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Lễ bỏ mả (Pơ thi) of the Gia-rai and Ba-na peoples

Also called: Lễ bỏ mả của người Gia Rai, Ba Na, Lễ bỏ mả của người Jrai

  • Rites of ethnic communities

Culture and belief A record of custom.

The final farewell to the deceased: building the grave house, carving statues, making offerings to announce, playing gongs and dancing around the grave house; after the ceremony the family no longer brings rice and water to the grave and considers mourning to be over.

At a glance

When it is held
One to three years after burial or longer, in the rest season, usually three days
For whom
The soul of the deceased
Where
The grave house at the village cemetery; the final day at home
Who makes the offering
The village elder serves as the master of the ceremony, the family members make offerings themselves; the whole village helps

Each family and each region may do it differently.

The offering tray

Central

Central Highlands, Gia Rai (Jarai), Gia Lai, Folk practice, At the grave

When
One to three years after burial, depending on the family's circumstances (one account records 5 to 10 years); the ceremony usually lasts three days, in the rest season around the third month; the main rite is held in the afternoon
OfferingVegetarian or notNotes
Meat and savoury dishes
Buffalo, cowMeat or fishOne account records that a buffalo or cow must be slaughtered; poor households use pig, chicken, rượu cần (rice wine drunk from a jar)
Pig, chickenMeat or fishRequired. Wealthier households offer a whole animal, poor households also have meat, the head and tail of a pig
A string of liver, tongue, heart, belly skin, throat of a pig and a bamboo tube of wineMeat or fishUsed by the master of the ceremony when making offerings at the grave mound
A newly hatched chicken placed on the grave moundMeat or fishAccording to one account
Tea, rice wine, water
Rượu cần (rice wine drunk from a jar), riceVegetarianRequired
Objects
Wooden statues of the grave house, kút poles, klao poles, wooden puppets, masksRequired
Goods divided for the deceased: gongs, jars, bead necklaces, swords, hoes, pots, bowls and plates; small weaving frames, baskets, pipes

Central Highlands, Gia Rai (Jarai), Ba Na (Bahnar), Đắk Lắk, Chư Păh (Gia Lai), Folk practice, At the grave

OfferingNotes
Objects
Wooden statues erected at the four corners of the graveRequired

What is avoided

Central Highlands, Gia Rai (Jarai), Gia Lai, Folk practice, At the grave

  • During the mourning period before the ceremony, the family members do not wear new clothes, do not use good things, do not go out for pleasure
  • After the lễ bỏ mả, they no longer bring rice and water, no longer visit the grave house

Central Highlands, Gia Rai (Jarai), Ba Na (Bahnar), Đắk Lắk, Chư Păh (Gia Lai), Folk practice, At the grave

  • After this rite, the relatives no longer visit the grave or make offerings there.

Where the sources differ

  • Names of the steps: one account tells of building the grave house, escorting the soul to the Atâu world, releasing the living; one account tells of rebuilding the grave house, abandoning the grave, releasing; the village elder Ak tells of three days, two days at home and one day at the grave
  • Waiting time: 1 to 3 years (Vietnam+, Đại Đoàn Kết); usually 5 to 10 years depending on the family's economy (báo Nhân Dân)

Communities and regions

Sources

  • Lễ bỏ mả của người Gia Rai: Tôn vinh giá trị gia đình và cộng đồng (vietnamplus.vn)
  • Lễ bỏ mả của đồng bào Gia Rai (daidoanket.vn)
  • Chuyện nhà mồ và lễ Pơ Thi ở Tây Nguyên (baophapluat.vn)
  • Quan niệm về sự tái sinh trong Lễ bỏ mả của người Gia Rai (baodantoc.vn)
  • "Ma bùn" trong lễ bỏ mả của người Jrai ở Tây Nguyên (nhandan.vn)
  • Nghệ thuật tạc tượng nhà mồ ở Tây Nguyên (nhandan.vn)
  • Giữ gìn văn hóa truyền thống các dân tộc Tây Nguyên (nhandan.vn)

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

More ritesDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, the life cycle, village and ethnic rites.