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Lễ ban Công đồng Tứ phủ (offering at the Công đồng altar of the Four Palaces)

Also called: Quan lớn, Chầu bà, Thánh cô, Thánh cậu, Cô Bơ, Cô Chín, Quan Đệ Lục, Văn khấn Tứ phủ, Văn khấn ban Công đồng, Tam phủ công đồng

  • Pagodas, communal houses, temples and shrines

Culture and belief A record of custom.

Prayer text for Lễ ban Công đồng Tứ phủ (offering at the Công đồng altar of the Four Palaces)5 texts, kept in Vietnamese, with an English summary.

The Công đồng altar in the main hall of a temple (đền) or phủ (Mother Goddess shrine) jointly worships the ranks of the Four Palaces. By custom, worshippers present offerings and pray at this altar first; the prayer text has a short version for those who rarely go to temples and a long version with bows to each rank of deities.

At a glance

When it is held
When visiting a temple (đền) or a phủ (Mother Goddess shrine)
For whom
Tam phủ Công đồng (the Three Palaces' collective altar), Tứ phủ Vạn linh (the Four Palaces' all-spirits altar): the Father King, the Tam tòa Thánh Mẫu (Three Holy Mothers), the Ngũ vị tôn quan (Five Honoured Mandarins), the chầu bà (lady attendants), the quan hoàng (mandarin princes), the thánh cô (holy maidens), the thánh cậu (holy boys), the Ngũ hổ (Five Tigers), the Thanh xà Bạch xà (Green Snake and White Snake)
Where
The Công đồng altar in the main hall or the first cung of a đền or phủ

Each family and each region may do it differently.

The offering tray

OfferingQuantityVegetarian or notNotes
Incense, lamps, candles
Vegetarian offerings: incense, flowers, tea, fruit, phẩm oản (rice cakes)Vegetarian
Meat and savoury dishes
Savory offerings: chicken, pig, giò (Vietnamese sausage), chả (pork roll), cookedMeat or fishPlaced on the altar of the Ngũ vị quan lớn, that is, the Công đồng altar
Raw offerings: eggs, rice, salt, raw meat, along with votive paper and money5 raw duck eggs, 2 raw chicken eggs, one piece of meat scored into five partsMeat or fishOffered to the Ngũ Hổ, Bạch xà, Thanh xà at the lower Công đồng altar of the Four Palaces
Cỗ mặn sơn trang (savory mountain-and-river tray): crab, snail, eel, chili, lemonaccording to the number 15Meat or fishSơn trang altar
Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes
Offerings at the Cô altar and Cậu altar: oản (round glutinous rice cakes), fruit, incense and flowers, hia (boots), hài (shoes), nón (conical hats), áo (clothes), gương (mirrors), lược (combs)Vegetarian

Steps of the rite

  1. Present offerings, light incense, and pray at the Công đồng altar first, then at the other altars
  2. Wait until one incense stick has burned out; one may light another, and bow three times before each altar
  3. Take down the sớ (petition) to burn, then take down the offerings from the outermost altar to the main altar

What is avoided

  • When praying, do not pray in general terms; state clearly what one is asking for (VOH)
  • Offerings need not be many; what matters is sincerity (VOH)

Where the sources differ

  • On the number of deities at the Sơn trang altar corresponding to the number 15: one guide writes 1 chúa, 1 hầu cận, 12 cô sơn trang (totaling 14); VOH and another guide write 1 chúa, 2 hầu cận, 12 cô.

Communities and regions

Sources

  • Hướng dẫn cách sắm lễ và văn khấn Ban Công Đồng (VOH)
  • Mẫu văn khấn Tứ Phủ đầy đủ và chi tiết (VOH)
  • Văn khấn tại Đình, Đền, Miếu (vankhan.vn)

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

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