Cúng cô hồn (offering to wandering spirits)

Culture and belief A record of custom.

About this rite: when it is held and for whom

Also called: Cúng chúng sinh, Cúng thí, Văn tế thập loại chúng sinh, Văn chiêu hồn, Giật cô hồn

In folk belief, the seventh lunar month is when spirits with no one to worship them return, so every household sets a tray outdoors to share a portion with them. The three regions set different trays: the North offers vegetarian food with cháo hoa (plain rice porridge), Huế favors xôi (steamed sticky rice) and chè (sweet soup) and cut-paper votive paper, the South offers savory food and has the custom of giật cô hồn (scrambling for the spirits' offerings). The words include folk prayers and sacrificial orations, among them Nguyễn Du's Văn tế thập loại chúng sinh (Oration for the Ten Classes of Beings).

When
Seventh lunar month, from the 2nd to the full moon; in the South, offerings are also made on the 2nd and 16th of each month
For whom
Wandering spirits, souls without refuge, with no one to worship them

Văn tế thập loại chúng sinh (Nguyễn Du)

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Buddhist

What this prayer says

The Văn tế thập loại chúng sinh (sacrificial oration for the ten classes of sentient beings) by Nguyễn Du, used in the tháng Bảy cúng cô hồn (offering to wandering spirits) ceremony, recounts the suffering of ten classes of wandering spirits without refuge and prays to the Buddha in compassion to save them from suffering and grant them deliverance. It is read during the whole ceremony, after the chẩn tế (offering to the dead) altar is set up.

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

Fill in before the rite

The prayer below is ready to read.

Your regional custom

Showing the version used across Vietnam.

Other texts for Cúng cô hồn (offering to wandering spirits)

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
Seventh lunar month, from the 2nd to before 12 noon on the full moon day; offered in the late afternoon or at dusk
Where the offerings are set
In the yard, in front of the gate; the tray is not placed inside the house
Who makes the offering
head of the household

Offerings

OfferingQuantityNotes
Rice, salt1 bowl of rice, 1 plate of saltscattered in the four directions and eight compass points when the ritual is finished
Vàng mã (votive paper)

Steps

  1. Set up the offering tray outdoors
  2. Offer incense, read the prayer text
  3. Burn votive paper
  4. Scatter rice and salt in the four directions and eight compass points

Things to avoid

  • Do not place the offering tray for wandering spirits inside the house

Northern Vietnam, Folk practice

Where the offerings are set
In the yard, in front of the gate
Who makes the offering
head of the household

Offerings

OfferingNotes
Cháo hoa (plain rice porridge cooked thin)Required. sources say it is an indispensable dish
Popcorn, boiled sweet potato, boiled cassava
Bánh đa (rice cracker), kẹo dồi (peanut and sesame candy)
Small change, plain water

Things to avoid

  • Avoid offering savory food to wandering spirits

Huế, Huế, Folk practice

Who makes the offering
The head of the household; sometimes an elderly person knowledgeable in sutras and chanting is invited

Offerings

OfferingNotes
Xôi (steamed sticky rice), chè (sweet soup), bánh phu thê (husband and wife cake), bánh ít (small sticky rice cake)arranged elaborately, sometimes shaped like a lotus flower
Votive paper: paper money, clothes, shoes, paper conical hats made by cutting and pastingsources say votive paper is the highlight of the central region
Rice, salt

Steps

  1. Arrange the tray
  2. Chant
  3. Scatter rice and salt

Southern Vietnam, Folk practice

Who makes the offering
The head of the household, the shop owner

Offerings

OfferingNotes
A whole roast pig
Boiled chicken
Bánh trái (cakes and fruits)
Mía ghim (sugarcane cut into sections)folk tradition says it is for the spirits to use as a walking stick

Steps

  1. Arrange the offering tray, recite prayers
  2. After the offering, let children and passersby come and snatch the cô hồn offerings (snatch the offerings)

Southern Vietnam, Traders and shopkeepers, Folk practice, Offering to wandering spirits

When
The 2nd and 16th of the lunar calendar every month
Where the offerings are set
In the yard, in front of the house, shop, company
Who makes the offering
Small traders, business households

Offerings

OfferingQuantityNotes
Thin plain congee12 bowls, in some places 5 to 7 bowls
Rice, saltone plate
waterthree cups
Incense, two candles
Paper money and votive paper, clothes for sentient beings
Fruit, flowers, betel leaves and areca nuts
Cakes and candies, slab sugar, xôi (steamed sticky rice) or chè, puffed rice, potatoes, boiled corn, sugarcane
Chicken, roast pigOptional. depending on means, the tray at a shop or company is usually fuller than the tray at home

Steps

  1. Set out the tray in the yard
  2. Light incense, read the prayer text
  3. Burn votive paper together with the prayer text sheet
  4. Scatter rice and salt

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

Sources

  • Văn tế thập loại chúng sinh, Nguyễn Du (vi.wikisource.org)
  • 17 bài văn tế thập loại cô hồn dành cho chẩn tế (phatgiao.org.vn)
  • Cúng cô hồn hàng tháng, bài văn khấn (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
  • Cúng cô hồn miền Nam và miền Bắc (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
  • Cúng cô hồn cần gì? Hướng dẫn chuẩn bị và thực hiện (didongviet.vn)
  • Lễ cúng cô hồn tại 3 miền: bức họa đa sắc về văn hóa tâm linh của người Việt (vietcetera.com)

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.