Lễ tạ đất (thanksgiving rite to the land)
Also called: Cúng đất đai, Cúng đất, Tạ Thổ công cuối năm, Cúng tá thổ (Quảng Nam, Đà Nẵng), Cúng đất tháng Hai, tháng Tám (Huế), Cúng đất đai điền địa (Nam Bộ)
- House and land
Culture and belief A record of custom.
By custom, each year the head of the household holds a rite to give thanks to the deities governing the plot of land where they live and to ask for continued peace. Some guides describe the twelfth-lunar-month lễ tạ đất; newspapers in Huế, Quảng Nam and Đà Nẵng describe the yearly land offering of the central region, in some places called cúng tá thổ, meaning borrowing land from former residents.
At a glance
- When it is held
- The twelfth lunar month before Tết in many places; in Huế, the second and eighth lunar months; in Quảng Nam and Đà Nẵng, at tất niên (year-end) and the beginning of spring
- Where the date differs
- In Huế the land offering is in the second lunar month, and many families make another in the eighth; Quảng Nam and Đà Nẵng make it at the lunar year's end and after the Lập xuân solar term
- For whom
- Thổ địa (Earth God), Thổ công (Earth God of the house), Long mạch (dragon vein) and the deities governing the plot of land; ancestors; in the central region, also the spirits of former residents and those who cleared the land
- Where
- Courtyard or outdoors, Ancestral altar, Lineage hall
Each family and each region may do it differently.
The offering tray
Incense, lamps, candles
- Hương (incense sticks)
- Nến (candles)
Flowers
- Hoa tươi (fresh flowers)
- Hoa cúc (chrysanthemum)
Tea, rice wine, water
- Rượu trắng (white rice liquor)
- Nước sạch (clean water)
- Trà (tea)
Fruit
- Mâm ngũ quả (five-fruit tray)
Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes
- Xôi (sticky rice)
- Bánh tét (cylindrical sticky rice cake)
- Bánh chưng (square sticky rice cake)
Meat and savoury dishes
- Gà luộc (boiled whole chicken)
Betel leaves and areca nuts
- Trầu cau (betel leaf and areca nut)
Rice and salt
- Gạo (rice)
- Muối (salt)
Votive paper
- Tiền vàng (votive paper money)
Nationwide
- When
- The twelfth lunar month, after the fifteenth and before Tết; many households hold it together with the rite to send off Ông Táo on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month or with the tất niên (year-end) rite. In some places land is also offered to at the beginning of the year (the 1st or 2nd day of Tết or the beginning of spring)
- Where the offerings are set
- Outdoors, in the yard or an empty plot in front of the house; households without a yard hold the offering indoors. Buddhist guidance describes how it is done at the altar in the house
- Who makes the offering
- head of the household
| Offering | Quantity | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incense, lamps, candles | |||
| Incense, flowers, lamps and candles | |||
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | |||
| xôi (steamed sticky rice) | Vegetarian | In Buddhist guidance: white xôi (steamed sticky rice) | |
| Bánh tét (cylindrical sticky rice cake), bánh chưng (square sticky rice cake) | Meat or fish | ||
| Meat and savoury dishes | |||
| Boiled chicken | Meat or fish | ||
| Tea, rice wine, water | |||
| Rượu (rice liquor), plain water, tea | Vegetarian | ||
| Fruit | |||
| Fruit (ngũ quả, five-fruit tray) | Vegetarian | ||
| Betel leaves and areca nuts | |||
| betel leaves and areca nuts | in Buddhist guidance: 3 betel leaves, 3 areca nuts | Vegetarian | |
| Votive paper | |||
| Paper money and votive paper | |||
| Rice and salt | |||
| Rice, white salt | 1 plate of each | Vegetarian | According to Buddhist guidance |
| Flowers | |||
| Chrysanthemums | 10 flowers divided into two vases | According to Buddhist guidance, for the main altar | |
North
- When
- At the start or the end of the year
| Offering | Vegetarian or not |
|---|---|
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | |
| xôi (steamed sticky rice) | Vegetarian |
| bánh chưng (square sticky rice cake) | Meat or fish |
| Sweet soup (chè), seasonal fruit | Vegetarian |
| Meat and savoury dishes | |
| Boiled chicken | Meat or fish |
| Tea, rice wine, water | |
| rice wine | |
Central
Folk practice
| Offering | Vegetarian or not |
|---|---|
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | |
| xôi (steamed sticky rice) | Vegetarian |
| bánh tét (cylindrical sticky rice cake) | Meat or fish |
| Meat and savoury dishes | |
| Roast pig or boiled chicken | Meat or fish |
| Tea, rice wine, water | |
| rice wine | |
Huế, Huế, Folk practice
- When
