Offering at the cây hương (incense pillar) and the outdoor altar
- Household deities
- 1 prayer texts
- Offerings and steps
Culture and belief A record of custom.
About this rite: when it is held and for whom
Also called: Bàn thờ ngoài sân, Bàn thờ Thông Thiên, Bàn thờ ông Thiên, Ban thờ Thiên Quan, Bàn thờ Thiên, Bàn Thiên, Văn khấn cây hương ngoài trời
Many households have a cây hương (incense pillar) or a small altar in the yard to burn incense on the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the first day of the lunar month, and at Tết. Some sources say that cây hương worships the Tiền chủ (first owner) of the house, some sources call it the altar of ông Thiên; in the rural South, on giao thừa (New Year's Eve) the head of the household goes out to the Thông Thiên altar in the middle of the yard and prays.
- When
- On the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the first day of the lunar month, giỗ (death anniversary), Tết; in the South it is also where offerings are made on giao thừa (New Year's Eve); the Hoa people in Đà Lạt burn incense every morning
- For whom
- Varies by place and by source: Bản gia Tiền chủ (the cây hương in the yard); ông Thiên, that is, the Heaven God, which some sources call Thiên quan (the Thông Thiên altar in the South, the Thiên Quan altar of the Hoa people)
Prayer text for the outdoor incense tree (prayer text for the Tiền chủ)
- Used across Vietnam
- Folk practice
- Outdoor offering
The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.
Fill in before the rite
Name, address and regional custom
Your name and address appear in the prayer below and are kept on this device only.
Showing the version used across Vietnam.
3 more blanks
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, Outdoor offering
- When
- On the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the first day of the lunar month, at Tết, or when the household encounters misfortune
- Where the offerings are set
- The cây hương in the yard: a pillar about 1 metre high, widened on top like an altar surface, with a back wall and two side walls
- Who makes the offering
- head of the household
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Incense bowl | Required |
| Flower vase | Required |
| Mâm ngũ quả (five-fruit tray) | on the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the first day of the lunar month, or when the household has an offering ceremony |
Steps
- Keep the cây hương clean and tidy
- Arrange flowers and fruit, burn incense
- Read the prayer text, praying to Bản gia Tiền chủ
Things to avoid
- Do not place a tablet bearing a name, because no one knows the name of the Tiền chủ; a dragon facing the moon may be made
Where the sources differ
- Whom the cây hương in the yard worships: hoatieu.vn says it is where the Tiền chủ (the first owner of the house) is worshipped; Vietcetera separates the two, the outdoor altar is the altar of ông Thiên (the Heaven God), while the Tiền chủ altar is a different altar found in some houses.
Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ, no finer detail in the source), Folk practice, Outdoor offering
- When
- On the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the first day of the lunar month, giỗ (death anniversary), Tết; on giao thừa (New Year's Eve) offerings are made at this altar
- Where the offerings are set
- The Thông Thiên altar (the altar of ông Thiên) in the middle of the yard or in front of the main door; in the countryside it is usually a pillar in front of the yard, in the city it is placed on the balcony of the highest floor or on the rooftop terrace
- Who makes the offering
- The head of the household, dressed neatly
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Incense burner | Required |
| Water vessel | |
| Flower vase | Optional. sometimes present |
Steps
- On giao thừa (New Year's Eve) the head of the household holds incense and goes out to the Thông Thiên altar in the middle of the yard, looks at the sky and prays for blessings for the family and the country
- On the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the first day of the lunar month, giỗ (death anniversary), Tết, burn incense at the outdoor altar
Where the sources differ
- Whom the outdoor altar in the South worships: an article in Báo Thanh tra writes that this is the Thông Thiên altar for Thiên quan (with the characters "Thiên quan tứ phước" pasted on), many people do not know so they take it to be the altar of Heaven; Vietcetera calls it the altar of ông Thiên, that is, the Heaven God.
Central Highlands, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), Đà Lạt, Lâm Đồng, Folk practice, Outdoor offering
- When
- Daily, every early morning
- Where the offerings are set
- The Thiên altar (the Hoa people call it the Thiên Quan altar, that is, worship of Heaven) attached to the outside of the house wall, made of a plank or ceramic tiles, without a roof
- Who makes the offering
- The Hoa head of the household
Offerings
| Offering | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Incense ash bowl | Required | |
| Flower vase | 1 | |
| Glass of water | 1 |
Steps
- Early in the morning the head of the household burns incense, prays and bows to heaven and earth asking for peace for the whole family
The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources
- Văn khấn cây hương ngoài trời (hoatieu.vn)
- 4 bàn thờ phổ biến trong nhà người Việt, nhà bạn có mấy? (vietcetera.com)
- Ăn Tết ở miền quê Nam Bộ (thanhtra.com.vn, Báo Thanh tra)
- Lê Thị Nhuấn, Tín ngưỡng của người Hoa ở Lâm Đồng, Tạp chí Dân tộc học số 4 năm 2012 (vjol.info.vn)
Part of the open dataset Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.
More prayer textsDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, life-cycle rites and regional rites.Open