TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS, FESTIVALS
"ANCESTOR WORSHIP," by Pham Lan (in Vietnam Advances, February, 1958) If one were to look inside a Vietnamese house, one would see a big altar, usually placed behind a curtain at the far end of the biggest room. Many religious objects would be seen: incense burners, candlesticks, ivory chopsticks, and small trays for offerings, surrounding a big lacquered board- the tabernacle-with the names of the dead inscribed. Beside the altar hang a little tom-tom and a tiny bell, ready to call back the dead to the family dwelling on anniversaries and traditional festival days.

In families still attached to tradition, big ceremonies are held on these anniversaries. From dawn, the sons, daughters, nephews, nieces, grandsons, and granddaughters of the deceased gather at the home of the latter's eldest son [the man in the family responsible for the expenses of this particular function], bringing with them offerings of every kind: fruit, meat, chicken, glutinous rice, and the ever indispensable "money for the dead." The latter is of many kinds: ingot-shaped money made of bamboo wrapped in colored paper, or notes of very thin homemade paper with a square gilded spot in the middle, or even "bank notes" bearing the inscription "paper money for the Kingdom of the Dead" (Giay bac Am Phu). It is said that it is necessary to burn this money to give the dead the funds to live in the other world and to come home on anniversary days. The more money that is burned the happier the ancestral spirits will be.

When the entire family have arrived, they go and visit the grave of the dead person in honor of whom the ceremony is held. New earth is played on top of the grave, the weeds removed from around it, and then incense is burned to invoke the soul to the family dwelling for the religious function to follow.

At about noon, the altar is already illuminated with candlelight and fragrant with the perfume of burned incense: trays of food to be offered to the family ancestors are displayed on a sacred table.

With the little tom-tom sounding and the bell chiming, the heir, on behalf of the family, steps forward on to the rush mat spread in front of the altar. He kneels down, joins his hands before his mouth and recites prayers. The name of the deceased is pronounced in a low whisper, thus showing the respect of the descendants for their ancestors. At the same time, all the dead of the family up to the fifth generation are invited to come and participate in the feast.

The ceremony ends when all the men and women have prostrated themselves before the altar. The manner of prostration differs between the men and the women. The ladies sit down, join their hands in front of their chests, and slowly bend down to the mat. The men, on the other hand, raise their clasped hands, kneel and lower their heads to the ground. These motions are called lay in Vietnamese, and in each ceremony four lays should be made before the altar for the departed ancestors.

Afterward, the "money for the dead" is burned in the courtyard, with the family sitting round the fire, shouting with joy when the ashes, due to the hot currents of air, are lifted up and carried away, because, they say, it is a sign that the dead have received their money.

When the ceremony is over, all the members of the family sit down round the tables and enjoy the meal, conversing meanwhile reminiscently of their ancestors.

On the occasion of the Lunar New Year celebrations, all the departed ancestors of the family up to the fifth generation are invited to return home for the festivals.

Formerly, big ceremonies were also held on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar year, to present the spirits with more clothes and other items such as houses, rickshaws, furniture, and even concubines and servants. These, made out of paper, were burned.

These customs can be traced back thousands of years and have deep roots in the minds of the Vietnamese. According to the teachings of Confucius, one should worship one's ancestors, otherwise one is accused of impiety. As the saying goes, "Impiety is of three kinds, to have no children being the greatest." The meaning of this is that any man who has no sons-the girls being allowed to worship ancestors only in cases where there are no male descendants-is guilty of impiety, because after him there is no one to "smoke incense" for the dead, and the ancestors will have to wander from place to place, living on alms.