Lễ trình đồng mở phủ (rite of presenting the new medium and opening the palaces)
- Pagodas, communal houses, temples and shrines
- Offerings and steps
Culture and belief A record of custom.
About this rite: when it is held and for whom
Also called: Mở phủ, Ra đồng, Mở phủ trình đồng
The initiation rite of a person who enters hầu thánh (spirit mediumship) in the Mother Goddess worship of the Tam phủ and Tứ phủ: the person is presented as a tân đồng (new medium) under the guidance of a đồng thầy (medium master). The manner differs from one bản hội (mediumship group) to another.
- When
- The date is chosen by the đồng thầy (medium master) and the tân đồng (new medium)
- For whom
- The saints of the Tam phủ (Three Palaces) and Tứ phủ (Four Palaces) at the temple where the rite is held
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, Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ)
- Where the offerings are set
- The bản đền, phủ, or điện (temple, shrine, or sanctuary) agreed upon by the đồng thầy and the tân đồng
- Who makes the offering
- The tân đồng (the person being presented); the đồng thầy presides; the thủ nhang (keeper of the shrine) of the place of worship; the cung văn (ritual musicians); the người hầu dâng (attendants who present offerings); where there is a đàn (altar), there is also a pháp sư (ritual master) who handles the sớ điệp (petitions and documents) and the khoa cúng (ritual procedures)
Offerings
| Offering | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The khăn phủ diện (face-covering scarf), áo công đồng (communal robe), and khăn tấu hương (incense-offering scarf) of the tân đồng | one of each | Required. toplist.vn: the khăn áo công đồng (communal scarves and robes) must not be borrowed and must not be lent |
| Khăn áo cho các giá (scarves and robes for the giá) | one set for each giá, or five sets of áo dài (long robes) in five colors: red, green, white, yellow, and blue | may be borrowed |
| Đồ hành đàn (items for the altar): eggs, betel leaves and areca nuts, rice, mirror and comb, books and pens, knife and scissors, perfume, soap, face towel, mâm son (tray of red cosmetics), tráp triện (seal box), chóe (jar), river water, khăn phủ (covering scarf) | eggs: 7 for a male, 9 for a female | the khăn phủ (covering scarf) of each phủ follows the color of that phủ (toplist.vn) |
| Sớ trạng (petition document) |
Steps
- The tân đồng and the đồng thầy agree on the date, place, scale, and items of the rite
- Offering incense, cáo yết (announcing to the deities), presenting the sớ: stating the purpose of the rite and the name and age of the person being opened to the phủ; in some places, there is additionally phát tấu (issuing the memorial) and offering the Sơn Trang (Mountain and Forest) offering
- The tân đồng kneels or sits before the altar, holds the sớ on the head, offers incense, and receives the scarves and robes
- The đồng thầy and the thanh đồng (mediums) hầu (serve) a number of giá; at the giá of the Quan (Mandarin) ranks, there are the actions of khám đàn (inspecting the altar) and opening each phủ (opening the jar, taking water, peeling eggs, tying the scarf)
- After the rite, the person being presented is called a tân đồng and begins a period of learning the rules with the đồng thầy
Sources
- Nghi lễ trong tín ngưỡng thờ Mẫu Tam, Tứ phủ của Việt Nam (toplist.vn)
Part of the open dataset Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.
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