Lễ Tế ngu (three days), mở cửa mả (opening the grave)
Also called: Ngu tế, Sơ ngu, Tái ngu, Tam ngu, Cúng ba ngày, Khai mộ, Khai môn, Tam chiêu, Viếng mộ ba ngày
- Funeral and mourning rites
Culture and belief A record of custom.
By custom, ngu means peace: after burial, the children and grandchildren make offerings three times in three days so that the soul of the deceased may be at peace, each afternoon they visit the grave, and on the third day they repair the grave. The people of Nam Bộ have the mở cửa mả ceremony on the third day with a ladder, a young chicken, and mía lau (a kind of sugarcane); the pagoda explains that this is to visit and install the grave.
At a glance
- When it is held
- Three days after burial: sơ ngu, tái ngu, tam ngu; in Nam Bộ the third day is the mở cửa mả (opening the grave) ceremony
- For whom
- The newly deceased; at the mở cửa mả ceremony there are also đất đai (land deity) and ngũ phương ngũ thổ tôn thần (the five directions and five earth deities)
Each family and each region may do it differently.
The offering tray
Region:
Nationwide
- When
- Within three days after burial: sơ ngu, tái ngu, tam ngu
- Where the offerings are set
- The mourning altar at home; in the afternoon, visit the grave
- Who makes the offering
- The eldest son or the eldest grandson
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tea, rice wine, water | ||
| A tray of rice and a bowl of water, three rounds of wine | Vegetarian | According to the sacrificial oration |
| Betel leaves and areca nuts | ||
| A betel tray brought to the grave each afternoon | Vegetarian | Visiting the grave |
South
Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ, no finer detail in the source), Folk practice
- When
- After the burial, returning home (lễ an sàng, that is sơ ngu, also called quải chân dung); on the second day tái ngu, on the third day tam ngu
- Where the offerings are set
- The altar for the deceased, with two thin cloth curtains hung down to the floor in front of the altar
- Who makes the offering
- The chief mourner; the monk performs the rite and reads the Sơ ngu văn
| Offering |
|---|
| Objects |
| The photo of the deceased hung on the altar |
| Other |
| Rice offered to the deceased |
Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ, no finer detail in the source), Folk practice, At the grave
- When
- The third day after burial (the mở cửa mả ceremony, also called khai mộ, tam chiêu); afterwards the tam ngu ceremony is performed
- Where the offerings are set
- At the grave: one offering tray for the deceased at the foot of the grave, one offering tray for the land deity nearby
- Who makes the offering
- The bereaved family, often inviting a ritual master to chant sutras
| Offering | Quantity | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Objects | |||
| A small ladder made of bamboo, trúc, or banana sheath | 7 rungs for a male deceased, 9 rungs for a female | Required | |
| Bamboo tablets as tablets for the ngũ phương ngũ thổ tôn thần | 5 tablets | Planted at the four corners and the middle of the grave | |
| Birds for release | 18 birds | ||
| Meat and savoury dishes | |||
| A young chicken tied with a string | 1 | Meat or fish | Not needed if the deceased is young and unmarried |
| Bộ tam sên (three offerings): egg, meat, shrimp | 1 set | Meat or fish | |
| Fruit | |||
| A mía lau plant with the top left on | 1 plant | Vegetarian | |
| Rice and salt | |||
| A bamboo tube sharpened at one end, containing rice, salt, and water | 3 tubes | Vegetarian | Planted at the foot of the grave, leaning the ladder against it |
| Five kinds of beans | Vegetarian | Divided among family members to scatter around the grave | |
| Flowers | |||
| Vase of flowers and a plate of fruit | 2 of each | Vegetarian | One portion offered to the land, one portion offered to the deceased |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | |||
| Chè, xôi (sweet soup, steamed sticky rice) | 6 bowls of chè, 2 plates of xôi | Vegetarian | |
| Tea, rice wine, water | |||
| Small cups, tea, wine, candles | 7 cups, 1 pot of tea, 1 flask of wine, 4 candles | Vegetarian | |
| Votive paper | |||
| Paper money and votive paper | |||
Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ, no finer detail in the source), Buddhist, At the grave
- When
- On the third day after burial (lễ khai mộ, that is mở cửa mả)
- Where the offerings are set
- In front of the head of the new grave
- Who makes the offering
- The presiding monk reads in Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation, walking in front; the relatives follow, carrying a mía lau (a kind of sugarcane) stalk with a young chicken tied to it
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rice and salt | ||
| Five kinds of beans | Vegetarian | Required. In some places sesame is also used |
| Three tubes holding rice, salt and water | Vegetarian | Required |
| Objects | ||
| A ladder made of banana sheaths or reed stalks | Required. 7 rungs for males, 9 rungs for females | |
| Fruit | ||
