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hầu đồng (spirit mediumship ritual)

Also called: Lên đồng, Hầu bóng, Hầu thánh, Văn chầu, Hát văn hầu

  • Pagodas, communal houses, temples and shrines

Culture and belief A record of custom.

The central ritual of the Vietnamese practice of Mother Goddess worship of the Three Palaces, a heritage inscribed by UNESCO in 2016. The thanh đồng (medium) in turn serves each giá (incarnation) with its own headdress and robes and dance, while the cung văn (ritual musicians) sing chầu văn recounting the legends of the saints.

At a glance

When it is held
On festival occasions, on the feast days of temples and phủ (Mother Goddess shrines); most often in the third and eighth lunar months
For whom
The saints of the Tam phủ (Three Palaces) and Tứ Phủ (Four Palaces): the Holy Mothers, the ranks of Quan (Mandarin Lords), Chầu Bà (Lady Courtiers), Ông Hoàng (Princes), the ranks of Cô (Ladies) and Cậu (Young Princes); in some places the Hội đồng Trần triều (Tran dynasty council) is served
Who makes the offering
The thanh đồng (ông đồng, bà đồng) who mounts the giá; two or four hầu dâng (attendants); the cung văn who sing chầu văn; the thủ nhang (keeper) of the temple; the con nhang đệ tử (followers) attending the ritual

Each family and each region may do it differently.

The offering tray

Region:

Nationwide

When
On festival occasions during the year, on the feast days of temples and phủ; most often in the third lunar month (the Mother's death anniversary) and the eighth lunar month (the Father's death anniversary)
Where the offerings are set
Điện, đền, phủ (Mother Goddess shrines) dedicated to the Mother Goddesses and the saints of the Tam phủ and Tứ Phủ
OfferingQuantityVegetarian or notNotes
Objects
Red covering clothRequired. Used for every giá when the saint descends and ascends
Headdress, robes, hat, belt, and props of each giáone set per giáRequired. Colours according to the palace: Thiên phủ (Heaven Palace) red, Nhạc phủ (Music Palace) green, Thoải phủ (Water Palace) white, Địa phủ (Earth Palace) yellow
Lộc phát (blessed gifts) during the hầu: small change, fruit, cakes, utensilsVegetarianThe colours of the offerings to the saints also follow the colour of the palace (according to some guides)
Instruments of the cung văn: đàn nguyệt (moon lute), phách (wooden clappers), cảnh (small gong), sênh (castanets), trống chầu (drum), bell
Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes
Lễ chúng sinh (offering to all beings): votive paper, rice porridge, cakes and fruit, food, a basin of waterMeat or fishAccording to some guides, performed before the hầu, together with the offering to the saints, through the keeper of the temple
Tea, rice wine, water
Incense, wine, tea, betel, tobacco to offer in each giáVegetarian

North

Bắc Bộ, Phủ Dầy, đền Bảo Hà, Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ)

Where the offerings are set
The phủ (Mother Goddess shrines) and temples of Mother Goddess worship in Bắc Bộ (the Northern Delta); Nhân Dân newspaper mentions Phủ Dầy (Phủ Dầy shrine), đền Bảo Hà (Bảo Hà temple), phủ Tây Hồ (Tây Hồ shrine)

Central

Huế, Huế, điện Hòn Chén, Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ)

When
Especially on the occasion of the third lunar month, the procession of the Mother Goddess on the Hương River to điện Hòn Chén
Where the offerings are set
Điện Hòn Chén and along the route of the Mother Goddess procession

Steps of the rite

Used across Vietnam, Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ)

  1. Lễ chúng sinh and the offering to the saints before the hầu
  2. The thanh đồng changes into the ritual robes of the giá about to be served, and offers incense
  3. Covering with a red cloth; when the saint descends, the cloth is removed, the thanh đồng (medium) performs the rite and dances according to that saint (múa mồi (torch dance), múa kiếm (sword dance), chèo đò (rowing a boat), múa quạt (fan dance)), the cung văn (ritual singers) sing chầu văn (mediumship singing) recounting the deeds and merits of that deity
  4. The saint grants lộc, rewards the cung văn, sometimes gives pronouncements
  5. The saint ascends: the thanh đồng sits still, the cloth is placed over the head again, then moves to the next giá
  6. The order of the giá goes from the top down: Holy Mothers, the ranks of Quan, Chầu Bà, Ông Hoàng, the ranks of Cô, the ranks of Cậu
  7. At the end there is usually a communal meal of the con nhang đệ tử, regarded as lộc thánh (blessed food) (according to some guides)

Northern Vietnam, Bắc Bộ, Phủ Dầy, đền Bảo Hà, Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ)

  1. Some guides say lên đồng in Bắc Bộ is classical, solemn, and formal; the general procedure is like the national tradition

Huế, Huế, điện Hòn Chén, Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ)

  1. Besides the ritual form of lên đồng (spirit possession ritual), there is also collective lên đồng, called Đồng vui.

Southern Vietnam, Nam Bộ, Sài Gòn, Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ)

  1. Some guides say lên đồng (spirit possession ritual) in Nam Bộ, especially in Sài Gòn, is more open, joyful, and folksy than in Bắc Bộ.

Where the sources differ

  • Number of giá: some say there are up to 36 giá, but in one hầu session only some giá are served depending on the thanh đồng; accounts do not agree on the number for one session.

Communities and regions

More about hầu đồng (spirit mediumship ritual)

Sources

  • Tập tục thờ cúng trong nghi thức lên đồng (vankhan.vn)
  • Tìm hiểu lễ hầu đồng diễn ra như thế nào và ý nghĩa các giá hầu (sunparadiseland.com)
  • Bảo tồn nét đẹp văn hóa Thực hành tín ngưỡng thờ Mẫu (Bộ Văn hóa, Thể thao và Du lịch, bvhttdl.gov.vn)
  • Gìn giữ, trao truyền và phát huy đúng hướng (nhandan.vn)
  • Nghi lễ trong tín ngưỡng thờ Mẫu Tam, Tứ phủ của Việt Nam (toplist.vn)
  • Đỗ Duy Hưng, Một số kết quả nghiên cứu nổi bật về thực hành tín ngưỡng thờ Mẫu Tam phủ, Tứ phủ ở vùng châu thổ Bắc Bộ hiện nay, Nghiên cứu Tôn giáo số 11 năm 2021 (vjol.info.vn)

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

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