Bốc bát hương, chuyển bàn thờ (ritual of filling the incense bowl and moving the altar)
- Household deities
- 10 prayer texts
- Offerings and steps
Culture and belief A record of custom.
About this rite: when it is held and for whom
Also called: Dời bàn thờ, An vị bát hương, Thay bát hương, Thay bàn thờ mới, Thiên di linh vị, Hạ bát hương
By custom, before taking down the incense bowl to move the altar, the head of the household performs a rite to ask permission, and at the new place performs a rite of installation. Báo Giác Ngộ notes that bốc bát hương is a folk belief prevalent in the North, while other regions at year's end only wipe the incense bowl and replace the sand; Buddhism has no ritual of bốc bát hương.
- When
- When moving to a new house, replacing the altar, replacing the incense bowl, or moving the altar to another place in the house; choosing the date and time by custom
- For whom
- Thần linh (deities), Thổ Công (Earth God of the house), Thần Tài (God of Wealth) who govern the house; ancestors on both sides, Bà Cô Ông Mãnh whose incense bowls are moved
Prayer text for installing a new incense bowl, addressed to the deities, grandparents and ancestors
- Used across Vietnam
- Folk practice
- Address to the ancestors
What this prayer says
Prayer text to the ancestors when taking up a new incense bowl, read before the altar to ask permission of the deities, ancestors on both sides and the bà cô ông mãnh of the family line to perform the rite of taking up a new incense bowl and replacing the incense bowl, and to pray that they witness and bless the family with health, favorable circumstances, wealth and peace.
The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.
Fill in before the rite
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Showing the version used across Vietnam.
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Other texts for Bốc bát hương, chuyển bàn thờ (ritual of filling the incense bowl and moving the altar)
Versions by region, by tradition and for each part of the rite.
- Folk practice, Address to the deitiesPrayer text for installing a new incense bowl, addressed to Thổ Công and Thổ Địa
- Folk practice, Address to the ancestorsPrayer text for changing to a new altar (VTC News)
- Folk practice, Address to the ancestorsPrayer text for moving the altar to a new house
- Folk practice, Address to the ancestorsPrayer text for moving the ancestors' altar to a new house (long version)
- Folk practice, Address to the ancestorsPrayer text for moving the ancestors' altar to other positions within the house
- Folk practice, Address to the deitiesPrayer text for moving the Thần Tài altar to a new house
- Folk practice, Closing thanks and burning of votive paperPrayer text of thanksgiving for moving the Thần Tài altar
- Buddhist, InvitationRite for taking down the incense bowl
- Buddhist, Installing the incense bowl or altar in its new placePrayer text for the rite of installing the incense bowl (without sutra chanting)
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 date and time are chosen according to the age of the head of the household; when moving to a new house, the nhập trạch (moving into a new house) rite is performed first, then the incense bowl is installed
- Where the offerings are set
- The rite asking to move is at the altar in the old house; the installation rite is at the altar in the new house
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| At the old house: fruit, fresh flowers, clean water, wine, betel leaves and areca nuts | simple offering tray |
| At the new house: xôi (steamed sticky rice), chè (sweet soup), incense, lamps, tea and wine, votive paper | prepared more elaborately |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice), a whole boiled rooster, a bottle of wine, three small cups, 3 betel leaves, 3 areca nuts | according to hoatieu.vn |
| A pair of paper horses, one red and one yellow, enough clothes, hats, swords, and a pair of paper coffins | according to hoatieu.vn, for offering to Thổ Công and the deities |
| New incense bowl, cốt set (thất bảo, giấy dị hiệu), glutinous rice ash or white sand, ginger wine | when filling a new incense bowl |
Steps
- At the old house, arrange the offerings, light 3 incense sticks, pray to ask to move, stating clearly the name, old address, new address, and reason
- When the incense has burned about two thirds, burn votive paper, take down the incense bowl
- Cover with red cloth or place the incense bowl in a box pasted with red paper when carrying it outside; wipe the worship items with ginger wine
- Filling the new incense bowl: wash and wipe the bowl with ginger wine, warm the bowl, write the dị hiệu, place the cốt, put in handfuls of ash
- Place the incense bowl on the new altar in the predetermined position
- Light incense, read the prayer text for installation; light incense continuously for the first 49 to 100 days
Things to avoid
- Do not leave the incense bowl exposed when moving it
- After installation, limit moving the incense bowl
Where the sources differ
- Whether to refill the incense bowl when moving to a new house: docungtamlinh.com.vn notes that if the old incense bowl is still intact and business at the old house was favorable, keep it and only trim the incense sticks; if the bowl is already old or chipped, take this occasion to fill a new one
Northern Vietnam, Folk practice
- When
- Some households fill the incense bowl at the end of the year to welcome the new year
- Who makes the offering
- A master or pháp sư (ritual master) is asked to fill it and chant blessings
Steps
- Ask a master to fill the incense bowl, chant blessings, invite Buddhas, sages, or spirits to be installed at the incense bowl
Used across Vietnam, Buddhist
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| No offerings arranged | Optional. when taking down the incense bowl to change to a new altar or to clean and then put it back |
| Flowers and fruit, a bowl of white rice, water | a simple offering when taking down the incense bowl to move it |
| Base of the incense bowl: ash or clean sand | Required. a thất bảo (seven-treasure) packet, optional depending on circumstances |
Steps
- Insert incense sticks, join palms and say the request to take down the incense bowl
- Arrange the new altar or bring the incense bowl to the new place
- Say the offering to install the incense bowl, make the food offering, dedicate merit, conclude the rite
More about Bốc bát hương, chuyển bàn thờ (ritual of filling the incense bowl and moving the altar)
Nhật Nguyệt articles on the rite, the custom and how to prepare.
The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources
- Văn khấn và thủ tục bốc bát hương về nhà mới (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
- Chuẩn bị thủ tục chuyển bàn thờ về nhà mới (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
- Văn khấn chuyển bàn thờ gia tiên (hoatieu.vn)
- Có nên bốc bát hương? (giacngo.vn)
- Quan điểm Phật giáo về bốc bát hương để đón mừng năm mới (giacngo.vn)
Part of the open dataset Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.
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