Definitions

1. Verb:
   • To exhume and rebury: The primary meaning refers to the ritual act of digging up the remains of a deceased person from their original grave and moving them to a new, permanent burial site. This is a significant cultural and spiritual practice in Vietnam.
   • To relocate a grave: The process involves carefully collecting the bones, cleaning them, and placing them in a smaller coffin or urn for reburial in a new location, often chosen for better feng shui or to consolidate family graves.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Gia đình anh ấy đã cất mả cho ông nội vào mùa xuân năm ngoái. (His family exhumed and reburied his grandfather last spring.)
  • Theo phong tục, việc cất mả thường được thực hiện sau ba năm chôn cất. (According to custom, exhuming and moving the remains is usually performed after three years of burial.)
  • Họ cất mả người thân để chuyển về nghĩa trang dòng họ. (They exhumed the remains of their relative to move them to the family cemetery.)

Advanced Usage Notes

• Cultural Context: "Cất mả" is not merely a physical act but a deeply ritualistic one, often involving ceremonies, prayers, and the guidance of a spiritual medium or family elder to ensure peace for the deceased and prosperity for the descendants.
• Timing: The ritual is traditionally performed during a specific, auspicious time, often determined by a lunar calendar or a spiritual advisor, and is not done arbitrarily.

Variants and Related Words

• Bốc mộ: This is a near-synonym often used interchangeably with "cất mả," specifically meaning "to exhume the grave." The term "bốc" emphasizes the action of digging up.
• Cải táng: A more formal or literary term with the same meaning: to exhume and rebury. It is commonly used in official or written contexts.
• Di dời mộ: A more general, descriptive phrase meaning "to relocate a grave."

Synonyms

• Exhume and rebury: The direct English equivalent describing the two-part action.
• Disinter and relocate: A more formal synonym, with "disinter" meaning to dig up something buried.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

Note: As "cất mả" is a specific cultural term, it does not have phrasal verb constructions in the same way English verbs do. The action is contained within the single term.

Related Idioms

Note: There are no common idioms directly built from the term "cất mả." The practice itself is a significant cultural concept.

1. To remove remains of a dead person (from one grave to another), to exhume and move (someone's remains) to another grave