Cúng giỗ đầu (first death-anniversary offering, Tiểu tường)

Culture and belief A record of custom.

About this rite: when it is held and for whom

Also called: Tiểu tường, Giỗ giáp năm, Giỗ lần thứ nhất

By custom, giỗ đầu is the first death anniversary, still within the mourning period: children and grandchildren wear mourning clothes, the offering is made solemnly, and some households prepare many đồ mã (votive paper items) to burn at the grave. The source page notes that votive paper burned on this day is called mã biếu.

When
Exactly one year after the date of death, counted by the lunar calendar; the day before there is a lễ tiên thường (offering ahead of the main day)
For whom
The hương linh (spirit) of the deceased one year after death; ancestors on both sides; Thổ thần (Earth God), Táo quân (Kitchen Gods), Long mạch (Dragon Vein) are invoked first

Prayer text invoking Thổ Thần, Táo Quân, Long Mạch and the deities before giỗ đầu

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice
  • Address to the deities

What this prayer says

Prayer text to the deities, recited before the giỗ đầu (first death anniversary) ceremony, bowing to the Buddhas, Hoàng thiên hậu thổ, Táo quân (Kitchen Gods), Thổ Công (Earth God of the house), Long mạch, Thần Tài (God of Wealth) and the deities governing this area; the tín chủ (the person making the offering) presents incense, flowers and offerings and asks for witness and protection so that the whole family may be secure and well, and also invites the ancestors and the spirits of the clan to come and partake.

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 Cúng giỗ đầu (first death-anniversary offering, Tiểu tường)

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
Exactly one year after the date of death; the day before, a lễ tiên thường (offering ahead of the main day) is held
Where the offerings are set
The altar of the deceased and the ancestors' altar; votive paper items are taken to the grave to be burned
Who makes the offering
Children and grandchildren still in mourning, wearing mourning clothes

Offerings

OfferingNotes
Mâm lễ mặn (tray of savory offerings)
Incense, flowers, fruit, phẩm oản (offering cakes)
Vàng mã (votive paper): paper money, clothes, houses, vehiclestuvi.vn calls it mã biếu
Paper effigies of peopleOptional. tuvi.vn records that, by belief, they are to serve the spirit, not to be substitutes for the living

Steps

  1. The day before: invoke Thổ thần, Táo quân, Long mạch, and announce that the next day is the first death anniversary
  2. On the main day: invoke the ancestors and invite the spirit of the deceased being commemorated
  3. The ceremony includes weeping as on the day of the funeral procession; households that can afford it hire a band of musicians
  4. After the ceremony, the votive paper items are taken to the grave and burned

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

Sources

  • Văn khấn Thổ Thần, Táo Quân, Long Mạch và các vị Thần Linh Lễ Tiểu Tường, trước ngày giỗ đầu (tuvi.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.