Prayer text for cầu tự at home (praying to the household deities and ancestors before the day of going to the pagoda or temple)

Lễ cầu tự (rite to pray for a child). No fixed date; by custom people often go in early spring (chùa Hương: first lunar month, second lunar month) or on the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the first day of the lunar month

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice
  • Indoor offering

Culture and belief A record of custom.

What this prayer says

Prayer for a child at home, recited before the altar of the household deities and ancestors on the day before going to the pagoda or temple; the tín chủ (the person making the offering) presents offerings and states that the couple has long been without a child, asking the deities and ancestors to witness and accompany them in praying for a child.

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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Your regional custom

Showing the version used across Vietnam.

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Offerings and how the rite is done

Offerings, steps and things to avoid for Lễ cầu tự (rite to pray for a child)

Other texts for Lễ cầu tự (rite to pray for a child)

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

Sources

  • Bài văn khấn cầu tự cho gia đình hiếm muộn con cái (tuvisonlong.com)

Part of the open dataset Vietnamese offering prayers (văn cúng), licensed CC BY 4.0.

More prayer textsDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, life-cycle rites and regional rites.