- The second lunar month, choosing a good day; many households make an additional offering in the eighth month. Some villages around phá Tam Giang hold the offering only in the eighth month, after the harvest
- Where the offerings are set
- Set out in the yard; for a full rite, three trays Thượng, Trung, Hạ, some households reduce to two trays or arrange everything on one tray
- Who makes the offering
- The head of the household; parents make the offering at the ancestral home for all the children who have moved out
| Offering | Quantity | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meat and savoury dishes | |||
| Upper tray: xôi (steamed sticky rice), a whole boiled rooster with the innards and blood | Meat or fish | ||
| Middle tray: a whole hen, crab, eggs, boiled meat | Meat or fish | ||
| Xà lẹt: a carrying basket made of banana sheaths holding sweet potato greens, dried fish, mắm nêm (fermented fish paste) | Meat or fish | After the offering, hung on the fence in front of the house (according to Báo Thanh Niên, Hue countryside) | |
| Crab | Meat or fish | ||
| A pig's head with some offal, or a whole pig slaughtered for a large offering | Meat or fish | Optional. For a modest offering at home, a chicken and a plate of xôi (steamed sticky rice) | |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | |||
| Lower tray: rice, xôi and chè, potatoes and cassava, popped grains, a string of small grilled fish, mắm nêm (fermented anchovy sauce), boiled vegetables | Meat or fish | ||
| Xôi nếp mới (steamed sticky rice from new crop) | several plates | Vegetarian | Required. Báo Thanh Niên: an indispensable item of the land offering tray in Hue |
| Betel leaves and areca nuts | |||
| Betel leaves and areca nuts, wine, flowers and fruit | Vegetarian | ||
| Votive paper | |||
| Paper items: a set of thrones with enough robes, hats, boots, belts; a set of ngũ phương ngũ hành (five directions and five elements); clothing for bà Hỏa and bà Thổ | |||
South Central Coast, Quảng Nam, Đà Nẵng, Folk practice
- When
- At the year-end of the lunar calendar and after the start of spring (tiết lập xuân); held at private homes, clan ancestral houses, hamlets, villages, urban quarters
- Who makes the offering
- The head of the household; in the hamlet or village, the chief officiant
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Other | ||
| The offering tray for the land offering | ||
| Vegetarian dishes | ||
| Food offered to the local former people: various kinds of tubers, beans, mắm (fermented fish) | Meat or fish | According to Báo Đà Nẵng |
South
Folk practice
- When
- At the end of the year
| Offering | Vegetarian or not |
|---|---|
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | |
| bánh tét (cylindrical sticky rice cake) | Meat or fish |
| Fruit | |
| Five-fruit tray | Vegetarian |
| Meat and savoury dishes | |
| Roast pig | Meat or fish |
| Other | |
| Local dishes | |
Mekong Delta, Folk practice
- When
- The afternoon of the 30th of the twelfth lunar month (the 29th in a short year), together with the rite inviting the ancestors home for Tết
Steps of the rite
Used across Vietnam, Folk practice
- Laying out the offeringsClean the altar or the place where the offering is set, arrange the offerings
- Lighting incenseLight incense, bow three times
- Reciting the prayerRead the prayer text (invoke the deities first, then the ancestors if two texts are recited)
- Burning votive paperBow three times, wait for the incense to burn out, then burn votive paper
Huế, Huế, Folk practice
- PreparationChoosing a good day in the month
- Laying out the offeringsArranging the offering tables
- Reciting the prayerThe head of the household offers incense and prays to the earth deities, the former occupants and the wandering spirits
- Sharing the blessed offeringsThe whole family, relatives and neighbours eat the offering feast together
South Central Coast, Quảng Nam, Đà Nẵng, Folk practice
- Laying out the offeringsArranging the offering tray
- Reciting the prayerReading the prayer text to invite the Thành hoàng of the place, Thổ địa, Thái tuế, Hành khiển, the earth deities, then inviting the spirits of the former occupants, bà Chủ Ngung Man Nương and the tiền hiền and hậu hiền of the clans
- Sharing the blessed offeringsIn new urban quarters, the rite is followed by a year-end gathering meal of the residents
Good to know
- Housing (apartments, rented homes)According to VOH, homes without a yard or enough space make the offering indoors, in a clean and airy spot, with offerings as complete as outdoors
What is avoided
No source we have found describes what is avoided for this rite.
