Lễ cúng xóm (village communal offering)

Culture and belief A record of custom.

About this rite: when it is held and for whom

Also called: Tất niên xóm, Cúng tất niên xóm, Cúng xóm đầu năm, Chạp miếu, Cúng Kỳ yên, Chạp miễu, Cúng đáo lệ

Cúng xóm is the year-end offering of a xóm, a residential quarter: first the land is offered to, in thanks to the deities and the forebears, then comes the communal meal of the neighbours. The press describes this custom most often in Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam and reports it as widespread in the central and southern regions.

When
Late twelfth lunar month (year-end of the xóm); in some places offered at the start of the year
For whom
Thổ địa, Thành hoàng, the forebears who opened the land and founded the village; fallen soldiers and the deceased of the xóm

Prayer for the year-end xóm offering at the close of the year (a model year-end prayer text)

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice

What this prayer says

Prayer for the year-end communal offering, addressed to Hoàng Thiên hậu Thổ, Thành hoàng (village tutelary deity), Thổ địa (Earth God), Táo quân (Kitchen Gods) and the deities governing the area; the tín chủ (the person making the offering) presents offerings and asks them to witness and bless the whole family with peace, prosperity and smooth work.

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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Other texts for Lễ cúng xóm (village communal offering)

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
End of the twelfth lunar month, before Tết
Where the offerings are set
A convenient place in the xóm, the residential quarter
Who makes the offering
The eldest, most respected person in the xóm presides

Offerings

Offering
Mâm ngũ quả (five-fruit tray)
Incense, flowers, lamps and candles
Paper money and votive paper
Betel leaves and areca nuts
Wine, tea
bánh chưng (square sticky rice cake) (northern region) or bánh tét (cylindrical sticky rice cake) (southern region)
A tray of savoury dishes or a vegetarian tray

Steps

  1. Offering to the land, in thanks to Thổ địa, Thành hoàng and the forebears who opened the land and founded the village
  2. Remembering fallen soldiers and the deceased
  3. The presiding person reads the prayer text and bows to pray for the whole xóm
  4. The year-end feast is laid out, speeches are given, and everyone raises a glass together

South Central Coast, Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam, Folk practice

When
Late twelfth lunar month: Phước Hưng village offers on the 23rd, the Nhỏ shrine of Hòa Mỹ village on the 24th, the Tam vị shrine of Hòa Phú village on the 25th; residential quarters choose Saturday or Sunday to suit every household. Formerly there was a custom not to hold the year-end offering after the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. In some places the xóm offering is held after the start of spring.
Where the offerings are set
In a village: at the village shrine (miếu). In a town: the offering table is placed in the middle of the road or at a junction in the residential area
Who makes the offering
The chủ bái (chánh bái) of the xóm, a man in áo dài and khăn đóng; the households contribute money and labour

Offerings

OfferingNotes
A pig's headgroup 7 of Khuê Trung
Xôi (steamed sticky rice), chè (sweet soup)
Sweet potato, taroproduce of the farming household
Incense and lamps, fruit, tea

Steps

  1. The group leader or village head goes to each household to call for contributions
  2. The women cook the offering tray and the communal meal
  3. The offerings are laid out, the chủ bái prays, and in the prayer he names the old land plots of the xóm (such as "Đồng Bé xứ", "Bàu Đưng xứ")
  4. In a village: people are assigned to tend the incense and lamps at the places of worship during the year
  5. The whole xóm sits down to the year-end meal

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

Sources

  • Văn khấn tất niên xóm, tổ dân phố (hoatieu.vn)
  • Cúng xóm tất niên (baophapluat.vn)
  • Tất niên xóm (baophapluat.vn)
  • Cúng xóm cuối năm (daidoanket.vn)
  • Tá thổ (baoquangnam.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.