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Cúng Bà Cô Tổ, Ông Mãnh (offering to the ancestral young woman and young man of the family line)

Also called: Bà Tổ Cô, Cúng bà Cô ông Mãnh, Bà cô trẻ

  • Ancestors and death anniversaries

Culture and belief A record of custom.

Prayer text for Cúng Bà Cô Tổ, Ông Mãnh (offering to the ancestral young woman and young man of the family line)4 texts, kept in Vietnamese, with an English summary.

According to folk belief, Bà Cô Tổ and Ông Mãnh are people of the family line who died young, and are worshipped by descendants together with the ancestors at a position one rank lower. Buddhist guidance notes that the North often worships bà Tổ cô inside the house, while the South often worships at a small shrine outside.

At a glance

When it is held
On the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, on the death anniversary of Bà Cô, on the first day of the year; if the date of death is unknown, the family line's ancestor death anniversary is used
For whom
Bà Cô Tổ (a woman of the family line who died young, unmarried) and Ông Mãnh (a man who died young) of the clan
Where
Ancestral altar
Who makes the offering
An adult in the house; a person of the same generation as bà cô ông mãnh only says prayers without offerings, those of lower generations both say prayers and make offerings

Each family and each region may do it differently.

The offering tray

Common offerings

Flowers

  • Hoa tươi (fresh flowers)

Tea, rice wine, water

  • A glass of water or white wine, a cup of water

Fruit

  • Trái cây (fruit)

Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes

  • Bánh (cakes, kind unspecified)
  • Chè (sweet dessert soup)

Betel leaves and areca nuts

  • Trầu cau (betel leaf and areca nut)

Votive paper

  • Vàng mã (votive paper offerings)
  • Quần áo giấy (paper clothes, shoes, hats)

Objects

  • Spirit tablet or portrait, incense bowl, pair of lamps
Region:

Nationwide

When
On the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, on the death anniversary of Bà Cô, on the first day of the year, on occasions of giỗ and Tết such as when offering to the ancestors
Where the offerings are set
Under the base of the incense table of the ancestors' altar, or on the ancestors' altar together but with the incense bowl one rank lower
OfferingVegetarian or notNotes
Objects
Spirit tablet or portrait, incense bowl, pair of lampsWorship items placed in advance
Tea, rice wine, water
A glass of water or white wine, a cup of waterVegetarian
Betel leaves and areca nuts
A plate of fresh betel leaves and areca nutsVegetarian
Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes
Fresh flowers, fruit, cakes, sweet soupVegetarianSome guides say it depends on the day of offering
Votive paper
Votive paper, paper clothesSome guides note it is not mandatory

North

Where the offerings are set
Bà tổ cô is worshipped inside the house

South

Where the offerings are set
A small shrine outside the house

Steps of the rite

Used across Vietnam, Folk practice

  1. Laying out the offeringsArrange the offerings simply at the altar of Bà Cô
  2. Reciting the prayerLight incense, say prayers inviting Bà Cô Tổ, Ông Mãnh together with the ancestors
  3. Clearing the offeringsWhen the incense has burned out, take down the offerings

Northern Vietnam, Folk practice

  1. Set up a place to worship bà tổ cô right inside the house

Southern Vietnam, Folk practice

  1. Set up a small shrine outside the house to worship bà tổ cô

What is avoided

  • The altar is arranged simply, not elaborately
  • The altar of Bà Cô is placed lower than the ancestors' altar

The custom

In folk belief, Bà Cô (Bà Tổ Cô) is a woman and Ông Mãnh a man of the family or clan who died young and unmarried; some guides note that because of their young age and low rank their incense bowl is usually placed one step lower than the ancestors'.

Where the sources differ

  • Position of the incense bowls of Bà Cô, Ông Mãnh: one guide notes placing them under the base of the incense table or one rank lower than the ancestors' incense bowl; another arranges three incense bowls level on one altar, with the bowl of Bà Cô Ông Mãnh on the left
  • Phan Kế Bính (1915) records that wealthy households with a family shrine worship four generations of ancestors at the central altar, while the side altars on both sides are for Thổ công, Táo quân, Nghệ sư, and in some houses Bà Cô, Ông Mãnh; one guide notes the incense bowl of Bà Cô is placed under the incense table or one step lower than the ancestors' bowl

Questions

Where is the altar of Bà Cô and Ông Mãnh placed?

Practice varies: one guide notes it is placed under the incense table of the ancestors' altar, or on the same altar with the incense bowl one step lower; another sets three incense bowls level, with the Bà Cô Ông Mãnh bowl on the left; Buddhist guidance notes that in the North bà tổ cô is usually worshipped inside the house, while further south she is usually worshipped at a small shrine outside.

Communities and regions

Sources

  • Văn khấn cúng bà Tổ Cô (hoatieu.vn)
  • Văn khấn và thủ tục bốc bát hương về nhà mới (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
  • Việt Nam phong tục, Phần I, mục IV. Phụng sự tổ tôn, Phan Kế Bính, 1915 (vi.wikisource.org)
  • Cách lập bàn thờ Phật và gia tiên tại gia (phatgiao.org.vn)

Part of the open datasets Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.

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