Bốc bát hương, chuyển bàn thờ (ritual of filling the incense bowl and moving the altar)
Also called: Dời bàn thờ, An vị bát hương, Thay bát hương, Thay bàn thờ mới, Thiên di linh vị, Hạ bát hương
- Household deities
Culture and belief A record of custom.
By custom, before taking down the incense bowl to move the altar, the head of the household performs a rite to ask permission, and at the new place performs a rite of installation. Báo Giác Ngộ notes that bốc bát hương is a folk belief prevalent in the North, while other regions at year's end only wipe the incense bowl and replace the sand; Buddhism has no ritual of bốc bát hương.
At a glance
- When it is held
- When moving to a new house, replacing the altar, replacing the incense bowl, or moving the altar to another place in the house; choosing the date and time by custom
- For whom
- Thần linh (deities), Thổ Công (Earth God of the house), Thần Tài (God of Wealth) who govern the house; ancestors on both sides, Bà Cô Ông Mãnh whose incense bowls are moved
- Where
- The rite asking to move is at the altar in the old house; the installation rite is at the altar in the new house
- Who makes the offering
- A master or pháp sư (ritual master) is asked to fill it and chant blessings
Each family and each region may do it differently.
The offering tray
Region:
Nationwide
Folk practice
- When
- The date and time are chosen according to the age of the head of the household; when moving to a new house, the nhập trạch (moving into a new house) rite is performed first, then the incense bowl is installed
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tea, rice wine, water | ||
| At the old house: fruit, fresh flowers, clean water, wine, betel leaves and areca nuts | Vegetarian | Simple offering tray |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | ||
| At the new house: xôi (steamed sticky rice), chè (sweet soup), incense, lamps, tea and wine, votive paper | Vegetarian | Prepared more elaborately |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice), a whole boiled rooster, a bottle of wine, three small cups, 3 betel leaves, 3 areca nuts | Meat or fish | |
| Other | ||
| A pair of paper horses, one red and one yellow, enough clothes, hats, swords, and a pair of paper coffins | Some guides say it is for offering to Thổ Công and the deities | |
| Objects | ||
| New incense bowl, cốt set (thất bảo, giấy dị hiệu), glutinous rice ash or white sand, ginger wine | When filling a new incense bowl | |
Buddhist
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Other | ||
| No offerings arranged | Optional. When taking down the incense bowl to change to a new altar or to clean and then put it back (Buddhist guidance) | |
| Fruit | ||
| Flowers and fruit, a bowl of white rice, water | Vegetarian | A simple offering when taking down the incense bowl to move it (Buddhist guidance) |
| Objects | ||
| Base of the incense bowl: ash or clean sand | A thất bảo (seven-treasure) packet, optional depending on circumstances | |
North
- When
- Some households fill the incense bowl at the end of the year to welcome the new year
Steps of the rite
Used across Vietnam, Folk practice
- At the old house, arrange the offerings, light 3 incense sticks, pray to ask to move, stating clearly the name, old address, new address, and reason
- When the incense has burned about two thirds, burn votive paper, take down the incense bowl
- Cover with red cloth or place the incense bowl in a box pasted with red paper when carrying it outside; wipe the worship items with ginger wine
- Filling the new incense bowl: wash and wipe the bowl with ginger wine, warm the bowl, write the dị hiệu, place the cốt, put in handfuls of ash
- Place the incense bowl on the new altar in the predetermined position
- Light incense, read the prayer text for installation; light incense continuously for the first 49 to 100 days
Used across Vietnam, Buddhist
- Insert incense sticks, join palms and say the request to take down the incense bowl
- Arrange the new altar or bring the incense bowl to the new place
- Say the offering to install the incense bowl, make the food offering, dedicate merit, conclude the rite
Northern Vietnam, Folk practice
- Ask a master to fill the incense bowl, chant blessings, invite Buddhas, sages, or spirits to be installed at the incense bowl
What is avoided
- Do not leave the incense bowl exposed when moving it
- After installation, limit moving the incense bowl
Where the sources differ
- Whether to refill the incense bowl when moving to a new house: one guide notes that if the old incense bowl is still intact and business at the old house was favorable, keep it and only trim the incense sticks; if the bowl is already old or chipped, take this occasion to fill a new one
- Báo Giác Ngộ writes that Buddhism has no belief in bốc bát hương, so there is no rite for it, and the incense bowl is only a vessel for inserting incense sticks; one temple's guidance gives its own rite for taking down and installing the incense bowl when changing the altar
Communities and regions
More about Bốc bát hương, chuyển bàn thờ (ritual of filling the incense bowl and moving the altar)
Sources
- Văn khấn và thủ tục bốc bát hương về nhà mới (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
- Chuẩn bị thủ tục chuyển bàn thờ về nhà mới (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
- Văn khấn chuyển bàn thờ gia tiên (hoatieu.vn)
- Có nên bốc bát hương? (giacngo.vn)
- Quan điểm Phật giáo về bốc bát hương để đón mừng năm mới (giacngo.vn)
Part of the open datasets Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.
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