Sơ ngu văn (sacrificial text for the an sàng rite, the first day after burial)

Lễ Tế ngu (three days), mở cửa mả (opening the grave). Three days after burial: sơ ngu, tái ngu, tam ngu; in Nam Bộ the third day is the mở cửa mả (opening the grave) ceremony

  • Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ, no finer detail in the source)
  • Family rites (Confucian gia lễ)
  • Sacrificial oration
  • Sino-Vietnamese reading

Culture and belief A record of custom.

What this prayer says

The Sơ ngu văn, a sacrificial oration for the lễ an sàng on the first day after burial, lamenting the grief of losing a parent, recalling the unrequited debt of upbringing, reporting that the encoffining and burial have been settled in the quiet dwelling, and making the offering to settle the spirit. Recited during the whole ceremony.

The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.

Fill in before the rite

The prayer below is ready to read.

Your regional custom

This text is the version from the South.

How it differs from the common version

The Sino-Vietnamese sacrificial text is read in pronunciation, opening "Ô hô! Tinh di Nam Cực (Bảo Vụ), vân ám diêu trì", ending "Phục duy thượng hưởng"; it speaks only of sơ ngu; it does not invoke the Buddha, does not bow to the deities, does not state names and dates.

The common version: Lễ Tế Ngu (the three-day ceremony)

Offerings and how the rite is done

Offerings, steps and things to avoid for Lễ Tế ngu (three days), mở cửa mả (opening the grave)

Other texts for Lễ Tế ngu (three days), mở cửa mả (opening the grave)

More about Lễ Tế ngu (three days), mở cửa mả (opening the grave)

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

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

Sources

  • Lý Việt Dũng, Nghi thức và văn cúng đám tang ở Nam Bộ, Tạp chí Nghiên cứu và Phát triển, số 2 (73), 2009 (vjol.info.vn)

Part of the open dataset Vietnamese offering prayers (văn cúng), licensed CC BY 4.0.

More prayer textsDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, life-cycle rites and regional rites.