Lễ Đàm tế, hết tang (Đàm tế ceremony, end of mourning)

Culture and belief A record of custom.

About this rite: when it is held and for whom

Also called: Trừ phục, Mãn tang, Xả tang, Đoạn tang, Đàm tế, Đạm tất, Mãn khó, Dư ai, Cúng xả tang

By custom, after giỗ hết the descendants perform the đàm tế ceremony, then discard mourning garments, burn items belonging to the mourning rites, reshape the long grave into a round grave, and bring the spirit tablet to the main altar. In Nam Bộ, đại tường is called giỗ mãn khó, and people living far away sometimes end mourning early on the very day of mở cửa mả.

When
After giỗ hết (đại tường) by two or three months, choose a good day
For whom
The deceased; ancestors and the deities worshipped in the house

Prayer text for the Đàm Tế ceremony (end-of-mourning ceremony, Trừ phục)

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice

What this prayer says

The prayer text for the Đàm Tế ceremony (end-of-mourning, Trừ phục) is recited by the eldest son or eldest grandson on behalf of the family before the spirit tablet of the deceased, offering modest gifts and reporting that the Đại Tường period has passed so the Đàm Tế ceremony is held, inviting the spirit to enjoy the offerings with the ancestors and asking the deities to bless the whole family with peace and well-being.

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.

Your regional custom

Showing the version used across Vietnam.

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Other texts for Lễ Đàm tế, hết tang (Đàm tế ceremony, end of mourning)

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
After giỗ hết (đại tường), choose a good day
Where the offerings are set
The mourning altar then the main altar; at the grave
Who makes the offering
The eldest son or eldest grandson together with the whole family

Offerings

Offering
A modest offering presented before the spirit tablet

Steps

  1. Reshape the long grave into a round grave
  2. Perform the đàm tế at the mourning altar
  3. Remove the mourning headband, discard mourning garments, put on ordinary clothes again
  4. Destroy by burning items belonging to the mourning rites
  5. Bring the spirit tablet to the main altar, remove the mourning altar

Where the sources differ

  • How long after giỗ hết: Việt Nam phong tục records two months after đại tường; Gia lễ giản yếu records three months; the page vankhan.vn records "sau 2 năm và 3 tháng dư ai".

Used across Vietnam, Buddhist

When
The times for ending mourning: bách nhật, one year, two years, three years
Where the offerings are set
Before the spirit altar
Who makes the offering
The gia trì sư and the mourner

Offerings

Offering
Cam lồ water, scissors

Steps

  1. The mourner kneels before the spirit altar
  2. The gia trì sư sprinkles cam lồ water (sái tịnh)
  3. Use scissors to symbolically cut the mourning garments or remove the mourning headband

Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ, no finer detail in the source), Folk practice

When
Giỗ mãn khó (đại tường); people living far away sometimes end mourning on the very day of mở cửa mả

Steps

  1. A household with a person living far away performs the mourning-ending ceremony on the day of mở cửa mả so that person need not be present at the 7, 21, 49, 100 day rites
  2. The master both chants sutras and uses a comb to comb the hair and cut a small lock of hair of the person being released from mourning

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

Sources

  • Văn khấn trong lễ tang (vankhan.vn)
  • Văn khấn Lễ Đàm Tế, lễ hết tang Trừ phục (tuvi.vn)
  • Lễ cúng xả tang là gì? Gợi ý mẫu văn khấn xả tang (voh.com.vn)
  • Việt Nam phong tục, thiên I chương IX Tang ma (vi.wikisource.org)
  • Gia lễ giản yếu, phần Lễ tang (vi.wikisource.org)
  • Nghi thức tang lễ theo truyền thống Phật giáo (phatgiao.org.vn)
  • Tục mở cửa mả ở Nam Bộ (phatgiao.org.vn)
  • Sự hỗn dung văn hóa trong tín ngưỡng thờ cúng tổ tiên ở Nam bộ (giacngo.vn)

Part of the open dataset Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.

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