Cúng 49 ngày (forty-ninth-day rite for the deceased)

Culture and belief A record of custom.

About this rite: when it is held and for whom

Also called: Chung thất, Tuần chung, Lễ Chung thất, Thất thất, Cúng thất tuần, Văn khấn 49 ngày

In funeral custom shaped by Buddhism, on the forty-ninth day after a death the family holds the Chung thất rite for the deceased, led by the eldest son or the senior grandson. The common prayer text is shared with the hundredth-day rite (Tốt khốc).

When
The 49th day after death
For whom
The deceased; ancestors and the deities worshipped in the house as witnesses

Prayer text for the lễ Chung thất (49 days) and Tốt Khốc (100 days)

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice

What this prayer says

Prayer text used for the Chung Thất (49th day) ceremony and the Tốt Khốc (100th day) ceremony, led by the eldest son or eldest grandson, offering gifts before the spirit tablet of the deceased and inviting ancestors and the deities worshipped in the house to witness, praying for the whole family to have all things go well.

The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.

Fill in before the rite

Your name and address appear in the prayer below and are kept on this device only.

Your regional custom

Showing the version used across Vietnam.

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Other texts for Cúng 49 ngày (forty-ninth-day rite for the deceased)

Versions by region, by tradition and for each part of the rite.

Offerings and how the rite is done

As commonly practised and recorded by the sources. Each family and each region may do it differently.

Used across Vietnam, Folk practice

When
The 49th day after death (lễ Chung thất)
Where the offerings are set
Before the spirit tablet of the deceased, at home
Who makes the offering
The eldest son or the eldest grandson

Offerings

OfferingNotes
Offerings listed in the prayer textsources do not list them specifically; the prayer text leaves a place for the head of the household to state them

Steps

  1. The eldest son or the eldest grandson by the direct line stands and says the prayer
  2. Invite the deceased together with the ancestral spirits to come and receive the offerings
  3. Respectfully announce to the deities worshipped in the house

The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.

Sources

  • Văn khấn 49 ngày, 100 ngày cho người đã mất (tuvi.vn)
  • Văn khấn trong lễ tang (vankhan.vn)

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

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