Note from Virtual-Doug - This is the first of six postings of essays written by my third year writing students. For obvious reasons, I have not included thier names, but they represent what I thought were the best essays written by the class. Enjoy.
Brought up in a traditional Vietnamese home, I have been taught that ancestors are profoundly important because their spirits are watching over all of the family’s members. Like other Vietnamese people, my parents show their deep respect for the ancestors by setting worship altars in our house and spending time taking care of it everyday. Now, I would like to tell you about one of the most typical customs forming Vietnamese culture: ancestor-worship in the home.
More than half of Vietnamese people follow Buddhism and almost every Vietnamese is known as an animist who completely believes in the necessity of ancestor-worship. Animism has blended well with Buddhism and has remarkably affected the Vietnamese belief system. Generally speaking, Vietnamese think that in death, one does not pass away. Instead, one passes on to another world, which invisibly exists beside the land of the living. The dead people whom no worship is given, are disturbed in death and prey on the living. Therefore, Vietnamese consider ancestor-worship their obligatory duty. In addition, Vietnamese believe in the supernatural powers of the dead people, which can bring them happiness, good luck and even money. The above reasons can help explain why virtually every Vietnamese household maintains and ancestral altar for rituals related to ancestor-worship.
Firstly, let me describe an ancestor-worship altar to you. An altar is usually more than one meter in height and optional in width. It can be made by wood or mixed cement. You can also see many Vietnamese households use wooden cabinets as altars. On an altar, people often put pictures of their dead grandparents, parents, relatives, or anyone who is important to them and whom they want to remember. Beside the pictures, there are a flower-vase and a small tray where they put fresh fruits or any food they want to share with their dear lost persons. Of course, the dead cannot eat the offerings, but Vietnamese believe that the dead people can enjoy the spirits of these offerings and the living people’s love and reverence for them. In front of the pictures, there is an incense burner where they burn incense sticks that are regarded as the main food for the dead people. In Hue or many northern provinces, you can also see that some wooden or clay statues put on the altars that symbolize the dead people’s possessions.
Before worshiping, Vietnamese carefully clean the altars, and prepare necessary things, such as flowers, candles, incense and food. Next, they place all of the offerings on the altars and burn incense. Then they say their prayers, and the spirits will be invoked and the ancestors begin their journey back to the Earth. Last, they prostrate and stand up three times in turn. Vietnamese in different areas can have some differences in the ways of worshiping, however, in general, the above steps are often followed.
People who perform the worshiping steps are required to wear formal long clothes. Vietnamese think that if they worship in casual short clothes, the ancestors may feel insulted and punish them. Vietnamese women, particularly Hue women, often wear “Ao dais” when worshiping. This is one of the ways they show their reverence for their ancestors.
Vietnamese people spend time worshiping everyday. However, on common days, they just burn incense and say their prayers. Sometimes, they place fresh fruits on the altars. On special occasions, such as the anniversary of death, traditional festivals, and Vietnamese New Year’s Days, they can do all the worship steps and dutifully burn “Vang Ma” (beautifully decorated paper tunics and clothes), and even symbolic paper money.
Flowers put on the altars have to be carefully chosen. People usually choose daisies, lilies and some Vietnamese flowers, while roses, tulips, sunflowers, orchids and others that have a western origin have never placed on altars. In recent years, Vietnamese have used flowers made out of plastic so that they can save money and save time preparing offerings.
Offerings of food are optional. It means that depending on how much money they have, people can buy different kinds of food, or they can offer fruits from their own gardens to their ancestors. As for cooked food, “Com” is the indispensable offering because Vietnamese consider it the most valuable food, the reward for their agricultural works. According to Mai Pham, author of “Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table,” around Tet (Vietnamese New Year), a whole chicken is a typical food, symbolizing prosperity and abundance. It sits prominently on the ancestor worship altar, along with the incenses, flowers and candles.
“Vang Ma” are the items that the ancestors will need in their world. Vietnamese people believe that after being burned, these items will become true ones in the dead world. In recent years, many Vietnamese have bought and burned for their ancestors the models of cars, bikes, radios, televisions and many other objects, made out of paper, with the hope that their ancestors will receive and enjoy the convenience and comfort of these modern items.
In prayers, Vietnamese people thank their ancestors for watching over them, and giving them good luck, health, and even material wealth. Furthermore, they also ask the ancestors to continue looking favorably on them. When worshiping, Vietnamese say their prayers with very low voices. They just murmur so that nobody can hear what they are saying and they believe that only the ancestors they are praying can hear, know and turn what they want into existence.
According to VUONG, 1976, their family in Vietnam is an extended model that has been cohesively constructed not only on the living but also on the dead. Indeed the liaison between the living family members and the spirits of the dead as well as those not yet born has a tight connection. To Vietnamese people, family is the most important unit and is considered as a mini-commune where all social and religious activities such as ancestor-worship, counseling, and funeral rituals are conducted.
Residual animism plus a whole host of spirits borrowed from other religions further complicate Vietnam’s mystical world, in which the universe is divided into three realms, the sky, earth, and man, under the overall guardianship of “Ong Troi,” Lord of Heaven. Reverence for ancestors is a key component of the “Tam Giao” ideology and belief system. The Vietnamese family entity is conceived of as including obligations to both the deceased as well as the living. The traditional Vietnamese home includes an ancestral altar, where the spirits of deceased relatives are believed to reside. Ancestors, including parents, siblings, and grandparents are worshiped annually in ceremonies commemorating the anniversary date of their death. Ancestors are invoked during regular family prayers at the altar as well as on the occasions of engagements, wedding-days, and funerals of family members. Ancestors worship is a key component in the formal religions of Buddhism and Cao Daism.
Ancestors worship at home plays a significant role in Vietnamese spiritual life. No matter what one’s religion, almost every Vietnamese household will maintain an ancestral altar in his or her house in order to worship the ancestors. This is based on the principles of filial piety and obligation to the past, present, and future generations. Through daily offerings and prayers, Vietnamese people remember the ancestors and strengthen the invisible relationship between the living and the dead people.
Now, I think you understand why Vietnamese people worship their ancestors and what this custom is. I hope that this information can help you and many other Americans know more about Vietnam and the Vietnamese people. I welcome you and all Americans to do research on Vietnam and I am always willing to help you.
1. Mai Pham. (2005). Pleasures of Vietnamese Table. Ha Noi: Van Hoa.
2. Vuong. (1976). The Vietnamese Family. Hanoi: Kim Dong.