TL;DR: Traditional Vietnamese funerals are a series of rites expressing filial piety and a belief in continuity between the world of the living and the world of the dead, with main steps including preparation of the body (khâm liệm), announcing the mourning (phát tang), burial (an táng), mourning rites (tế ngu), and post-funeral ceremonies such as 49 days, 100 days, and the first death anniversary (giỗ đầu).
Traditional Vietnamese Funerals: Rituals and Their Meaning
What is the Vietnamese view of life and death?
In the traditional Vietnamese view, death is not a complete end but a passage into another realm of existence, where the deceased continues to "live" in the world of the ancestors and still watches over and blesses their descendants. This view, shaped by ancestor worship, Buddhism and Confucianism, is the foundation for understanding why Vietnamese funerals are conducted with solemnity and care and unfold through many rituals, expressing in full the filial devotion of children toward the deceased.
A summary table of the funeral offerings and rituals in chronological order as presented in this article.
| Ritual | Timing | Meaning or purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Hú hồn (calling the soul) or chiêu hồn (summoning the soul) | Immediately after death | Calling the deceased's name three times in the hope that the soul will return |
| Khâm liệm (shrouding) | Before the body is placed in the coffin | Washing the body and dressing it in new clothes |
| Phát tang (announcing the mourning) | After the altar for the deceased is set up | Announcing the death and distributing mourning garments according to the five degrees of mourning |
| Cúng cơm (rice offering) or lễ tế (farewell rite) | Before the funeral procession | A final farewell |
| Hạ huyệt (lowering into the grave) | At the burial site | Reading the funeral oration and praying for the soul's liberation |
| Cúng thất (seven-day rites) | Every 7 days, seven times in all | Praying for the soul's liberation |
| Chung thất | The 49th day | Praying for the soul's liberation |
| Tốt khốc | 100 days | Marking the end of the family's mourning period, a return to normal life |
| Tiểu tường | One year after the death | The first death anniversary |
| Đại tường | The second or third year, depending on the region | The end of mourning, when mourning garments are removed |
What rituals take place right after a death?
As soon as a person dies, the family performs the "hú hồn" or "chiêu hồn" rite, calling the deceased's name three times in the hope that the soul may return. The body is washed clean and dressed in new clothes in a rite called "khâm liệm" before being placed in the coffin (nhập quan). Inside the house, an altar for the deceased is set up at once, with a portrait, an incense bowl and lamps and candles kept burning continuously. The family hangs white cloth or a mourning notice in front of the house to inform the neighbours, and invites a ritual master or a monk to choose an auspicious date and hour for the rites of placing the body in the coffin and burial, avoiding days and hours believed to be in conflict.
According to Bùi Xuân Mỹ (2001), the sequence of rituals right after a death usually includes: mộc dục (bathing the deceased), changing the clothes, phạn hàm (placing rice in the mouth), lễ phạt mộc, tiểu liệm (minor shrouding), đại liệm (major shrouding), nhập quan (placing the body in the coffin), thiết linh sàng (setting up the mourning bed), minh tinh (writing the deceased's name and titles on a banner to hang before the coffin), and then lễ thành phục (the rite of assuming mourning garments). On lễ phạt mộc, Song Mai and Quỳnh Trang (2006) record that people struck the coffin three times to drive away "quỷ tinh" (malignant spirits); this is a folk belief, not a verified fact. Also according to old custom, before the lễ thành phục the chief mourner did not receive guests; if visitors came to pay their respects and wished to perform a rite, the chief mourner had to receive them and make a declaration before the soul of the deceased.
The phát tang rite and mourning garments
The phát tang rite is the formal announcement of the death, in which children and grandchildren are assigned mourning garments according to their degree of relationship to the deceased, following the traditional "ngũ phục" rule of five grades of mourning dress (from the coarsest sackcloth for children to softer cloth for more distant relatives). Sons and daughters usually wear straw hats or white mourning headbands and carry staffs (a bamboo staff when mourning a father, a vông staff when mourning a mother in some regions), expressing profound grief and filial devotion. Throughout the funeral, the family usually holds a visitation so that relatives, friends and neighbours can come to offer incense, express condolences and see the deceased on their way.
According to the compilation by Song Mai and Quỳnh Trang (2006), sons wear straw hats, garments of coarse sackcloth and carry staffs (a bamboo staff if the father has died, a vông staff if the mother has died); daughters-in-law also wear coarse sackcloth. Today, many places have abandoned the custom of carrying staffs and wear black mourning clothes instead of the traditional white.
The burial
Before the funeral procession, the family holds a "cúng cơm" (rice offering) or a farewell rite at home to say a final goodbye. The procession moves in a solemn order, often with a band of drums and wind instruments, mourning flags and the portrait at the front, followed by the coffin and then the children and grandchildren. At the burial site (the grave or the cremation site), the ritual master performs the hạ huyệt rite, reading the funeral oration and praying that the soul be liberated and rest in peace. Today cremation is increasingly common in large cities because of limited land, but the spiritual rites are kept intact even as the form of burial changes.
According to Bùi Xuân Mỹ (2001), before the coffin is carried out there is a rite announcing the matter to the local road deities so that the funeral procession may pass undisturbed. After the burial, the family performs the tế ngu rite three times: sơ ngu on the day the procession returns, tái ngu on the following day, and tam ngu on the third day. The purpose of tế ngu, in folk belief, is for the soul of the deceased to be at peace in the underworld.
Post-funeral rites: 49 days, 100 days, the first death anniversary
In the Buddhist view blended with folk belief, the soul of the deceased passes through an intermediate state lasting 49 days before being reborn into another realm, according to the karma created during life. For this reason, families usually hold cúng thất (a rite every 7 days, seven times in all) and the chung thất rite on the 49th day to pray for the soul's liberation. The 100-day rite (tốt khốc) marks the family's formal end of weeping and return to normal life. Then comes the first death anniversary (tiểu tường) on the exact one-year anniversary of the death, and the end-of-mourning anniversary (đại tường) in the second or third year depending on local custom, marking the moment when the children and grandchildren formally complete mourning and may remove their mourning garments. From then on, each year the family holds a giỗ on the anniversary of the death to remember the deceased and maintain the bond between generations.
What is the humane meaning of the traditional funeral?
Traditional Vietnamese funerals, though they differ somewhat between regions and religions, all revolve around a common spirit: respect for the deceased, the full expression of filial devotion, and the keeping of the belief that the ancestors are always present and shelter their descendants. This is also an occasion for the village community to show the principle of "nghĩa tử là nghĩa tận" (duties to the dead are duties to the utmost), when all grudges are set aside so that everyone may together see the deceased to their final resting place.
Overview article on this topic: What rituals make up the life-cycle ceremonies of the Vietnamese?
