The temple of the family clan (từ đường) contains the cult tablet (thần chủ) of the first ancestor. The family temple (gia từ) of a lineage has only tablets for 4 generations (cao, tằng, tổ, khảo). In general, the tablet is made of the jujube-wood known for its solidity, approximately a thước high, placed in a vertical rectangular box. On it are written the posthumous names, the pseudonyms, the dates of birth and death of the forebears. The box is put in a kind of tabernacle (khảm) which is only opened on the occasions of ceremonies. Since the register is only preserved to four generations, when a grandfather dies, his table is put in the tabernacle from which that of the oldest generation has been removed to be reclassified within the anonymous group of ancestors.
The cult objects comprise incense- burners, candlesticks, flower-vases, trays for fruits, betel boxes, trays for alcohol made from copper or red and gold lacquered wood. On the front and on either side of the altar, there are horizontal and vertical panels of paper, or lacquered wood bearing ideograms celebrating the ancestors’ merits. The ancestral altar is sacred. In days of old, in order to force the debtor to pay, the creditor hired hooligans to come and sit on the debtors family altar, or take off the cult tablets.
