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Lễ vía Bà Thiên Hậu

Culture and belief A record of custom.

About this rite: when it is held and for whom

Also called: Vía Bà 23 tháng Ba, Thiên Hậu Thánh Mẫu, Lễ mộc dục, Chùa Bà Thiên Hậu

A feast day of the Chinese community in Hội An and Nam Bộ: bathing the statue, changing its robe, offering sacrifice with roast pig, reading the chúc văn (congratulatory oration), and asking for lộc (blessed offerings). According to domestic sources, the văn tế is read in Chinese; Vietnamese in the area also come to offer incense.

When
The 23rd day of the third lunar month; the lễ mộc dục (statue bathing rite) is held before that; many shrines in Nam Bộ also carry Bà's palanquin in procession on the full moon of the first lunar month
For whom
Thiên Hậu Thánh Mẫu, worshipped at hội quán (Chinese community halls), shrines, and Bà temples

Offerings and how the rite is done

As commonly practised and recorded by the sources. Each family and each region may do it differently.

South Central Coast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), hội quán Phước Kiến (Hội An), hội quán Trung Hoa (Hội An), Folk practice, The whole festival run by the temple board, assembly hall or village

When
The 22nd and 23rd days of the third lunar month; the main sacrifice is from 9 to 10 o'clock on the 23rd
Where the offerings are set
The Thiên Hậu hall in the hội quán
Who makes the offering
The hội quán management board; the bang trưởng (community head) acts as chief sacrificer

Offerings

OfferingNotes
Clean water, clean towels, robes, and jewellery for the statueRequired. the lễ mộc dục on the afternoon of the 22nd
Roast pig (called Kim trư)Required. at the end of the sacrifice a knife is stuck into the pig and a little raw salt is added
Bộ tam sênh (three sacrificial offerings: fish, meat, egg)Required
Phúc Kiến bao buns, Phước Kiến stir-fried vermicelli, vịt tiềm bát bửu (eight-treasure braised duck)Required
Votive paper, fruit, incense and lampsRequired

Steps

  1. Afternoon of the 22nd: cleaning and decorating the hội quán; the lễ mộc dục to wipe the statue, change its robe, and put on jewellery; afterwards a vegetarian offering is made
  2. The 23rd: everyone lines up before the hall; three rounds of bell and drum open the ceremony
  3. Three times of offering incense and kneeling in worship; the bang trưởng inspects the offerings and reads the chúc văn
  4. Guests, members of the bang and of other bangs come in to bow, ask for lộc, and draw fortune slips
  5. A feast for guests and a gathering of fellow natives

Mekong Delta, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), các hội quán, chùa của người Hoa ở Cần Thơ, Folk practice, The whole festival run by the temple board, assembly hall or village

When
The 23rd day of the third lunar month; preparations from around the 18th; the hour of sacrifice is 9 o'clock in the morning
Where the offerings are set
The main hall of the hội quán
Who makes the offering
The hội quán management board; one representative acts as chief officiant

Offerings

OfferingQuantityNotes
Boiled water cooled, with bưởi leavesRequired. bathing Bà's statue; two girls bathe it behind a screen, then change it into a new robe
A whole roast pig, with a knife stuck in its backRequired. placed in the centre of the offering tray
Boiled chickenRequired. to the right of the roast pig
FruitRequired. on the left
Tea, winetwo teapots with small cupsRequired. in front of the offering table
Incense sticks, lamps, tea, wine, xôi (steamed sticky rice), chicken and duck brought by worshippersOptional. placed additionally on the offering tray; after the offering, taken home or left behind

Steps

  1. Around the 18th of the third lunar month: the hội quán (assembly hall) is repaired, the statue is bathed, and its robes are changed
  2. Morning of the 23rd: worshippers come from about 6 o'clock
  3. 9 o'clock: a bell marks the hour, everyone lines up before the main hall; incense, sớ (petition), and lamps are offered, and the bell is struck three times to open the ceremony
  4. After a drum roll, the chief officiant reads the văn tế (sacrificial oration) written in Chinese

Southeast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), chùa Bà Thiên Hậu (Thủ Dầu Một, Bình Dương), chùa Bà Tuệ Thành (Quận 5, TP. Hồ Chí Minh), các miếu Thiên Hậu ở Nam Bộ, Folk practice

When
Two main festival days each year: the procession of the Bà palanquin on the full moon of the first lunar month and the Bà's vía on the 23rd of the third lunar month; the mộc dục (statue-bathing) rite takes place one day before the vía
Where the offerings are set
Miếu, chùa Bà Thiên Hậu

Offerings

OfferingNotes
Cakes, fruit, flowers, incense, areca nuts, meatOptional. a research paper notes that the offerings on the vía day are not fixed, depending on the heart and means of the worshipper
Large incense sticks and lanterns (lộc Bà, the Lady's blessed offerings)the custom of thỉnh lộc Bà at chùa Bà Bình Dương on the occasion of the full moon of the first lunar month

Steps

  1. One day before the vía: the mộc dục rite bathes the statue and changes its garments
  2. On the vía day there is usually hát Triều and hát Quảng
  3. At chùa Bà Bình Dương, the biggest festival is on the occasion of the full moon of the first lunar month: on the 14th the Bà's vía is celebrated, with a văn tế in Cantonese; on the 15th the Bà's palanquin is carried around Thủ Dầu Một; on the night of the 22nd of the third lunar month the Bà is bathed, and on the 23rd the Bà is carried around the pagoda
  4. At chùa Bà Tuệ Thành in particular, on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month there is a seal-opening rite and seals are distributed

Sources

  • Lý lịch Lễ vía Thiên Hậu Thánh Mẫu ở Hội An (Trung tâm Quản lý Bảo tồn Di sản Văn hóa Hội An, hoianheritage.net)
  • Lễ vía Bà Thiên Hậu và nét văn hóa của người Hoa ở Cần Thơ (mia.vn)
  • Hiệp Thiên Cung, ngôi đền của cộng đồng người Hoa tại vùng Tây Đô (mytour.vn)
  • Phạm Ngọc Hường, Chức năng xã hội của tín ngưỡng thờ Thiên Hậu ở Nam Bộ, Nghiên cứu Tôn giáo số 4 năm 2022 (vjol.info.vn)
  • Linh thiêng Lễ rước Thánh mẫu chùa Bà Bình Dương (baophapluat.vn)
  • Lễ hội Chùa Bà Thiên Hậu Bình Dương (mytour.vn)

Part of the open dataset Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.

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