The Tuc Yet and Xay Chau ceremonies in the Via Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam

23/05/2025 
The Tuc Yet and Xay Chau ceremonies in the festival of Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam are among the important rituals. The Tuc Yet ceremony begins at midnight on the 25th and 26th of the fourth lunar month. The offerings include a white pig that has been slaughtered and its hair shaved clean, a plate of blood with a bunch of pig hair wrapped in red paper called "mao huyet", a tray of sticky rice, a tray of fruit, a plate of betel and areca nuts, a chopping board, water, salt, and rice in a bowl each. The indigo trays are placed on both sides of the white pig, on the altar, and two trays on the council table.
The indigo tray includes boiled meat, boiled pig intestines, two bowls of porridge, two pairs of chopsticks, vegetables, betel and areca nuts, rice and salt, etc. In addition, on other altars there are many trays of sticky rice, cakes, and fruits offered by villagers and members of the Management Board. The offerings are placed on the table, except for the white pig, which is placed face down on a red-painted wooden stand, about 6 inches higher, with its head facing the altar.
The progress of the ceremony is controlled by two chanters, one inner chanter and one outer chanter. Looking out from the main hall, the inner chanter stands to the left of the offering altar on the side, while the outer chanter stands further away, on the right, between the Council altar and the altar.
The ancestral altar is where the funeral oration and the wine and tea offerings are placed. The Ritual Committee stands behind the statue of the Lady, and at exactly 24 o'clock the band plays the octopus. The Ritual Committee walks in two rows, left and right, big in front and small in back, standing along the ritual. The chief celebrant shouts loudly: Trang ap hau. Four female singers perform a big "da" and then come down from the stage holding candles to stand on both sides of the ritual. The elders, then the Head of the Management Board, members, male and female members take turns to burn incense. The delegations of communal houses, temples, and associations also come in to burn incense. The ceremony takes place according to traditional rituals: burning incense, offering wine (chước tửu), reading the funeral oration, and offering tea (hiên trà) lasting about an hour.
The Xay Chau ceremony follows the Tuc Yet ceremony. The offerings are a white pig, a tray of sticky rice and a tray of indigo. The chief priest chooses a favorable direction to place a drum (called Chi Chau), prays incense in front of the statue of the Lady, with a tray of betel and wine, and a whip (vui) placed on the tray. After bowing, he takes the whip and puts it on his shoulder and shouts loudly: Serving the order.
The chief priest comes forward to the altar, places the whip on the tray, and chants according to the ritual: praying for incense, offering wine, offering tea, etc. Then, the chief priest comes before the altar, lifts the bowl of water with a willow branch, holds it across his forehead, prays, lowers the bowl of water to his chest, and uses 3 incense sticks to draw a talisman (four directions and five horizontals) on the bowl of water. After that, he takes 3 sips of water, and tucks the incense sticks into his ear. Taking a step to the left, he dips the willow branch into the bowl of water, and while sprinkling water around, he reads aloud:
"First sprinkle of blue sky" means to wish for a clear sky, favorable wind and rain; "Second sprinkle of earth peace" means to wish for fertile land and good harvest; "Third sprinkle of human longevity" means to wish for longevity for humans; "Four sprinkle of devils and demons to destroy them" means to sprinkle water on evil spirits to destroy them. After reading, he bowed three times and continued to recite the mantra: "The Dharma wheel always turns the four heavenly kings. The eight vajra groups guard the four directions. The ancient altars and sutras come to help. The sutras and books protect the country forever."
He walked in the shape of a "T" (twelve), clasped his hands together in front of the drum, and used his right foot to draw the "ghost-killing" talisman on the ground. Holding the drum, he drew talismans all over the "ghost-killing" words, stepped on them with his left foot, stood upright, looked up to the sky, and shouted loudly: "The Supreme Elder, please act as prescribed by law." Then he took the red cloth that covered the drum, wiped the drum's surface, and wrapped it.
The towel is placed on the drum. The right hand holds the drum, the left hand holds the hem of the shirt, presses "an ty" and draws charms all over the drum's surface. Hold the drum and beat lightly on the left side, recite the spell: "Nhất kích cổ chua thiên thống phi tai". Light wood on the right side: "Nhị kích cổ chua địa phi tai". Lightly tap on the top: "Three strikes cổ giá rẻ lại khởi thủ". Lightly tap in the middle of the drum's surface: "One point of the moon rises to the throne, the king's bones and bones are presented to the wall, the heavens transform for thousands of years. Two points of the moon rises to the sea, the gods are certain, their power and spirit are scattered. Three points of the moon makes the country prosperous, the people prosper, the land is prosperous, the people and things here are prosperous, this assembly of people enjoys longevity and blessings". The hand holding the drum and hit hard on the drum's surface, recite the spell: "All gods are one".
Hit one more time: "Shout like thunder, the event shakes the heavens and earth, the execution of the case is shocking, the case is booming, the case is booming, the case is booming". Hit three times, when the two drums are reached, shout: "Ca cong tiep gia". Immediately, the whole troupe of opera singers say "da" in unison, very loudly. Hit two more drums, and the opera singers will start. While he hits three times, the ceremonial student lifts the drum, hits two drums, the ceremonial student turns the drum and brings it to the altar. He continues to hit until the drum is placed on the altar. He hands the altar to the person holding the altar.
This is the first night, a short performance, the troupe will continue to perform two more shows in the morning and evening of the 26th, two shows in the morning and I on the 27th (singing for help), meaning the last performance on the 27th night will not be paid to be called a worship of the Lady. The plays chosen are good and meaningful, but in the five performances, the play "Thu ba San Hau" must be included, the actors and actresses must sing the original play without any changes. The last performance on the 27th, at exactly 3pm at the last part of the king's coronation, is to prepare for the Hoi sac ceremony. The most important part is that before performing the play, there must be 7 layers of congratulatory singing according to the ancient custom of worshiping temples in the South.
According to tradition, the chief celebrant had to hold the ceremony during all the singing nights, but recently due to their old age and poor health, the position of holding the ceremony has been assigned to someone else.
The Tuc Yet and Xay Chau ceremonies in the Via Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam festival play an important role in the local traditional festival, serving both the spiritual needs of the community and being an invaluable cultural resource for the locality to develop the economy and sustainable tourism. In addition, the cultural beauty of traditional rituals and ceremonies is closely associated with beliefs and spirituality in daily life, thereby contributing to promoting the festival, promoting the role of the public in preserving, maintaining and developing traditional cultural values, making the beauty of traditional culture spread widely in social life.
References: Proceedings of the Scientific Workshop on Preservation and Promotion of the Festival of Lady Chua Xu in Nam Chau Doc Mountain – An Giang.
Article: Thu Hong
Photo: Si Nguyen

https://dulichnuisam.vn/le-tuc-yet-va-le-xay-chau-2/

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