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Cúng giỗ đầu (first death-anniversary offering, Tiểu tường)

Also called: Giỗ giáp năm, Giỗ lần thứ nhất

  • Ancestors and death anniversaries

Culture and belief A record of custom.

Prayer text for Cúng giỗ đầu (first death-anniversary offering, Tiểu tường)7 texts, kept in Vietnamese, with an English summary.

By custom, giỗ đầu is the first death anniversary, still within the mourning period: children and grandchildren wear mourning clothes, the offering is made solemnly, and some households prepare many đồ mã (votive paper items) to burn at the grave. In some places the votive paper burned on this day is called mã biếu.

At a glance

When it is held
Exactly one year after the date of death, counted by the lunar calendar; the day before there is a lễ tiên thường (offering ahead of the main day)
For whom
The hương linh (spirit) of the deceased one year after death; ancestors on both sides; Thổ thần (Earth God), Táo quân (Kitchen Gods), Long mạch (Dragon Vein) are invoked first
Where
Ancestral altar, Grave
Who makes the offering
Children and grandchildren still in mourning, wearing mourning clothes

Each family and each region may do it differently.

The offering tray

Common offerings

Incense, lamps, candles

  • Hương (incense sticks)

Flowers

  • Hoa tươi (fresh flowers)

Fruit

  • Trái cây (fruit)

Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes

  • Oản (molded sticky rice offering cake)

Meat and savoury dishes

  • Lễ mặn (savoury offering)

Votive paper

  • Tiền vàng (votive paper money)
  • Quần áo giấy (paper clothes, shoes, hats)
  • Đồ mã (paper houses, vehicles and goods)
  • Hình nhân (paper effigy, substitute figure)
When
Exactly one year after the date of death; the day before, a lễ tiên thường (offering ahead of the main day) is held
OfferingVegetarian or notNotes
Meat and savoury dishes
Mâm lễ mặn (tray of savory offerings)Meat or fish
Incense, lamps, candles
Incense, flowers, fruit, phẩm oản (offering cakes)Vegetarian
Votive paper
Vàng mã (votive paper): paper money, clothes, houses, vehiclesSome guides call it mã biếu
Paper effigies of peopleOptional. Some guides record that, by belief, they are to serve the spirit, not to be substitutes for the living

Steps of the rite

  1. Reciting the prayerThe day before: invoke Thổ thần, Táo quân, Long mạch, and announce that the next day is the first death anniversary
  2. Reciting the prayerOn the main day: invoke the ancestors and invite the spirit of the deceased being commemorated
  3. The ceremony includes weeping as on the day of the funeral procession; households that can afford it hire a band of musicians
  4. Burning votive paperAfter the ceremony, the votive paper items are taken to the grave and burned

Good to know

  • Phan Kế Bính records two burnings of votive paper between the first and the second anniversaries: the first is called mã biếu (gift paper), the later one is the paper actually offered to the deceased; many households burn them on the first and the final anniversaries, and the custom often burns them on the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month

What is avoided

No source we have found describes what is avoided for this rite.

The custom

Phan Kế Bính (1915) records that after one year comes the first anniversary, called tiểu tường; only then are the heavy mourning garments such as coarse hemp, staff and cap put away, while mourning clothes are still worn until the end of three years.

Where the sources differ

  • one guide describes giỗ đầu as preparing very many votive paper items and taking them to the grave to burn; another notes that the way it is organized differs by region and clan, and suggests a simple ceremony, with only incense, flowers, water, and fruit needed at the grave

Questions

When is the first death anniversary?

The first anniversary is held when exactly one year has passed since the death: Phan Kế Bính (1915) records that after one year comes the first anniversary, called tiểu tường. One guide notes that on the day before there is a prayer to Thổ thần, Táo quân and Long mạch announcing that the next day is the first anniversary.

What else is the first death anniversary called?

The first anniversary is also called tiểu tường (Phan Kế Bính, 1915); one guide notes that in everyday Vietnamese it is also called giáp năm or cúng giáp năm (the one-year offering).

Are mourning headbands worn at the first death anniversary?

By old custom mourning is still kept: Phan Kế Bính (1915) records that only at the first anniversary are the heavy garments such as coarse hemp, staff and cap put away, while mourning clothes are worn until the end of three years; one guide notes that at the first anniversary the descendants all wear mourning clothes.

Communities and regions

Sources

  • Văn khấn Thổ Thần, Táo Quân, Long Mạch và các vị Thần Linh Lễ Tiểu Tường, trước ngày giỗ đầu (tuvi.vn)
  • Việt Nam phong tục, thiên I chương IX Tang ma (vi.wikisource.org)

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.