Prayer text for offering to wandering spirits monthly on the 2nd and 16th (the "văn khấn miền Nam" text)
Offering on the 2nd and 16th of every month. The 2nd and 16th of the lunar calendar every month, usually in the late afternoon and evening
- Southern Vietnam
- Folk practice
- Offering to wandering spirits
Culture and belief A record of custom.
What this prayer says
Prayer text for the monthly offering to wandering spirits on the 2nd and 16th days of the lunar month, paying homage to Địa Tạng Vương Bồ Tát (Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva), Mục Kiền Liên Tôn giả (Venerable Maudgalyāyana), Thành hoàng (village tutelary deity), Thổ địa (Earth God), Táo quân (Kitchen Gods) and all governing deities, asking for protection for the tín chủ (the person making the offering) and the whole family to be healthy, wealth and fortune to prosper, the household to thrive, good things to come and bad things to be taken away.
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.
This text is the version from the South.
2 more blanks
How it differs from the common version
Theo khung khuôn sách (niệm Phật ba lần, "Kính lạy" Địa Tạng Vương Bồ Tát, Mục Kiền Liên Tôn giả, Thành hoàng, Thổ địa, Táo quân), không có lời thỉnh cô hồn; chỉ xin phù hộ cho tín chủ và toàn gia.
The common version: Short monthly offering to wandering spirits (the 2nd and 16th)
Offerings and how the rite is done
Offerings, steps and things to avoid for Offering on the 2nd and 16th of every month
Other texts for Offering on the 2nd and 16th of every month
- Southern Vietnam, Traders and shopkeepersPrayer text for offering to wandering spirits monthly on the 2nd and 16th (the short text, an abridged "Cô hồn xuất tại côn lôn")
- Southern Vietnam, Traders and shopkeepersShort monthly offering to wandering spirits (the 2nd and 16th)
- Southern Vietnam, Folk practiceFull prayer text for offering to wandering spirits on the 2nd and 16th ("Cô hồn xuất tại Côn Lôn")
The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources
- Cúng cô hồn cần gì? Hướng dẫn chuẩn bị và thực hiện (didongviet.vn)
Part of the open dataset Vietnamese offering prayers (văn cúng), licensed CC BY 4.0.
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