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Ancestor worship - Coggle Diagram
Ancestor worship
How do Vietnamese people worship their ancestors?
After worship, the paper gifts are burnt so that the spirits of the gifts can ascend to heaven for the ancestors to use.
Another traditional element is the placing of wooden tablets on the altar for each of the ancestors over recent generations.
Offerings are made – fruit, sweets, and gifts. The latter items are paper replicas of dollar notes (‘ghost money’), motorbikes, cars, houses and so on.
This is less rigorously observed today, and tablets are often replaced by photographs.
Nearly every house, office, and business in Vietnam has a small altar which is used to commune with ancestors. Incense sticks are burned frequently.
Some pagodas house commemorative tablets for ancestors on behalf of regular worshipers.
The practice of ancestor worship is relatively straightforward.
Why do Vietnamese people worship their ancestors?
It is not even a ‘belief’ in the sense that it is open to question by the ‘believers’.
The Vietnamese accept as a fact that their ancestors continue to live in another realm and that it is the duty of the living to meet their needs. In return, the ancestors give advice and bring good fortune.
For the Vietnamese, ancestor worship is not related to ghosts, spiritualism or even the supernatural in the Western sense.
Devotees of Buddhism believe in previous existences, and seek to correct previous bad deeds to reach enlightenment. Ancestor worship is fundamentally different.
How does ancestor worship affect daily life in Vietnam?
A belief that the past and present exist simultaneously
A certitude that each individual’s behavior in life has a direct impact upon the quality of the lives of his or her children and grandchildren
Regarding life as a small part of an infinitely greater whole embracing the entire race
When do Vietnamese people worship their ancestors?
Worshiping takes place regularly on particular days, such as festivals, new and full moon days, the death day of the ancestor, and so on.
On important occasions, such as moving house, starting a new business or the birth of a child, and whenever a member of the family needs guidance or a favour, the ancestors are consulted.