Giỗ tổ dòng họ (clan ancestor death anniversary), tế tổ (ancestor sacrifice) at the clan temple
- Ancestors and death anniversaries
- 3 prayer texts
- Offerings and steps
Culture and belief A record of custom.
About this rite: when it is held and for whom
Also called: Tế tổ, Chạp họ, Giỗ họ, Hợp kỵ, Hiệp kỵ, Cúng việc lề (Nam Bộ), Giỗ hội (Nam Bộ), Chạp mả (Quảng Bình)
By custom, the clan ancestor death anniversary is a common ceremony of the whole clan at the từ đường (clan temple), led by the clan head, with descendants of each branch contributing offerings and then holding a clan meeting and sharing the lộc (blessed food). Sources record that the clan giỗ is for ancestors from the fifth generation upward, while the four recent generations are commemorated at each household.
- When
- The death anniversary of the founding ancestor, which is also the joint death anniversary of the forebears; each clan has its own day. In Nam Bộ there is the custom of cúng việc lề (offering for the communal affair) around Tết; in the Quảng Trạch and Ba Đồn areas, chạp mả (grave-tending) is held in the twelfth lunar month
- For whom
- The founding ancestor and the forebears of the clan; the prayer text includes bows to the clan's Bà Cô Tổ (ancestral aunt) and Ông Mãnh (ancestral uncle)
Văn khấn nôm (vernacular prayer text) at the clan temple
- 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
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Showing the version used across Vietnam.
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Other texts for Giỗ tổ dòng họ (clan ancestor death anniversary), tế tổ (ancestor sacrifice) at the clan temple
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
- The clan's ancestor death anniversary day; some clans hold it for two to three days, with the first day for the cáo (announcement) offering
- Where the offerings are set
- The từ đường (clan temple), the clan temple; on the cáo day there is also an offering at the ancestral graves
- Who makes the offering
- The clan head or the clan council; the ceremony is funded by contributions from the households in the clan
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Fresh chrysanthemums, a tray of five fruits, incense | |
| Fresh areca nuts, green betel leaves | |
| Plain water, white rice wine, cakes and sweets, phẩm oản (ceremonial cakes) | |
| A tray of savory dishes: boiled chicken or roast pork, xôi gấc (red sticky rice) | Optional. depending on regional custom; Buddhist households make vegetarian offerings |
| Vàng mã (votive paper) | burned after the ceremony |
Steps
- Cáo day: descendants gather at the ancestral temple, arrange the altar, hang lanterns and flags; make offerings at the ancestral graves; prepare a tray of rice for the cáo sacrifice
- Arrange the offering tray on the ancestral altar
- The chủ tế (chief officiant, the clan head) sacrifices to the ancestors, reads the clan history and the prayer text; descendants stand behind and listen
- The branches of the clan offer incense
- Burn votive paper, conclude the ceremony, hold the clan meeting: review clan affairs, encourage learning
- Share the lộc (blessed food); each person leaving receives a portion of the ancestral lộc
North Central Coast, Quảng Trạch, Ba Đồn, Quảng Bình, Folk practice
- When
- In the twelfth lunar month, each village has its own day; every village holds it for two days
- Where the offerings are set
- The ancestral graves, the clan temple, then each household
- Who makes the offering
- The men of the clan; in Thanh Bình village, by old custom women were not allowed to touch the arranging of offerings
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| A pig slaughtered according to each clan | Thanh Bình village, Quảng Xuân commune |
| Flowers and fruit |
Steps
- First day: chạp mả (grave-tending) of the clan, offerings to the village's founding ancestor and to the lineage; some villages also offer to the Thành hoàng (village tutelary deity) and the khai canh (land-clearing founder)
- The following day: chạp mả (grave-tending) in each family
- In Thanh Bình: men rise at 3 a.m. to slaughter a pig and carry in procession the spirits of the 12 khai canh (land-clearing founders) of the 12 clans; afterward the clan branches go to the sea to pray
Things to avoid
- One may not return for Tết, but for chạp mả descendants living far away must arrange to return
Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ, no finer detail in the source), Long An, Tiền Giang, Đồng Tháp Mười, Folk practice
- When
- Each lineage has one day, usually before and after Tết: Long An the 25th of the twelfth lunar month; Tiền Giang the 19th of the first lunar month or the 19th of the third lunar month; Đồng Tháp Mười holds the offering in the flood season
- Where the offerings are set
- Outdoors: on a riverbank or in the yard, laid out on banana leaves or lotus leaves, later on mats and chiếu (woven mats) on the ground; not offered indoors, not set on tables and chairs
- Who makes the offering
- A respected person in the lineage is assigned, much like the trưởng họ, trưởng tộc in the North
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Cháo ám (snakehead fish porridge with the whole fish) | Required. the fish is scaled with a bamboo knife |
| Cá nướng trui (fish grilled whole over straw), mắm sống (raw fish sauce) | |
| Wild vegetables boiled or left raw | rau choại, cải trời, rau má, bắp chuối... |
| Thủ vĩ lợn, tam sên, đĩa thịt sống | the author saw this at one clan in Bến Lức |
| Items particular to each clan: straw effigies, pieces of elephant skin, bows and arrows | Optional. each clan has its own convention, as a sign for recognizing kin |
| Cups made from coconut shells, chopsticks of bamboo sticks |
Steps
- The offerings are laid out in the open air on leaves
- The person assigned makes the offering and prays to the ancestors who cleared the land
- If the clan has effigies, they are burned after the offering
Things to avoid
- No offering inside the house, no laying out on tables and chairs
The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources
- Văn khấn nhà thờ họ (hoatieu.vn)
- Bài văn khấn cúng giỗ tổ dòng họ (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
- Giỗ tổ (sggp.org.vn)
- Sông Gianh mùa chạp mả (sggp.org.vn)
- Gia phả ngầm ở Nam bộ (plo.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