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Mo Mường (funeral rites, vía-making)

Culture and belief A record of custom.

About this rite: when it is held and for whom

Also called: Mo tang lễ, Làm vía, Cúng vía kéo si, Kéo si, Đẻ đất đẻ nước

Mo is the chant performed by the mo priest in the rituals of the Mường people, most often at funerals to escort the soul to Mường Trời, and at vía-making ceremonies, kéo si to pray for the health of the elderly. An article published the text of the kéo si prayer in Vietnamese.

When
During funeral rites; the vía-making and kéo si ceremonies take place at the beginning of spring or when an elderly person is weak
For whom
The souls of the deceased; the vía of the living; the ancestral masters of the mo priest and the deities

Offerings and how the rite is done

As commonly practised and recorded by the sources. Each family and each region may do it differently.

Northwest, Mường, Hòa Bình, Folk practice

When
During funeral rites; traditionally 12 days and nights, nowadays funerals are held within 48 hours so about half of the rituals are omitted
Where the offerings are set
At the house in mourning
Who makes the offering
Ông Mo, thầy Mo (ông Tlượng), with a Mường gong

Offerings

OfferingNotes
Three khánh (gongs) passed down through generations of the mo priestaccording to one mo priest

Steps

  1. The mo priest chants the Mo sections (roóng Mo), each chapter used for one task in the funeral
  2. Mo kể chuyện: Đẻ đất, đẻ trứng điếng, đẻ Tá Cần
  3. Escorting the soul of the deceased to Mường Trời

Red River Delta, Mường, Nho Quan, Ninh Bình, Folk practice

Where the offerings are set
At home
Who makes the offering
Thày mo (or thày trượng) of the nổ lineage, with a khót bag

Offerings

OfferingQuantityNotes
A bowl of white rice with three incense sticks stuck in it as an incense bowlRequired
Boiled chicken, white xôi (steamed sticky rice), a bottle of wineRequired
Red or white xôi oản7 to 12 piecesRequired
Votive paper money and real money, betel leaves and areca nutsRequired
Four to five trays, including savory trays and vegetarian trays4 to 5 trays

Steps

  1. Arranging the offering trays
  2. The thày mo, properly dressed in robe and hat, lights incense and prays
  3. After praying, he takes the stones in the khót bag (magic bag) out to perform the rite

North Central Coast, Mường, Thạch Thành, Thanh Hóa, Folk practice

When
Beginning of spring; performed for the weak or ailing elderly or to celebrate longevity
Where the offerings are set
On the floor of the house
Who makes the offering
Ông mo; the eldest son, the daughter-in-law, paternal and maternal relatives, and the village

Offerings

OfferingQuantityNotes
Three to five offering trays, each with xôi, wine, a nia of rice, a si branch and a hoe, a conical hat, clothes3 to 5 traysRequired. the tray on the right of the ông mo is offered to the paternal relatives, the tray on the left to the maternal relatives
Rice that the daughter-in-law goes around the village to ask for, poured into a nia, with a bundle of rice stalks placed on topRequired
A green si branch brought back from the forest by the eldest son, set up on a tray of rice1Required
A jar of rượu cần (rice wine drunk through a straw)Required

Steps

  1. The daughter-in-law goes to ask for rice; the eldest son takes the si branch
  2. Three girls carry out three offering trays; the jar of rượu cần is placed below; the mo priest sits in the middle, paternal and maternal relatives sit on either side
  3. The mo priest reads the prayer asking for the si tree to be long-lived
  4. The eldest son thanks the mo priest; the mo priest invites the spirits to drink in thanks and declares that the kéo si has healed
  5. Drinking rượu cần, playing gongs and cymbals, dancing and singing

Red River Delta, Mường, Ba Vì, Thạch Thất, Quốc Oai, Folk practice

When
In funerals, offerings to spirits, and giỗ (death anniversaries)
Who makes the offering
The mo priest, the Clượng priest

Steps

  1. The mo priest performs mo in the funeral rite

More about Mo Mường (funeral rites, vía-making)

Nhật Nguyệt articles on the rite, the custom and how to prepare.

Sources

  • Độc đáo di sản văn hóa Mo Mường của đồng bào dân tộc Mường (vietnamplus.vn)
  • Mo Mường trên hành trình trở thành di sản của thế giới (nhandan.vn)
  • Kỳ bí mo Mường (baophapluat.vn)
  • Vũ Thị Minh Phượng, Bảo tồn nghi lễ Mo của dân tộc Mường, huyện Nho Quan, tỉnh Ninh Bình, Tạp chí Văn hóa Nghệ thuật số 608 (6/2025) (vjol.info.vn)
  • Kỳ bí tục kéo "cây thần" xứ Mường (baophapluat.vn)
  • Đặc sắc tục kéo si ngày đầu xuân của người Mường (baophapluat.vn)
  • Tìm giải pháp bảo tồn di sản văn hóa phi vật thể Mo Mường (nhandan.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.