(Gia đình không theo Phật giáo hoặc không có tục niệm Phật có thể bắt đầu trực tiếp từ phần kính lạy.)
(Nhập trạch về nhà mới, ngày rằm, mùng một, tất niên, sửa chữa nhà cửa hoặc sự việc phù hợp.)
Cúng Tiền chủ, Hậu chủ
- Household deities
- 3 prayer texts
- Offerings and steps
Culture and belief A record of custom.
About this rite: when it is held and for whom
Also called: Cúng chủ đất cũ, Tiền chủ Hậu chủ, Cáo yết Tiền chủ
In folk belief, the Tiền chủ are the deceased who once owned or were attached to the house and land before the present head of the household, and are not the family's ancestors. In many prayer texts for giỗ (death anniversary) and for deities, the Tiền chủ and Hậu chủ are invited in the last sentence; some households hold a separate announcing ceremony when they come to live there.
- When
- When nhập trạch (moving into a new house), on the fifteenth day of the lunar month, on the first day of the lunar month, at tất niên (year-end offering), when repairing the house
- For whom
- Tiền chủ, Hậu chủ: the spirits of those who once established or resided on the house and land; the governing deities are respectfully announced to first
Full prayer text for the Tiền chủ
- Used across Vietnam
- Folk practice
What this prayer says
The full prayer text in the offering to Tiền chủ and Hậu chủ, paying respect to Hoàng Thiên Hậu Thổ, the governing deities, and inviting the spirits of those once connected to the house and land to witness; recited when nhập trạch (moving into a new house), on the fifteenth day and first day of the lunar month, at tất niên (year-end ceremony), or when repairing the house.
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.
3 more blanks
Other texts for Cúng Tiền chủ, Hậu chủ
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
- When nhập trạch (moving into a new house), on the fifteenth day of the lunar month, on the first day of the lunar month, at tất niên (year-end offering), when repairing the house
- Where the offerings are set
- Inside the house; the source does not mention a separate altar
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Incense, oil lamp or candle | |
| Fresh flowers, a plate of fruit, clean water, tea | |
| Betel leaves and areca nuts | Optional. if the household has the custom of using it |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice), chè (sweet soup), cakes or a vegetarian rice tray | Optional |
| Savory tray: rice, xôi (steamed sticky rice), boiled chicken or cooked meat, soup | Optional. households that by custom make savory offerings |
| Vàng mã (votive paper) | Optional. the source notes it is not mandatory |
Steps
- Arrange the offerings, vegetarian or savory depending on the household's custom
- Respectfully announce to the governing deities first, then invite the Tiền chủ and Hậu chủ
- In the prayer, state the occasion of the ceremony and the family's coming to reside there
Used across Vietnam, Folk practice, Outdoor offering
- When
- On the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the first day of the lunar month, at Tết, or when the household encounters misfortune
- Where the offerings are set
- The cây hương in the yard: a pillar about 1 metre high, widened on top like an altar surface, with a back wall and two side walls
- Who makes the offering
- head of the household
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Incense bowl | Required |
| Flower vase | Required |
| Mâm ngũ quả (five-fruit tray) | on the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the first day of the lunar month, or when the household has an offering ceremony |
Steps
- Keep the cây hương clean and tidy
- Arrange flowers and fruit, burn incense
- Read the prayer text, praying to Bản gia Tiền chủ
Things to avoid
- Do not place a tablet bearing a name, because no one knows the name of the Tiền chủ; a dragon facing the moon may be made
Where the sources differ
- Whom the cây hương in the yard worships: hoatieu.vn says it is where the Tiền chủ (the first owner of the house) is worshipped; Vietcetera separates the two, the outdoor altar is the altar of ông Thiên (the Heaven God), while the Tiền chủ altar is a different altar found in some houses.
Collected text. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources for the offerings and steps
- Văn khấn cây hương ngoài trời (hoatieu.vn)
- 4 bàn thờ phổ biến trong nhà người Việt, nhà bạn có mấy? (vietcetera.com)
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.Open