Lễ cầu mưa, tạ mưa, cầu tạnh (rain-praying, rain-thanking, and rain-stopping ceremonies)

Northwest, Thái, Mường Sang, Mộc Châu, Sơn La, Folk practice

When

The full moon of the second lunar month every year

Where the offerings are set

A place chosen in advance in the bản; the water source at the head of the stream

Who makes the offering

The mo priest (ritual master) together with the elders and male and female representatives of the bản

Offerings

Steps

1. Offering to ask the earth god for permission to hold the ceremony at the chosen place
2. Carrying the cây vạn vật in procession, beating gongs and drums, carrying bamboo tubes along the inter-village path, calling the households to join
3. Going to the water source at the head of the stream to perform the rite asking for water (offering to the water god) and bringing it back
4. The mo priest recites the prayer telling Then of the suffering when there is no rain and asking for rain; at the end, Then declares that water is granted
5. Dancing to ask for water, celebrating the water, xòe dancing in a circle around the cây vạn vật

Central Highlands, Gia Rai (Jarai), Phú Thiện, Gia Lai, Plei Ơi, Folk practice

When

The fourth and fifth months every year; the Rbai village holds it exactly on 30/4 of the solar calendar, at noon; the ceremony at the foot of Chư Tao Yang mountain in 2022 began at 9 o'clock

Where the offerings are set

The house of the ritual master (Rbai village); the top or foot of Chư Tao Yang mountain, the Plei Ơi relic site (the ceremony of Yang Pơtao Apui)

Who makes the offering

The ritual master, the assistants of Pơtao Apui (the Fire King), together with the council performing the ceremony, who are chosen people

Offerings

Steps

1. Before the main ceremony, three small rites are held: an offering to drive away evil spirits and poultry diseases around the village, an offering at the landing on the Ayun river, and an offering to the village
2. The chief officiant bows 3 times to greet the deities, pours water into the wine jar, places his hand on the jar and recites the prayer in the Gia-rai language
3. While reciting, he scatters rice and meat to invite the Mountain god, River god, Wood god, Stone god; he throws meat 3 times forward
4. In Rbai village: wine and meat are poured into a bronze bowl and taken to the graves of the deceased Pơtao Apui to be poured out, with prayers for protection.
5. The ritual master drinks wine, gongs and drums sound, assistants dance xoang like eagles taking flight to carry the prayers to the deities; water is sprinkled around and then the ritual concludes.
6. Villagers drink rượu cần together.

Things to avoid

• On the day the village holds the cầu mưa (prayer for a good harvest) ritual, villagers refrain from working, do not hold hoes or machetes.
• The person performing the ritual in the council must be someone who has not violated the village's taboos.
• The bronze bowls, porcelain bowls, and wine jars of the ritual are not taken out for everyday use.

Where the sources differ

• Number of wine jars and offerings: the article by Báo Văn Hóa (ritual reenacted at Plei Ơi in 2025) records 1 wine jar, 1 candle, 1 bowl of rice, 1 plate of meat; the article by Nhân Dân (2022) records 1 black male pig and 3 wine jars; the article by Báo Pháp luật Việt Nam about Rbai village records 7 wine jars symbolizing the 7 village founders plus 1 common jar.

Northeast, Lô Lô, Khuổi Khon, Kim Cúc, Bảo Lạc, Folk practice

When

Third lunar month, the day is chosen by the main mo priest, and must be a dragon day (Thìn day).

Where the offerings are set

The sacred forest of the hamlet.

Who makes the offering

One main mo priest, one assistant mo priest, and a ritual service team; each household sends one person.

Offerings

Steps

1. Households contribute offerings according to the village convention; young men clean the sacred forest.
2. Those chosen eat breakfast at the main mo priest's house, then the whole group goes to the sacred forest, with the cow led in front.
3. The offering tray and the animals are arranged from right to left; the main mo priest announces to the deities.
4. The two mo priests perform the ritual once before slaughtering the animals, then perform the fresh offering ritual again.
5. The boiled meat is laid out on trays; each household sends one person to eat first with the master (eating together with the deities).
6. The whole hamlet eats and drinks in the forest, each house with one tray.

Things to avoid

• No one is allowed to cut or destroy trees in the sacred forest.
• A household with a woman in postpartum confinement may not enter the sacred forest.

Red River Delta, chùa Dâu (Bắc Ninh), Thăng Long, Buddhist

When

During drought or prolonged rain; according to the statistics of the research article from old histories, cầu mưa (prayer for a good harvest) usually takes place in summer, cầu tạnh (prayer for clear weather) usually in autumn, within the period from the first lunar month to the ninth month.

Where the offerings are set

Chùa Pháp Vân (chùa Dâu); in the Lý dynasty, the statue of Pháp Vân was carried to Báo Thiên Pagoda in the capital.

Who makes the offering

According to old histories, it was a matter for the royal court, and once the king himself came to perform the ritual.

Steps

1. The statue of Buddha Pháp Vân is carried from chùa Dâu to the capital to pray for rain (cầu mưa, cầu tạnh).
2. According to the research article, the festivals in the Tứ Pháp (Four Palaces) worship area today still include forms of water procession, cầu mưa (prayer for a good harvest), and cầu tạnh (prayer for clear weather).