cycle, community and beauty[2]. Lễ bỏ mả is an occasion for the whole community to gather, share and affirm traditional values[2].
Note: lễ bỏ mả is not cải táng in the delta sense. It is a rite ending the funeral, not necessarily including collecting bones for reburial.
How do schools interpret reburial differently?
Two interpretations overlap in the reburial custom.
- The filial piety interpretation. Phan Kế Bính stresses the custom because we believe ancestors and blood descendants are interrelated[1].
- The âm trạch phong thủy interpretation. Phan Kế Bính records that many people believed so strongly in địa lý that they hired masters to search for land, and some families reburied five or six times[1]. This is the interpretation of phong thủy.
These two interpretations are not mutually exclusive, and a family may follow both at once. What matters is not presenting the phong thủy interpretation as a scientific conclusion. Old phong thủy texts speak of "kết khí", "kết thủy", "kết mộc", "long mạch", "chánh huyệt". That is the language of a discipline, not of geology or medicine.
Should one rebury or not?
This is a question each family decides for itself, based on specific circumstances. Phan Kế Bính shows both attitudes exist: some follow the reburial custom, while not a few, having prepared coffins carefully at temporary burial, need no reburial[1].
In the funeral chapter (Tang ma) of the same book he also suggests finding ways to reduce troublesome ceremony and cut back on feasting, so the rich spend less and the poor avoid borrowing labour and debt[1]. This is the advice of a Confucian scholar writing in 1915, but it still has reference value.
Gợi ý của Nhật Nguyệt: if a family decides to rebury, it should follow its clan's custom and consult elders in the lineage. If it acts only under pressure from outsiders or from rumours of "prosperity", it should reconsider. Caring for the grave, visiting on tuần tiết, and keeping filial piety in daily life may matter more than one reburial.
Summary table of steps
| Step | Time | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Cáo từ đường | Before the reburial day | Inform household ancestors |
| Khấn Thổ công | On the reburial day, at the new grave site | Pray to Thổ công at the new burial site |
| Khai mả | On the reburial day | Open the grave |
| Nhặt xương | On the reburial day | Collect remains, place in clay jar, sprinkle nước vang |
| Che đậy | On the reburial day | Cover tightly, let no sunlight enter |
| Táng lại | On the reburial day | Take to another plot and rebury; wealthy families use coffins |
| Đắp mộ | After burial | Make the mound round instead of square |
Points to note
- There is no single standard. The reburial custom differs between regions, ethnic groups and clans. This article follows Phan Kế Bính's account from the early 20th century and, for lễ bỏ mả, Trần Đăng Hiếu's account of the contemporary Central Highlands.
- Distinguish cải táng from lễ bỏ mả. Lễ bỏ mả in the Central Highlands is a rite ending the funeral, not cải táng in the delta sense[2].
- Âm trạch phong thủy is one interpretation. Claims about long mạch, chánh huyệt, kết khí belong to the language of phong thủy, not to scientific conclusions.
- Administrative place names have changed. From 1 July 2025, the country has 34 provinces and cities and no district level. When reading old documents with place names before this marker, one must cross-check.
Frequently asked questions
Is bốc mộ cải táng mandatory?
Not mandatory as a custom. According to Phan Kế Bính's clear record, although some follow the reburial custom, not a few, having prepared coffins carefully at temporary burial, need no reburial[1]. However, if reburial is carried out, at least 36 months must pass from burial to reburial, and those doing it must wear masks and gloves, under Article 9 of Circular 21/2021/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health[3].
How long after death should reburial take place?
According to Phan Kế Bính, children attend to reburial after the deceased has completed three years of mourning, or a few more years[1]. In law, at least 36 months must pass from burial to reburial (Circular 21/2021/TT-BYT, Article 9)[3].
Does reburial change the fate of descendants?
This is what phong thủy texts assert, but science has no evidence. The phong thủy interpretation holds that a grave with good kết khí brings blessings to descendants, and one with bad kết khí brings misfortune. This is a belief of the discipline, not a scientific conclusion. Gợi ý của Nhật Nguyệt: caring for the grave should be seen as part of filial piety, and one should not place the burden of "changing fate" on a single reburial.
