Groundbreaking ceremony for a construction project
Also called: Lễ khởi công, Khởi công xây dựng, Động thổ công trình, dự án, Cúng động thổ nhà xưởng
- House and land
Culture and belief A record of custom.
By custom, before starting a business construction project such as a factory, office, or project, the project owner sets up an offering in the middle of the land plot to present to the deities governing the land and to ask that the construction proceed peacefully; after the prayer, a few strokes of the hoe are made on the ground or the first brick is laid. The prayer text and offering tray follow the same pattern as the residential groundbreaking ceremony, only the sentence presenting the work is changed.
At a glance
- When it is held
- Before starting construction of a factory, plant, office, or project, after site clearance; choose date and time according to the age of the project head
- For whom
- Hoàng thiên Hậu thổ (Heaven and Earth), quan Đương niên hành khiển (the current year's presiding official), Thái Tuế (Jupiter deity), Thành hoàng bản cảnh (local tutelary deity), Thổ địa (Earth God), Long mạch (dragon vein), the deities governing the land plot; spirits around the land plot; the construction unit additionally invokes the craft ancestor
Each family and each region may do it differently.
The offering tray
Region:
Nationwide
- When
- Before groundbreaking, after site clearance; choose date and time according to the age of the project head
- Where the offerings are set
- The offering tray is placed on a table in the middle of the land plot, or at the place where construction will first begin
- Who makes the offering
- The project owner or the project manager; the contractor and construction unit offer incense afterward
| Offering | Quantity | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meat and savoury dishes | |||
| Boiled rooster | 1 | Meat or fish | |
| Bộ tam sên (three offerings): boiled meat, shrimp, eggs | 1 set | Meat or fish | |
| Roast pig | Meat or fish | Optional, used in large ceremonies | |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | |||
| xôi (steamed sticky rice) or bánh chưng (square sticky rice cake) | 1 plate | Meat or fish | Some guides list xôi gấc (red sticky rice) |
| Cakes and candies | Vegetarian | ||
| Fruit | |||
| Ngũ quả (five-fruit tray) | 1 plate | Vegetarian | |
| Flowers | |||
| Fresh flowers | Yellow chrysanthemums, gerbera daisies; some guides list 9 red roses | ||
| Rice and salt | |||
| Rice, salt, water | 1 small bowl of each | Vegetarian | Some guides advise adding three small jars of salt, rice, and water to keep |
| Tea, rice wine, water | |||
| White wine, tea | Vegetarian | ||
| Betel leaves and areca nuts | |||
| Betel leaves and areca nuts | Vegetarian | ||
| Incense, lamps, candles | |||
| Incense sticks, candles | 2 candles | ||
| Votive paper | |||
| Votive paper, a red outfit for Quan Thần linh (the deity) | |||
South
TP. Hồ Chí Minh, Folk practice
- Where the offerings are set
- At the construction site
- Who makes the offering
- The project owner; the contractor additionally holds an offering to the patron saint of the building trade
| Offering | Vegetarian or not |
|---|---|
| Fruit | |
| Fruit | Vegetarian |
| Flowers | |
| Chrysanthemums | |
| Incense, lamps, candles | |
| Dragon and phoenix incense sticks, candles | |
| Votive paper | |
| Votive paper for the động thổ (groundbreaking) offering | |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | |
| Candies and sweets, betel leaves and areca nuts | Vegetarian |
| White bean sweet soup, gấc (steamed sticky rice with gấc fruit) with mung bean, plain rice porridge | Vegetarian |
| Meat and savoury dishes | |
| Boiled chicken | Meat or fish |
| Roast pig, bánh hỏi (fine rice vermicelli sheets) | Meat or fish |
| Bộ tam sên (set of three offerings) | Meat or fish |
| Rice and salt | |
| A jar of rice, a jar of salt | Vegetarian |
| Tea, rice wine, water | |
| Water, tea, wine | Vegetarian |
Steps of the rite
Used across Vietnam, Folk practice
- Choose date and time; if the head of the household has an incompatible age, ask someone with a compatible age to perform the groundbreaking instead
- Arrange the offering tray in the middle of the land plot, light the lamps, light the incense
- The ritual master bows to the four directions and eight compass points, then turns to the offering tray and reads the prayer text
- The contractor and construction unit come in to offer incense; according to one source, they also invoke the craft ancestor (Lỗ Ban)
- Scatter rice and salt around the land plot; burn votive paper
- The ritual master makes a few strokes of the hoe on the ground or lays the first brick, then the workers begin
Southern Vietnam, TP. Hồ Chí Minh, Folk practice
- Choose the day and hour, avoiding Hắc đạo (Black Path) days, Sát chủ days, and Trùng tang days
- Arrange a tray of savory offerings or a tray of vegetarian offerings according to the master's instructions
- The project owner performs the groundbreaking offering; the contractor holds an offering to Tổ Lỗ Ban (the patron saint of carpentry and building)
- When the incense is nearly burnt out, pour the water, wine, and tea onto the construction site, burn the votive paper, scatter the candies and sweets, and scatter the rice and salt over the land
What is avoided
Used across Vietnam, Folk practice
- Avoid the Nguyệt kỵ days (5, 14, 23), Tam nương, Sát chủ
- Do not pour wine or water onto votive paper that is burning
- Ceremonial flowers are replanted at the construction site, not taken home
Southern Vietnam, TP. Hồ Chí Minh, Folk practice
- Ceremonial flowers are replanted at the construction site, not taken home
Where the sources differ
- Number of incense sticks: one guide gives 5 sticks; another gives 7 sticks if the ritual master is male, 9 sticks if female.
- Order: some guides describe that after the prayer, votive paper is burned and salt and rice are scattered, then the ground is broken; another describes that after the offering, groundbreaking is done immediately at the designated positions (digging about 30 cm deep), waiting for the incense to finish before burning votive paper and then sprinkling wine, tea, water, rice, and salt; a third arranges scattering rice and salt, digging the first stroke, then burning votive paper.
- Only one guide advises that the day before, one goes to the communal house or temple, shrine, phủ, or pagoda to perform a permission ceremony, and the offering includes one piece of fried meat, 2 bowls of sweet soup, 5 bánh bao, and votive paper with 2 red horses.
Communities and regions
Sources
- Văn khấn lễ động thổ, bài cúng động thổ làm nhà (hoatieu.vn)
- Cách chuẩn bị mâm cúng động thổ nhà xưởng và công trình xây dựng (andole.vn)
- Lễ vật và bài khấn lễ động thổ khởi công xây nhà, sửa nhà, xây công trình (bodetam.vn)
- Lễ vật, văn khấn cúng khởi công công trình xây dựng (phongthuytamnguyen.com)
- Cúng khởi công động thổ công trình (mamcungnhanh.com)
- Hướng dẫn cúng động thổ xây nhà (shome.vn)
- Cúng động thổ nhà ở, khởi công công trình (quangphuc.com.vn)
Part of the open datasets Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.
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