Prayer text at the shrine of the spirits of the cemetery
Cúng tiết Thanh minh, tảo mộ (Thanh minh observance and grave tending). During Thanh minh, beginning around 4 or 5 April of the solar calendar
- Used across Vietnam
- Folk practice
- Address to the deities
Culture and belief A record of custom.
What this prayer says
Prayer text recited at the shrine of the deities in the cemetery during the grave-visiting rite; the tín chủ (the person making the offering) bows to the Thần linh Thổ địa (local earth deities) and the Long mạch chính thần (principal dragon-vein deity), reports that a relative's grave lies in this place, asks them to witness the offering and to grant the spirit rest and deliverance, and to bless the family with peace and good health.
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.
Showing the version used across Vietnam.
4 more blanks
How it differs from the common version
It differs from the original text in that it does not invoke the Buddha; it opens with the date and the person's name and address together with the country name, pays homage to "Chư vị Thần linh Thổ địa, Long mạch chính thần", prays for the souls of the dead to be released, and ends with "Cảm cung cáo vu... Cẩn cáo".
The common version: Prayer text to deities at the grave (for tảo mộ, repairing the grave, bốc mộ)
Offerings and how the rite is done
Other texts for Cúng tiết Thanh minh, tảo mộ (Thanh minh observance and grave tending)
- Folk practice, Address to the ancestorsPrayer text for the Thanh minh offering at home
- Folk practice, At the gravePrayer text when visiting and repairing graves (the version "Cung duy... Cẩn cáo")
- Folk practice, At the gravePrayer text at the clan's burial ground
- Family rites (Confucian gia lễ), Address to the ancestorsThanh minh prayer text offering to the ancestors (in Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation, with a translation)
- Buddhist, At the gravePrayer text for the Thanh minh offering at the grave (without chanting sutras)
- Folk practice, Address to the deitiesPrayer text to deities at the grave (for tảo mộ, repairing the grave, bốc mộ)
- Folk practice, At the gravePrayer text for the offering to spirits at the grave
- Huế, làng Mỹ Lợi, Thừa Thiên HuếVăn tế Thanh minh tảo mộ làng Mỹ Lợi (Thanh minh tế văn)
More about Cúng tiết Thanh minh, tảo mộ (Thanh minh observance and grave tending)
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
- Tiết Thanh minh, Văn khấn Tiết Thanh Minh (vankhan.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.Open