What Are the Life-Cycle Rituals of Vietnamese People?

Which rituals make up the life-cycle ceremonies of the Vietnamese?

Life-cycle ceremonies are the set of rituals that mark the major turning points in a person's life: being born, growing up, marrying, growing old, passing away, and being remembered by children and grandchildren. In Vietnam this is an important part of cultural and folk-belief life, kept alive across many generations by the ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh) community and by sister ethnic groups. Each people and each region has its own way of practising them, but all revolve around the transitional milestones of human life.

The rituals below are presented as traditional cultural knowledge and reference material. These are customs formed over many generations, not scientifically verified as to their specific effects, and should be understood as part of a spiritual heritage rather than as a formula that guarantees results.

What are life-cycle ceremonies and why do they matter?

Life-cycle ceremonies (also called rites of passage) are rituals held when a person moves from one state to another within the community. They are usually tied to ancestor worship, the worship of protective deities, and beliefs about the link between the world of the living and the world of the dead. For the Vietnamese these rituals express filial duty, create a bond between family and village, and give later generations a chance to be reminded of their roots.

A summary table of the groups of life-cycle ceremonies of the Vietnamese and sister ethnic groups by stage and characteristics.

Which rituals are there for infants and young children?

The early stage of a child's life is tied to the worship of the 12 Bà Mụ and Đức Ông, held to be the deities who shape the body, teach and protect the child. The two most common milestones are the full-month offering (when the child reaches one month) and the thôi nôi offering (when the child reaches one year). The offerings, the arrangement of the offering tray and the prayer text may differ by region, but all aim to give thanks to the deities and to wish the child health and peace. This is the opening stage of the chain of life-cycle ceremonies.

Bùi Xuân Mỹ (2001) records further offering milestones in a child's first year according to Vietnamese custom: the đầy cữ offering (when the child completes one cữ, that is one month by folk reckoning), the full-month offering with offerings to the midwife goddesses, to the Thổ công (earth god) and to the ancestors, and then the full-year offering called thôi nôi, which includes the custom of testing the child. The names and the way the milestones are reckoned can differ from place to place.

How are coming-of-age ceremonies held among the ethnic groups?

Many peoples have rituals marking a young person's coming of age. The Dao and the Sán Dìu have the cấp sắc (ordination rite), a sacred ritual that marks a man's adulthood and his eligibility to practise as a ritual master. The Ê Đê have a coming-of-age offering ceremony with the ritual of removing the bronze bracelet, marking a young man's adulthood. In modern Vietnamese culture, the idea of an 18th-birthday coming-of-age ceremony is also mentioned as a ritual expressing filial gratitude and the beginning of civic responsibility. Each ritual reflects its community's own view of when a person is considered an adult.

What are the main steps of a traditional Vietnamese wedding?

Betrothal and wedding are among the most important life-cycle ceremonies. For the Vietnamese, the traditional sequence usually includes steps such as chạm ngõ (initial meeting), ăn hỏi (betrothal), xin dâu (requesting the bride), đón dâu (receiving the bride), the wedding feast and lại mặt (return visit to the bride's family); the number of steps and their names vary by region. In betrothal and wedding rites, betel and areca are indispensable offerings, tied to a folk legend and symbolising lasting attachment. Sister ethnic groups also have distinctive features: the Tày have Quan Làng singing, the Khmer of the South have the betel-flower cutting ceremony and the wrist-tying ritual, the Chăm and the Ê Đê follow matrilineal custom with rites for the groom to move in, the Giẻ Triêng have the custom of "firewood as betrothal", the Mông have the custom of "wife catching", the Thổ have the "ngủ mái" custom, and the Dao in Tuyên Quang have the custom of choosing the wedding date by yin-yang and the five elements. This is the richest branch of the life-cycle ceremonies.

How are longevity celebrations and age milestones held?

When people enter old age, the longevity celebration is an occasion for children and grandchildren to show their respect. The Vietnamese usually hold longevity celebrations at round-number ages such as 60, 70, 80 and 90, depending on each family's and locality's custom. The longevity celebration is not only a rite of wishing long life but also an occasion for reunion and for binding the generations together. This is the branch of the rituals that most clearly expresses the principle of remembering the source when drinking water in Vietnamese culture.

Bùi Xuân Mỹ (2001) describes the longevity ceremony according to Vietnamese custom: a family whose elderly parents reach seventy or eighty, and which is reasonably well off and has many children, holds a longevity celebration. At the celebratory meal, the first thing is to prepare an offering of chicken and glutinous rice or the tam sinh (pig, ox), then take it to the communal house to present to the deities, called bái tạ thần hưu, that is, giving thanks to the deities for having protected the parents so that they live long. At the ceremony itself, the father or mother, dressed in fine clothes, sits in the central seat, while children and grandchildren perform the sacrifices and obeisances, each raising a cup of wine or a peach to wish long life, called bàn đào chúc thọ (the peach of longevity). Afterwards the children and grandchildren celebrate, inviting relatives, neighbours and guests. Phan Kế Bính (1915) in Việt Nam phong tục also records the longevity ceremony with similar features, showing that this is a long-standing custom.

What do funerals and the rites of farewell to the deceased include?

The funeral is the last life-cycle ceremony, expressing filial duty and the belief in a continuity between the world of the living and the world of the dead. The traditional Vietnamese funeral usually includes steps such as khâm liệm (preparing the body), phát tang (announcing mourning), offerings, the funeral procession and burial, with various forms of interment depending on locality and circumstances. The traditional funeral of Huế is known for its solemn and elaborate system of rites. Among the Mường, the Mo Mường in funerals is an important intangible cultural heritage, with the mo priest playing the role of guiding the soul of the dead back to the ancestors. The Gia Rai have the lễ bỏ mả (Pơ Thi), held after the mourning period, marking the end of the link between the living and the dead and tied to the art of tomb-house statues. This is the branch of the rituals that most deeply expresses the community's ideas about life, death and memory.