| A mía lau stalk with nine nodes | Vegetarian | Required |
| Meat and savoury dishes | ||
| A young chicken tied to the sugarcane stalk | Meat or fish | Required. In some places wine is poured for the chicken to drink; after the offering the chicken is left at the grave |
| Incense, lamps, candles | ||
| Incense, lamps, tea | Vegetarian | |
Steps of the rite
Used across Vietnam, Folk practice
- After burial, return home and make the offering, called ngu tế (ngu means peace)
- Three times in three days: sơ ngu, tái ngu, tam ngu
- Each afternoon the children bring a betel tray to the grave and weep, called viếng mộ (visiting the grave)
- On the third day, repair and rebuild the grave
Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ, no finer detail in the source), Folk practice
- Welcome the deceased home, place the tray on the altar for the deceased
- Hang the photo, hang the curtains in front of the altar
- The monk performs the rite, reads the Sơ ngu văn
- The chief mourner holds the an sàng feast for those who accompanied the funeral
Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ, no finer detail in the source), Folk practice, At the grave
- Plant three bamboo tubes at the foot of the grave, lean a ladder against it; place five paper tablets at the four corners and in the middle of the grave
- Set out two offering trays: offer to the deceased in front of the grave first, offer to the deities at a clean spot nearby
- Light incense and pray to the deities, the master chants sutras and performs the purification rite
- Family members divide the beans; one person holds the sugarcane, leads the chick following the master around the grave three times, chanting Buddha's name and scattering the beans
- Release the birds, burn votive paper, bow in thanks to the deities
- Welcome the deceased home for the cúng an linh (offering to pacify the spirit)
Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ, no finer detail in the source), Buddhist, At the grave
- The offerings are laid out in front of the head of the grave, the chief mourner lights incense, bows three times, then kneels
- The monk invokes Thổ địa (Earth God), the guardian spirits of the grave of the five directions and the envoys who lead the deceased
- The monk scatters five kinds of beans and recites the Vãng sanh (Rebirth) mantra
- The family members carry the sugarcane stalk with the chicken tied to it and follow the monk three times around the grave; the monk taps the chicken lightly three times
- The chicken is released, the sugarcane stalk is planted at the grave
- The chief mourner carries a tray to lead the deceased home behind the monk, installs the spirit tablet at the altar for the deceased, then offers rice and chants according to the an sàng rite
Where the sources differ
- Counting the days: one guide writes that the ceremony is held three days after death or three days after burial is completed; Việt Nam phong tục describes three offerings in the three consecutive days after burial; Gia lễ giản yếu performs only one ngu ceremony on the third day after burial.
- Whether the pagoda has this rite: the Buddhist guidance article Tục mở cửa mả ở Nam Bộ, written from a Buddhist perspective, says there is no lễ mở cửa mả, only the lễ an vị mộ (three days later going to visit, repairing the grave, offering flowers, fruit, xôi and chè, with no need for chicken or sugarcane, and no obligation to invite a master); the article Nghi thức tang lễ theo truyền thống Phật giáo, also Buddhist guidance, does mention the lễ khai môn (opening the grave) three days after burial among the rites following the funeral.
- The chicken: Buddhist guidance and some other guides say to lead a chick so that it chirps; one guide says to choose a young rooster just learning to crow and keep it penned so that it crows.
- The article recounts two explanations of this custom (the ladder for the deceased to climb out of the grave, the nine-node mía lau matching the nine words for parental hardship, the young chicken representing an orphan; or according to the story of Quách Phác) and the author holds that neither is fully satisfactory
Communities and regions
More about Lễ Tế ngu (three days), mở cửa mả (opening the grave)
Sources
- Văn khấn trong lễ tang (vankhan.vn)
- Việt Nam phong tục, thiên I chương IX Tang ma (vi.wikisource.org)
- Gia lễ giản yếu, phần Lễ tang (vi.wikisource.org)
- Lý Việt Dũng, Nghi thức và văn cúng đám tang ở Nam Bộ, Tạp chí Nghiên cứu và Phát triển, số 2 (73), 2009 (vjol.info.vn)
- Tục mở cửa mả ở Nam Bộ (phatgiao.org.vn)
- Lễ cúng 3 ngày (cúng tam chiêu), Bài cúng mở cửa mả 3 ngày (datamnguyen.vn)
- Lễ mở cửa mả là gì? Lễ mở cửa mả được cúng như thế nào? (tanglemartino.com)
- Những lưu ý về ngày tam chiêu (mở cửa mả) và những điều cần biết (vinhhangvien.com)
- Sự hỗn dung văn hóa trong tín ngưỡng thờ cúng tổ tiên ở Nam bộ (giacngo.vn)
- Nghi thức tang lễ theo truyền thống Phật giáo (phatgiao.org.vn)
Part of the open datasets Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.
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