(3 vái)
Lễ cúng xe (vehicle offering ceremony)
- Work and trade
- 6 prayer texts
- Offerings and steps
Culture and belief A record of custom.
About this rite: when it is held and for whom
Also called: Cúng xe mới, Cúng xe đầu năm, cuối năm, Cúng xe hàng tháng
According to folk belief, when buying a new vehicle or at the beginning or end of the year, the vehicle owner sets up an offering in front of the vehicle to present it to the deities and to pray for safe travel. People who use vehicles for business often make offerings every month.
- When
- The day of receiving the new vehicle; the beginning of the year, the end of the year; people who use vehicles for business make offerings on the 1st and the full moon, in the South on the 2nd and the 16th
- For whom
- Thần linh (deities), Thổ địa (Earth God), Thành hoàng bản cảnh (tutelary deity of the place where the vehicle is parked); gia tiên (ancestors); các vong linh quanh vùng (spirits of the surrounding area)
Prayer text for a new vehicle offering for a business
- Used across Vietnam
- Folk practice
The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.
Fill in before the rite
Your name and address appear in the prayer below and are kept on this device only.
Showing the version used across Vietnam.
5 more blanks
Other texts for Lễ cúng xe (vehicle offering ceremony)
Versions by region, by tradition and for each part of the rite.
- Folk practicePrayer text for a new vehicle offering for an individual or family
- Southern Vietnam, Folk practicePrayer text for the vehicle offering at the beginning of the year (Cung thỉnh chư vị thần linh)
- Folk practiceMonthly prayer text for the vehicle offering
- Southern Vietnam, Folk practiceYear-end vehicle offering text
- Folk practiceStart-of-year vehicle offering text (with invocation of the Hành khiển of the year)
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 day of receiving the new vehicle; people who use vehicles for business make additional offerings on the 1st and the full moon of each month, at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year (the end of the year is usually on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month)
- Where the offerings are set
- Outdoors in the yard, in front of the vehicle; the front of the vehicle faces the road. If the space is narrow, the offering is made inside the house
- Who makes the offering
- The vehicle owner
Offerings
| Offering | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Flower vase | 1 vase | yellow chrysanthemums, cát tường (lucky flowers), coins |
| A plate of fruit | 1 plate | |
| Savory dishes: heo quay (roast pig), gà luộc (boiled chicken); or vegetarian dishes | 1 plate | |
| Giấy tiền vàng bạc (paper money and votive paper) | 1 stack | |
| Rice and salt | 1 plate | |
| rice wine | 3 or 5 cups | |
| Tea | 3 or 5 cups | |
| Nước lọc (purified water) | 1 glass | |
| Nhang (incense) | ||
| Đèn cầy đỏ (red candles) | 2 sticks | |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice), chè (sweet soup) | according to docungtamlinh.com.vn |
Steps
- Prepare the place for the ceremony, park the vehicle with its front facing out, set up the offering tray in front of the vehicle
- Pour tea, pour wine, light the lamps and incense, read the prayer text
- When the incense has burned about two thirds, burn the votive paper
- Scatter salt and rice around the vehicle
Things to avoid
- Before lighting the fire to burn incense, one should check whether there is a smell of petrol (according to hoatieu.vn)
Where the sources differ
- Number of trays: hoatieu.vn notes that many places set out two trays, one facing into the house to present to the deities and ancestors, one facing out for the wandering spirits on the road; docungtamlinh.com.vn notes one tray at the altar inside the house, one tray outdoors in front of the vehicle; voh.com.vn describes only one tray.
Southern Vietnam, Folk practice
- When
- People providing transport services in the South make regular vehicle offerings on the 2nd and the 16th of the lunar month each month (other places: the 1st and the full moon)
The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources
- Văn khấn cúng xe cuối năm, đầu tháng, cúng xe mới (voh.com.vn)
- Bài cúng xe mới, bài cúng xe hàng tháng (hoatieu.vn)
- Mâm cúng xe (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
- Văn khấn cúng xe máy mới mua (docungtamlinh.com.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