Ancestor-worship and Death in Vietnam, 1910
From On & Off Duty in Annam by Gabrielle M. Vassal, 1910.
Location: Vietnam
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From On & Off Duty in Annam by Gabrielle M. Vassal, 1910.
All this worship of gods and spirits holds, however, a subordinate place in comparison with ancestor-worship, upon which is concentrated all the real religious fervour of the people. This is the basis upon which all morals and customs are founded, and it governs all social and domestic life. In the East it is said that "the dead rule the living," and there is much truth in the statement. Happily the influence of this religion is almost entirely good.
One of its chief dogmas is the care, consideration, and respect due to the older members of a family. However old and feeble the head of the household may he, he rules with a rod of iron. His wish is law. The woman, even, as soon as she becomes a ba-gia, enjoys an influence far greater than in her youth. A man takes advice from his mother more readily than from his wife.
It is not only in the family that this devotion and submission are noticeable. Any individual on the road with grey hair or other indication of age is addressed by a title denoting great respect.
Another result of ancestor-worship is a love of children. The Annamese are most devoted parents, and if it were not for their ignorance of hygiene, they would be model fathers and mothers.
Children are brought up not only with the idea of what is due to their parents in old age, but of what is due to them after death. They must strictly observe all the rites of ancestor-worship when, on the days, their father performs the ceremonies, for later one of them will take his place.
The chief ceremonies are held just before the Tet (the Annamese New Year) and on the anniversaries of the deaths of the parents. No member of the family must be absent on this occasion; punishments can even be inflicted by law for such an offence. The offerings placed on the altar at this time are more important than at any other season during the year, and in rich families they are increased daily.
On the day of the ceremony, the head of the family dons his best robes, lights the tapers on the altar, and before the assembled family goes through a ritual which is punctilious in all its forms. He opens the service by pouring wine into three glasses on the altar and saying: "I respectfully invite your presence, great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, uncles, and aunts, to this reception, which your descendants humbly offer you with all their heart," or words to that effect. He then prostrates himself before the altar. A pause follows during which he and each one of the assembly must endeavour to think that he is in the presence of his ancestors, who have come to the altar to take part in the banquet. The service then continues, more wine is poured out, other words are pronounced, and more prostrations follow, in fact, a strict ritual is enjoined.
We see, therefore, that the immortality of the soul is firmly believed in by the Annamese; other customs show how death is his constant preoccupation. Soon after middle age his chief desire is to provide himself with a coffin; it must be the best that his means can procure. When he has found one that pleases him, he carries it to his home, where it forms the most prominent and richest article of furniture.
A mandarin of Nhatrang once asked my husband to attend his brother in a serious illness. When he heard that the patient could not possibly recover, his distress was most acute. On a later visit, however, my husband found him in such a happy, serene frame of mind, that he thought a miracle must have happened. The mandarin, in joyous excitement, led him to his brother's side, and there, at the foot of the bed, was a finely carved, brilliantly painted coffin.
The patient, though very weak, raised himself to have one more look at his treasure, and evidently felt that death had now lost all its terrors. He was full of gratitude to the donor. The mandarin's distress had been due not only to the knowledge that he must lose his brother, but to the fact that his coffin was not ready! Now that it had been finished in time, and all preparations for death made, he could await the end with calm.
The death of an Annamese gives rise to a very curious custom. It is necessary to capture the soul as it leaves the body, in order to place it inside the tablet which is conspicuous on every altar. For this purpose, when the dying man is about to breathe his last, a piece of silk is placed on his breast, into which the soul is supposed to pass.
As soon as the man is dead, the silk is hung inside the "chariot of the soul" which in every funeral precedes the coffin. After the funeral the silk is taken out and rubbed over the tablet, which has meanwhile been inscribed with the names, titles, and occupation of the deceased; the soul by this means passes from one to the other. This tablet is generally kept in a red lacquered box, and is the most revered object on the altar.
Rich families carefully preserve the different tablets of the family for five generations, but it is considered no breach of respect if only those of the parents are kept. When the soul is safely deposited in the tablet, the piece of silk is buried in some spot indicated by a sorcerer, never beside the coffin.
Many are the superstitious rites of a funeral when the family can afford to observe them all. It is not a very mournful affair, for though the women weepers cry and wail, one never forgets that they are paid for the work. The colouring is gay and the discordant music has not a melancholy effect. Tom-toms, clarinets, and three or four Chinese violins generally precede the procession. Each fiddler scrapes away without ceasing, apparently taking no heed of the time or tune of his fellows.
Then comes the "chariot of the soul" borne aloft on poles by half a dozen coolies. It is a kind of paper tabernacle. On each side are drawings and brilliantly coloured designs, dragons and other sacred animals as well as many Annamese characters. Behind this come one or several altars, on which are placed all the family heirlooms, bronze ornaments, porcelain vases, and often a picture of the dead person painted by an Annamese artist.
The coffin is carried on a sort of catafalque, which is borne by a mass of coolies; the richer the funeral, the greater the number. Each coolie has in his mouth a piece of wood, which is supposed to be a help to him in carrying his burden. The movements of the bearers are directed by a native, a master of the ceremonies, who stands on the catafalque itself. From this elevated position he can see and be seen by everyone. In front of him is a glass of water, and his whole endeavour is to keep the coffin so level that not a drop shall be spilt.
From the moment the coffin leaves the house till it is safely deposited in the grave, he does not cease gesticulating or screaming orders. When the ground is uneven or a slope must be mounted, he watches the glass at his feet with increased intensity, and works himself into a frenzy of excitement. As a last resort, when all his vocabulary is exhausted, and the coolies seem no longer to listen to his ejaculations, he offers ten cents, then twenty, then a dollar, to each bearer, if not a drop of water is spilt.
Behind the catafalque walk the bereaved relatives. They are dressed in white, with white turbans. Their trousers are without a hem round the ankles, for the frayed ends of white cotton are a sign of mourning. They maintain a grave and dignified attitude, very different from that of the hired women weepers who follow them. Occasionally they are provided with sticks or supported by coolies on either side; they are so bowed down with grief that they can no longer walk alone.
The period of mourning for every relative is precisely indicated, and in general faithfully observed. The rules of conduct during that time are strict, and any disregard of them is punishable by law. Some are very severe: for instance, the sons of the deceased man are not allowed to marry for three years after his death, or, if already married, they must not have a child.
When the head of a family dies, he does not leave his money in equal portions to all his children; the eldest son has always the largest share, so that he may be in a position to continue the ceremonies of ancestor-worship. Sometimes a large sum of money is bequeathed expressly for this purpose, and goes from eldest son to eldest son for many generations. The law of the land sees that this money is not perverted from its original purpose. If a man leaves nothing, the family often subscribe a sum which is put into the hands of the eldest son.
Vassal, Gabrielle M. On & Off Duty in Annam. William Heinemann, 1910.
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