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Mo Mường (funeral rites, vía-making)

Also called: Mo tang lễ, Cúng vía kéo si, Kéo si, Đẻ đất đẻ nước

  • Rites of ethnic communities

Culture and belief A record of custom.

Mo is the chant performed by the mo priest in the rituals of the Mường people, most often at funerals to escort the soul to Mường Trời, and at vía-making ceremonies, kéo si to pray for the health of the elderly. An article published the text of the kéo si prayer in Vietnamese.

At a glance

When it is held
During funeral rites; the vía-making and kéo si ceremonies take place at the beginning of spring or when an elderly person is weak
For whom
The souls of the deceased; the vía of the living; the ancestral masters of the mo priest and the deities

Each family and each region may do it differently.

The offering tray

Region:

North

Northwest, Mường, Hòa Bình, Folk practice

When
During funeral rites; traditionally 12 days and nights, nowadays funerals are held within 48 hours so about half of the rituals are omitted
Where the offerings are set
At the house in mourning
Who makes the offering
Ông Mo, thầy Mo (ông Tlượng), with a Mường gong
OfferingNotes
Objects
Three khánh (gongs) passed down through generations of the mo priestAccording to one mo priest

Red River Delta, Mường, Ba Vì, Thạch Thất, Quốc Oai, Folk practice

When
In funerals, offerings to spirits, and giỗ (death anniversaries)
Who makes the offering
The mo priest, the Clượng priest

Red River Delta, Mường, Nho Quan, Ninh Bình, Folk practice

Where the offerings are set
At home
Who makes the offering
Thày mo (or thày trượng) of the nổ lineage, with a khót bag
OfferingQuantityVegetarian or notNotes
Rice and salt
A bowl of white rice with three incense sticks stuck in it as an incense bowlVegetarianRequired
Meat and savoury dishes
Boiled chicken, white xôi (steamed sticky rice), a bottle of wineMeat or fishRequired
Four to five trays, including savory trays and vegetarian trays4 to 5 traysMeat or fish
Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes
Red or white xôi oản7 to 12 piecesVegetarianRequired
Votive paper
Votive paper money and real money, betel leaves and areca nutsVegetarianRequired

Central

North Central Coast, Mường, Thạch Thành, Thanh Hóa, Folk practice

When
Beginning of spring; performed for the weak or ailing elderly or to celebrate longevity
Where the offerings are set
On the floor of the house
Who makes the offering
Ông mo; the eldest son, the daughter-in-law, paternal and maternal relatives, and the village
OfferingQuantityVegetarian or notNotes
Objects
Three to five offering trays, each with xôi, wine, a nia of rice, a si branch and a hoe, a conical hat, clothes3 to 5 traysVegetarianRequired. The tray on the right of the ông mo is offered to the paternal relatives, the tray on the left to the maternal relatives
A green si branch brought back from the forest by the eldest son, set up on a tray of rice1VegetarianRequired
Rice and salt
Rice that the daughter-in-law goes around the village to ask for, poured into a nia, with a bundle of rice stalks placed on topVegetarianRequired
Tea, rice wine, water
A jar of rượu cần (rice wine drunk through a straw)Required

Communities and regions

More about Mo Mường (funeral rites, vía-making)

Sources

  • Độc đáo di sản văn hóa Mo Mường của đồng bào dân tộc Mường (vietnamplus.vn)
  • Mo Mường trên hành trình trở thành di sản của thế giới (nhandan.vn)
  • Kỳ bí mo Mường (baophapluat.vn)
  • Tìm giải pháp bảo tồn di sản văn hóa phi vật thể Mo Mường (nhandan.vn)
  • Vũ Thị Minh Phượng, Bảo tồn nghi lễ Mo của dân tộc Mường, huyện Nho Quan, tỉnh Ninh Bình, Tạp chí Văn hóa Nghệ thuật số 608 (6/2025) (vjol.info.vn)
  • Kỳ bí tục kéo "cây thần" xứ Mường (baophapluat.vn)
  • Đặc sắc tục kéo si ngày đầu xuân của người Mường (baophapluat.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.