Lễ ban Công đồng Tứ phủ (offering at the Công đồng altar of the Four Palaces)
- Pagodas, communal houses, temples and shrines
- 5 prayer texts
- Offerings and steps
Culture and belief A record of custom.
About this rite: when it is held and for whom
Also called: Quan lớn, Chầu bà, Thánh cô, Thánh cậu, Cô Bơ, Cô Chín, Quan Đệ Lục, Văn khấn Tứ phủ, Văn khấn ban Công đồng, Tam phủ công đồng
The Công đồng altar in the main hall of a temple (đền) or phủ (Mother Goddess shrine) jointly worships the ranks of the Four Palaces. By custom, worshippers present offerings and pray at this altar first; the prayer text has a short version for those who rarely go to temples and a long version with bows to each rank of deities.
- When
- When visiting a temple (đền) or a phủ (Mother Goddess shrine)
- For whom
- Tam phủ Công đồng, Tứ phủ Vạn linh: vua cha, Tam tòa Thánh Mẫu, Ngũ vị tôn quan, chầu bà, quan hoàng, thánh cô, thánh cậu, Ngũ hổ, Thanh xà Bạch xà
Prayer text for the Công đồng altar
- Used across Vietnam
- Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ)
What this prayer says
Prayer text for the Công đồng altar in a temple or phủ, offered to the Tam phủ Công đồng and Tứ phủ Vạn linh and the ranks of deities, stating name, age and address and asking for protection of health, wealth and peace for the family; recited when visiting a temple or phủ.
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.
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Other texts for Lễ ban Công đồng Tứ phủ (offering at the Công đồng altar of the Four Palaces)
Versions by region, by tradition and for each part of the rite.
- Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ)Short Tứ Phủ prayer text (VOH version)
- Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ)Full Tứ Phủ Công Đồng prayer text, template 1 (VOH version)
- Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ)Full Tứ Phủ Công Đồng prayer text, template 2 (VOH version)
- Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ), At the pagoda, temple or temple of literature (paired with a prayer said at home)Prayer text for the Ban Công Đồng (year-end thank-offering, VOH version)
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 Công đồng altar in the main hall or the first cung of a đền or phủ
Offerings
| Offering | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vegetarian offerings: incense, flowers, tea, fruit, phẩm oản (rice cakes) | ||
| Savory offerings: chicken, pig, giò (Vietnamese sausage), chả (pork roll), cooked | placed on the altar of the Ngũ vị quan lớn, that is, the Công đồng altar | |
| Raw offerings: eggs, rice, salt, raw meat, along with votive paper and money | 5 raw duck eggs, 2 raw chicken eggs, one piece of meat scored into five parts | offered to the Ngũ Hổ, Bạch xà, Thanh xà at the lower Công đồng altar of the Four Palaces |
| Cỗ mặn sơn trang (savory mountain-and-river tray): crab, snail, eel, chili, lemon | according to the number 15 | Sơn trang altar |
| Offerings at the Cô altar and Cậu altar: oản (round glutinous rice cakes), fruit, incense and flowers, hia (boots), hài (shoes), nón (conical hats), áo (clothes), gương (mirrors), lược (combs) |
Steps
- Present offerings, light incense, and pray at the Công đồng altar first, then at the other altars
- Wait until one incense stick has burned out; one may light another, and bow three times before each altar
- Take down the sớ (petition) to burn, then take down the offerings from the outermost altar to the main altar
Things to avoid
- When praying, do not pray in general terms; state clearly what one is asking for (VOH)
- Offerings need not be many; what matters is sincerity (VOH)
Where the sources differ
- On the number of deities at the Sơn trang altar corresponding to the number 15: vankhan.vn writes 1 chúa, 1 hầu cận, 12 cô sơn trang (totaling 14); VOH and hoatieu.vn write 1 chúa, 2 hầu cận, 12 cô.
The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources
- Văn khấn ban Công đồng (vankhan.vn)
- Hướng dẫn cách sắm lễ và văn khấn Ban Công Đồng (VOH)
- Văn khấn tạ lễ cuối năm ở Đền, đình, chùa, miếu phủ (hoatieu.vn)
- Mẫu văn khấn Tứ Phủ đầy đủ và chi tiết (VOH)
- Văn khấn tại Đình, Đền, Miếu (vankhan.vn)
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