The custom of commemorating ancestors in Vietnamese life.
(Baonghean.vn) - Family anniversaries are one of the beautiful customs of the Vietnamese people, expressing reverence and gratitude to their origins and ancestors who gave birth to them.
Family anniversaries are celebrated on a specific day of the year, but most commonly in the first lunar month. Due to historical circumstances and the nature of kinship, the Vietnamese family is only a relatively independent unit because, within a certain scope, there are other binding relationships that influence and bind families, such as those within the village, extended family, and especially the clan. According to kinship conventions, many families will form one branch, many branches will form a clan, and each clan has a common ancestor in a village or commune…
Family ancestral commemoration is essentially a ceremony commemorating the ancestors of all generations, held together in a single ancestral temple or for each branch of the family, under a ritual called the "union ceremony." According to traditional Vietnamese customs, descendants worship their grandparents separately for up to five generations before commemorating them (the ancestral tablet is buried at the fifth generation). In reality, only four generations are commemorated: the parents (second generation), grandparents (third generation), great-grandparents (fourth generation), and the fifth generation (or ancestral lineage). Those beyond the fifth generation are collectively called ancestors, and instead of offering sacrifices, all the founding ancestors and ancestors of all generations are brought together in one temple for a single annual ceremony. The ancestral tablets are initially dedicated to the deceased father and mother. When the eldest son dies, the eldest grandson worships his grandparents, addressing the ancestral tablets as the revered grandfather and grandmother. When the eldest grandson dies, the great-grandson continues to worship his great-great-grandfather (or grandmother), and the great-great-grandson worships his great-great-grandfather (or grandmother). After five generations, the ancestral tablets are brought into the ancestral hall and buried. In the ancestral hall, only one highest-ranking ancestral tablet is kept, called the Ancestor, Founder, or Eternal Ancestor.
Therefore, it can be said that besides the family anniversary, according to Vietnamese custom, there is also a communal anniversary for the entire clan. The clan leader (head of the lineage) is usually the one who inherits the ancestral legacy and is therefore responsible for organizing the clan anniversary. However, nowadays, with the intention of supporting the clan leader financially and also showing gratitude to the ancestors, there is a regulation that on this clan anniversary, all descendants must take responsibility and prepare thoroughly for the event. The funds contributed for the anniversary, besides purchasing offerings for the ceremony, are used for other purposes, or descendants may contribute to purchasing or replacing ceremonial items, repairing the ancestral temple, or fundraising for scholarships, etc.
Traditionally, only men over 18 years old in the family are required to contribute to the ancestral commemoration, and this is counted according to the number of male descendants. Daughters-in-law, having married into the family, have the right to attend the ancestral commemoration. Many families believe that daughters are not required to contribute or attend. On the day of the ancestral commemoration, except in unavoidable circumstances, all branch heads and descendants must be present. However, this custom has been modernized and has many progressive aspects. Many families and clans now have regulations allowing sons under 18 to contribute to the commemoration, and daughters also have the right to contribute and attend the ceremony. Furthermore, in some clans, if a daughter cannot attend due to work commitments, a son-in-law or son-in-law who attends is considered a valued guest and is very warmly welcomed by the extended family.
Typically, on the 15th and 1st of each lunar month, or during holidays, the head of the clan takes care of the ancestral worship rituals. On the anniversary of the clan's death, all the descendants participate. On the anniversary of the clan's death, no guests are invited; only the descendants of the clan gather.
Regarding the rituals of ancestral worship: (this is the most important part of the ceremony when commemorating a family anniversary) it includes offerings to deities, to the spirits of the afterlife, and also communication, greeting, and hospitality with the living. Typically, the ritual for the spirits of the deceased in our province is usually performed the night before, called the "announcement ceremony," followed by the official ceremony the next day. Regarding the worship of family deities and ancestors, the scale varies depending on the family, clan, and locality. Commonly, the ritual involves lighting incense, praying, offering wine, serving tea, and reading a eulogy… but larger, more prominent clans organize more solemn and elaborate ceremonies. The ancestral worship ceremony was previously conducted using Chinese or Vietnamese script and required music, drums, gongs, kneeling to announce the ceremony, and the recitation of the first, second, and third offerings. All actions had to follow the chanted words and the sounds of the drums and gongs. The ceremony itself takes one to two hours to complete, not including the time spent on each individual act, from elders to descendants, in turn lighting incense, making offerings, and paying respects to the ancestors of the family...
Besides the trend of restoring tradition and conducting ancestral worship ceremonies according to old rituals, some clans are now adopting a more modern approach, using the Vietnamese Quốc ngữ script instead of Chinese and Nôm characters for the ceremonial chants. Instead of the traditional rituals, some clans gather their descendants to commemorate the merits of their ancestors; they present the biography and achievements of the founding ancestor and other ancestors, offer incense and flowers, and observe a moment of silence. At the end of the ceremony, the clan leader or a respected member reads blessings to the elders, presents plans for the following year, and delivers a call to action and advice to the descendants.
Nowadays, whether ancestral commemoration ceremonies follow traditional or modern trends, they must be conducted solemnly and respectfully. The ancients believed in the concept of "worshiping the gods as if they were present," meaning that during the ceremony, one should imagine the founding ancestor and all the ancestors of previous generations sitting at the altar, observing their descendants. The fact that families conduct ceremonies according to old rituals also serves to remind present-day generations of the solemn atmosphere that their ancestors maintained in the past. However, nowadays, the ritualistic actions during ceremonies are often merely symbolic. For example, the act of washing hands, checking the offerings, and the teacups before the ceremony; the custom of offering betel nuts and drinking wine after the offering, as a way of receiving blessings from ancestors, replacing the traditional offering of meat after the ceremony…
A beautiful tradition in the annual ancestral commemoration ceremonies in Vietnamese villages in general, and Nghe An in particular, is the opportunity for clans to reward their descendants for their achievements in work and studies, contributing to the family's honor. Typically, after the ceremony with the ancestors, a respected member of the clan announces and distributes awards to those with academic achievements. Even those who have faced difficulties but have excelled in their studies receive encouragement and support from their relatives. Furthermore, during the full moon of the first lunar month, when clans hold their annual ancestral commemoration ceremonies, local communities also organize gatherings to honor descendants of clans and the locality who have achieved outstanding results in work and study; and hold sports exchanges between clans, contributing to a spirit of unity in the village community and promoting a sense of physical fitness among all segments of the population.
Nguyen Hai
