Lễ đền Bà Chúa Kho (offering at Bà Chúa Kho temple); đền thờ Đức Thánh Trần (temple of Đức Thánh Trần); đền Trình chùa Hương (đền Trình at chùa Hương)
Also called: Văn khấn đền Bà Chúa Kho, Văn khấn Đức Thánh Trần, Văn khấn đền Trình chùa Hương, Lễ Trần Hưng Đạo văn, Phủ Tây Hồ, Đền Quán Thánh, Vay lộc Bà Chúa Kho, Trả lễ Bà Chúa Kho
- Pagodas, communal houses, temples and shrines
Culture and belief A record of custom.
Separate prayer texts for several famous places of worship in the North. By custom, people who go to đền Bà Chúa Kho pray for peace and safety, wealth and fortune, and business; at chùa Hương, those who go to the festival make an offering at đền Trình before worshipping the Buddha in the Hương Tích area.
At a glance
- When it is held
- Early spring and the festival occasions of each place; the chùa Hương festival from the first lunar month to the third lunar month
- For whom
- Đức Chúa Kho Thánh Mẫu (the Holy Mother of the Kho treasury); Đức Thánh Trần (Hưng Đạo đại vương) together with his family and subordinate generals; Đức Đại vương Thành hoàng (the village tutelary deity) at đền Trình chùa Hương
- Where
- The altars of the temple: Tiền tế (front altar); Tứ phủ Công đồng (the Four Palaces communal altar); cung Đệ nhị (the second palace); cung Đệ nhất (the first palace, the altar of Bà Chúa Kho); ban Chúa Sơn trang (altar of Chúa Sơn trang); ban Cô (altar of the Holy Ladies); ban Cậu (altar of the Holy Boys)
Each family and each region may do it differently.
The offering tray
North
đền Bà Chúa Kho, Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ)
- When
- In the early days of spring, pilgrims from everywhere come to make offerings
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Incense, lamps, candles | ||
| Vegetarian offerings: incense, flowers, fruit, tea, oản (glutinous rice cakes) | Vegetarian | Offered at the Holy Mothers' altar |
| Meat and savoury dishes | ||
| Savory offerings: pork, chicken, or vegetarian items shaped like chicken, giò (Vietnamese pork roll) | Meat or fish | |
| Cỗ Sơn trang | Meat or fish | Some guides note it as a vegetarian specialty |
| Fruit | ||
| Offerings at ban Cô, ban Cậu: fruit, oản (glutinous rice cakes), incense and flowers, mirror, comb | Vegetarian | |
| Votive paper | ||
| Kim ngân, tiền vàng, sớ | The prayer text mentions "kim ngân, hương hoa, lễ vật" | |
Steps of the rite
- Place the offerings in order: Tiền tế (front altar); Tứ phủ Công đồng (the Four Palaces communal altar); cung Đệ nhị (the second palace); cung Đệ nhất (the first palace); then the other altars
- Khấn ở từng ban
- Wait until a whole incense stick has burned, bow three times before each ban, take down the sớ (petition) to burn
- Only after the sớ (petition) has been burned may the offerings be taken down
Communities and regions
Sources
- Văn khấn đền Bà Chúa Kho (hoatieu.vn)
- Những nghi lễ chính tại đền, miếu, phủ (vankhan.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.Open