The custom
According to VOH, lễ tạ đất, also called cúng đất đai (land offering), is usually held at year's end to thank the deities who protected the place where one lives and to pray for a smooth new year; it may also be held at the start of the year, at a business opening or when moving house.
Huế Ngày Nay writes that the people of Huế have kept the land offering for 7 centuries, since following the Trần dynasty into the Ô and Lý prefectures; the rite honours the deities and the "former owners" of the land. The second-month offering prays for a good start to the year, the eighth-month one thanks the land deities.
According to Quảng Nam and Đà Nẵng newspapers, south of the Hoành Sơn range this rite is called cúng tá thổ, "tá" meaning to borrow and "thổ" meaning land: the Vietnamese who came later saw themselves as borrowing land from the earlier inhabitants who first cleared it, and so make a thanksgiving offering every year.
Where the sources differ
- Month of the offering: Báo Huế ngày nay notes that Hue people make the land offering in the second lunar month, and many households also make it in the eighth month (the second month to pray for a favourable new year, the eighth month to give thanks to the earth deity); Báo Thanh Niên (quoting a book by Phi Tân) recounts that in the author's countryside only the eighth month was observed, "đất kinh kỳ mới cúng tháng Hai"
Questions
Is the tạ đất offering made indoors or outdoors?
It is usually held outdoors, in the yard or on open ground in front of the house; homes without space make it indoors, with offerings as complete as outdoors (VOH).
When is the year-end tạ đất offering held?
There is no fixed day; it is usually in the twelfth lunar month, after the full moon and before Tết, and many families combine it with the send-off of Táo quân on the 23rd of the twelfth month or the year-end offering (VOH). In Huế the land offering is in the second lunar month, often repeated in the eighth; in Quảng Nam and Đà Nẵng it is made at the year's end and after the Lập xuân solar term.
What does a land offering tray in Central Vietnam contain?
VOH writes that the Central tạ đất offering tray is usually simple: xôi, bánh tét, roast pork or boiled chicken, and rice wine. In Huế, a full rite sets three tables: the upper table with xôi and a whole boiled rooster; the middle table with a hen, crab, eggs and boiled pork; the lower table with rice, xôi and chè, sweet potato and cassava, popped rice, grilled small fish, mắm nêm (fermented fish sauce) and boiled greens (Huế Ngày Nay).
What is the tạ đất rite?
It is a rite of thanks to the deities governing the land one lives on, also called cúng đất đai (land offering), usually held at year's end with a prayer for a smooth new year (VOH). South of the Hoành Sơn range it is called cúng tá thổ, meaning borrowing land from the earlier inhabitants (Quảng Nam newspaper).
What is prepared for the tạ đất offering?
VOH lists the offerings common to every region: incense, flowers, lamps and candles; xôi and boiled chicken; rice wine, plain water and tea; fruit; bánh tét and bánh chưng; betel and areca; votive paper money. Northern trays often add chè and seasonal fruit; in the South families favour a rich tray with bánh tét, five kinds of fruit and roast pork.
Communities and regions
Sources
- Lễ tạ đất cuối năm: lễ vật và văn khấn (voh.com.vn)
- Văn khấn cúng tạ đất cuối năm (phatgiao.org.vn)
- Bài văn khấn cúng đất đai (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
- Tháng hai cúng đất (huengaynay.vn)
- Về Huế ăn cơm: Tháng tám cúng đất (thanhnien.vn)
- Tá thổ (baoquangnam.vn)
- Nghĩ về lệ cúng đất (baodanang.vn)
- Cúng xóm tất niên (baophapluat.vn)
- Phong tục ngày Tết (baocantho.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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