According to Bùi Xuân Mỹ (2001), after the burial the Vietnamese have many further rites. After the funeral come the lễ tế ngu (rite of comforting the soul), the lễ chung thất (hundred-day offering), the lễ tốt khốc (first death anniversary), the lễ tiểu tường (end of the first mourning year), the lễ đại tường, the lễ đàm tế, and the lễ trừ phục in the 27th month after death, when the children and grandchildren put off mourning attire. On forms of interment, Bùi Xuân Mỹ (2001) distinguishes: burial at the time of death is called hung táng; exhuming the bones three or four years later and reburying them elsewhere is called cải táng or cát táng. Reburial is tied to the folk belief that only when the ancestors' bones rest peacefully do the descendants stay healthy and prosper; this is a traditional belief, not a scientific fact.

What role do giỗ chạp and the remembrance of ancestors play?

After the funeral, giỗ chạp is the occasion for children and grandchildren to remember their ancestors, reunite the family and bind the generations together. Holding a giỗ usually depends on each family's circumstances and aims at simplicity, solemnity and sincerity. This is a periodic ritual that closes the chain of a person's life-cycle ceremonies and hands over to the remembering role of the next generation.

Dương Bá Trạc in Gia lễ giản yếu (1932) proposes simplifying the giỗ rite: only giỗ for ancestors from the great-great-grandfather down should be held, the offerings need only be incense, flowers, a lamp and water, and the whole family gathers before the altar; before the ceremony the head of the family recounts the story of the deceased and recalls that person's virtues, and then the whole family observes a few dozen minutes of silence. This is a reform proposal by a named individual, not a widespread custom of that time.

What is special about the rituals tied to family and community?

Besides the personal milestones, the Vietnamese and sister ethnic groups also have rituals tied to the community, such as the lễ kết bạn (friendship ceremony) of the S'tiêng and M'nông, which binds two individuals and also their families and clans. Some rituals are tied to community life, such as the Áp Hô Pang hair-washing ritual of the White Thái in Quỳnh Nhai (Sơn La) on the afternoon of the 30th of Tết, linked to the legend of Nàng Han and carrying the meaning of purification and seeing off the old year. In addition, rituals such as the offering at the opening of a shop or company, or the ground-breaking offering when building a house, are also widespread customs; although they do not strictly belong to the individual life cycle, they are tied to turning points in family and working life.

How should life-cycle ceremonies be understood and practised appropriately?

Life-cycle ceremonies are traditional cultural knowledge, handed down over many generations and differing between regions and peoples. Many rituals today are being simplified or adjusted to suit modern life, for example in betrothal and wedding rites, funerals or family ceremonies. Readers should approach these rituals as part of a spiritual heritage, to be consulted in order to understand the culture better, and should not regard them as a sure way to bring luck, wealth or health. Practice should be based on sincerity, suit the family's circumstances, and respect community rules and the law.

Articles in the Life-cycle ceremonies topic

• How to arrange the full-month and thôi nôi offering tray for young children
• How to make the opening offering for a shop or company according to custom
• How to make the ground-breaking offering when building a house according to ritual
• The Cúng Mụ Rite and the Belief in the 12 Midwife Goddesses
• Traditional Vietnamese betrothal and wedding: the sequence of 6 basic rites
• Death Anniversary Rituals in Vietnamese Culture: Meaning and How to Organize Properly
• Cap Sac Ceremony: The Sacred Coming-of-Age Rite of the Sán Dìu People
• Cap Sac Ceremony of the Dao People: The Most Sacred Coming-of-Age Ritual in a Man's Life
• The traditional friendship ceremony binding the community of the S'tiêng and M'nông peoples
• Pơ Thi (Grave-Leaving Ceremony) and the Art of Tomb Houses of the Gia Rai People
• Ede people's coming-of-age ceremony: the ritual of removing bronze rings marking adulthood
• The traditional wedding of the Khmer of the South: the betel-flower cutting ceremony and the wrist-tying ritual
• Traditional Hue Wedding: Valuing Rituals over Material Gifts through the Six Ancient Ceremonies
• Cham Wedding Customs in Southern Vietnam: Rituals, Meanings, and Transformations
• The traditional wedding of the Tày people and the distinctive Quan Làng singing ritual
• Longevity celebrations for the elderly: a beautiful feature of Vietnamese culture
• The 18th-birthday coming-of-age ceremony and the meaning of filial gratitude to parents
• Mo Mường in Funerals: The Mo Verses That Guide the Muong People Back to Their Ancestors
• The Áp Hô Pang hair-washing ritual seeing off the old year of the White Thái
• The distinctive wedding-date-choosing custom of the Dao in Tuyên Quang
• Traditional funerals in Hue: solemn rituals and the journey towards a civilized way of life
• The traditional funeral of the Vietnamese: rites and meaning
• The traditional funeral of the Vietnamese: cultural meaning and common forms
• The unique "courtship firewood" custom in Giẻ Triêng weddings
• The "ngu mai" (communal sleeping) custom in courtship and marriage of the Tho people in Nghệ An
• Matrilineal Marriage Customs of the Ê Đê: When the Woman Proposes
• The "wife catching" custom of the Mông: origins, cultural meaning and adjustments to preserve its traditional beauty
• The custom of betel and areca chewing: the indispensable offering in Vietnamese betrothal and wedding