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Lễ vía Bà Ngũ Hành (ceremony for the Five Lady Ngũ Hành deities)

Culture and belief A record of custom.

About this rite: when it is held and for whom

Also called: Cúng miễu Bà, Ngũ Hành nương nương, 5 Mẹ Ngũ Hành, Chúa Bà Ngũ Hành, Miếu Năm Cô

The custom of worshipping the five Lady Ngũ Hành deities is widespread in Nam Bộ and Nam Trung Bộ, tied to farmers' and seafarers' cầu mùa (prayer for a good harvest) for favorable rain and wind. The lễ vía at the miếu Bà in Nam Bộ includes múa bóng rỗi (medium dance); the dates and offerings differ from place to place.

When
Each place has its own date: the 18th to the 21st of the first lunar month (Long Thượng, Long An), the 16th to the 18th of the tenth lunar month (Vũng Tàu, Côn Đảo), the 14th of the second lunar month (Tu Lễ, Hội An)
For whom
Ngũ Hành Nương Nương (the Five Lady Ngũ Hành deities): the five ladies Kim, Mộc, Thủy, Hỏa, Thổ

Prayer text to the 5 Mẹ Ngũ Hành

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice

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

Fill in before the rite

Name, address and regional custom

Your name and address appear in the prayer below and are kept on this device only.

Your regional custom

Showing the version used across Vietnam.

2 more blanks

(Đọc rõ những điều mong muốn như: sức khỏe dồi dào, bình an, tài lộc, may mắn, công việc làm ăn thuận lợi, gia đình hòa thuận, con cái ngoan ngoãn, học hành tấn tới…)

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
The full moon of the first lunar month, the first day of the lunar month, the fifteenth day of the lunar month each month, the beginning of the year, the end of the year, or when the household has an occasion
Where the offerings are set
Miếu Ngũ Hành, đền Mẫu, a pagoda that has the altar, or the altar in the home

Offerings

OfferingQuantityNotes
Fresh flowers (chrysanthemums, lotus, marigolds)
Incense sticks and lamps or candles5 itemsthe number five corresponds to the five elements
Betel leaves and areca nuts
Xôi gấc (steamed sticky rice with gac fruit) or xôi đậu xanh (steamed sticky rice with mung beans)
Fruit
Wine, tea, water
Oản (sticky rice cakes) in the color of each deity: white (Kim), green (Mộc), blue (Thủy), red (Hỏa), earth brown (Thổ)Optional
Roast pig, boiled chicken, or vegetarian dishesOptional. depending on conditions and local custom

Steps

  1. Clean the place of worship, arrange the offerings
  2. Light incense sticks, read the prayer text
  3. Conclude the ceremony, share the lộc (blessed offerings) with relatives

Things to avoid

  • Do not use spoiled or crushed offerings
  • Dress neatly and modestly

Mekong Delta, miếu Bà Ngũ Hành Long Thượng, Cần Giuộc, Long An, Village communal-house rites

When
From the 18th to the 21st of the first lunar month
Where the offerings are set
Miếu Bà Ngũ Hành Long Thượng (shrine of the Five Lady Ngũ Hành)
Who makes the offering
The ban hội hương (shrine management committee) of the miếu; local people and pilgrims come to worship

Steps

  1. cầu an (prayer for peace and safety) ceremony
  2. Play music, múa bóng rỗi (medium dance), múa lân (lion dance)
  3. Offer incense, địa nàng (offering to the earth deity)
  4. Lễ cúng bế đàng (closing ceremony)

Southeast, Fishing communities, miếu Bà Ngũ Hành, đình Thắng Tam (Vũng Tàu), miếu Bà Ngũ Hành, Côn Đảo, Village communal-house rites

When
The 16th, 17th, 18th of the tenth lunar month
Where the offerings are set
Miếu Bà Ngũ Hành in the đình Thắng Tam area; the lễ Nghinh Bà starts from miếu Hòn Bà at Bãi Sau

Steps

  1. 6 a.m. on the 16th: lễ Nghinh Bà, carrying the palanquin from miếu Hòn Bà to the main miếu
  2. Offer giỗ (death anniversary) to the tiền hiền and hậu hiền (founding and later worthies)
  3. Noon: the main offering to Ngũ Hành
  4. In Côn Đảo, during those same three days there are the water procession, palanquin procession, and Bà's vía rites

South Central Coast, miếu Ngũ Hành Tu Lễ (Hội An), lăng Bà Cẩm An (Hội An), Village communal-house rites

When
Miếu Ngũ Hành Tu Lễ: once a year on the 14th of the second lunar month. Lăng Bà Cẩm An: the 18th of the first lunar month
Where the offerings are set
Inside the miếu and in the miếu courtyard
Who makes the offering
Local people; at Tu Lễ the elders of the Trần Thanh clan handle the offerings

Offerings

OfferingQuantityNotes
Vegetarian trayone trayRequired. offered to Bà, placed inside the miếu (Tu Lễ)
Tray with meat dishesone trayRequired. placed outside the miếu (Tu Lễ)
Incense, flowers and fruit, cakes, betel leaves and areca nutspeople offer them on the fifteenth and first days of the lunar month

Steps

  1. The tế ceremony is held once a year according to ancient custom
  2. At Lăng Bà Cẩm An: the cầu an offering on the 18th of the first lunar month, together with a tế ceremony that includes boat racing and tug of war

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

Sources

  • Gợi ý cách sắm lễ và văn khấn 5 Mẹ Ngũ Hành (voh.com.vn)
  • Về Long An dự lễ hội Vía Bà Ngũ Hành Long Thượng (baophapluat.vn)
  • Lễ hội Miếu Bà Ngũ Hành cùng dấu ấn văn hóa tâm linh Vũng Tàu (sunparadiseland.com)
  • Miếu Bà Ngũ Hành (Miếu Năm Cô) Côn Đảo (mia.vn)
  • Lý lịch di tích miếu Ngũ Hành Tu Lễ, Hội An (Trung tâm Quản lý Bảo tồn Di sản Văn hóa Hội An, hoianheritage.net)
  • Lệ Xuân, Lăng Bà Cẩm An, Bản tin Bảo tồn Di sản số 01(05) năm 2009 (hoianheritage.danang.gov.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.