Cham people in Lam Giang village celebrate Ramuwan festival warmly

These days, in the Cham villages following Bani Islam in the province in general and Lam Giang village (Ham Tri commune, Ham Thuan Bac district) in particular, it is very crowded and bustling.

***Leaders of Ham Thuan Bac district and Ham Tri commune visited and wished Ramuwan New Year at pagodas.***

Lam Giang village currently has 2 worshiping establishments of Cham people following Bani Islam, with 456 households and nearly 2,000 people. Ramuwan festival always begins with grave-sweeping activities taking place throughout the village, rotating sequentially according to the unified general schedule. In terms of folk culture, the grave-sweeping ceremony is considered the main ceremony of Ramuwan festival with a large scale, long duration and large space, with rich, unique and humane rituals.

Mr. Nguyen Van Bay - Permanent Vice Chairman of Ham Thuan Bac District People's Committee visited and encouraged Cham ethnic people following Bani Islam.

According to the profound philosophy of the tomb-sweeping ceremony, it is to evoke, educate, and teach believers to remember their ancestors, their lineage, and the nation's morality of "When drinking water, remember its source". Therefore, when the tomb-sweeping ceremony takes place, despite the distance and difficult travel conditions, almost every clan and family mobilizes their descendants to return to gather, bring offerings to visit and sweep the graves of their grandparents and ancestors. Here, generations of Cham descendants show their remembrance, express their deep gratitude to their grandparents, ancestors, lineage, and gratitude for their origins and roots. They come here to find their roots, reminding each other to look towards their ancestors, grandparents, and lineage. Thanks to that, the connection between each lineage is passed down from generation to generation, and even after many generations, descendants always know and remember their relatives and lineage.

After the tomb-sweeping ceremony, every family eagerly prepares to celebrate Ramuwan with traditional dishes, especially cakes imbued with Cham culture such as banh tet, banh it, ginger cake... which are carefully arranged on the offering trays by the meticulous and skillful hands of mothers and sisters.

Mr. Thong Minh Dong - Head of Lam Giang village said: This year, people celebrate Tet more warmly because many families have harvested rice. The rice crop is good, the average yield is 6.5 tons/ha, with the current selling price of 8,200 VND/kg, so every family is excited. In addition to farming, young people and many women of working age work in industrial parks in Phan Thiet and Ham Thuan Nam, so their income is stable, their living standards and awareness have improved. In particular, with the attention of the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minority Areas, in 2023, cultural and sports facilities in the village will be repaired. With the support of the State, the main roads are all concreted, especially for some branch roads into residential areas, people agree to donate land, contributing 35% to widen the road and pour concrete. Two roads over 500 m long, costing nearly 570 million VND, of which people contributed nearly 200 million VND, were just completed before Ramuwan Tet.

After 3 days of celebrating Ramưwan at home, Bani Muslim dignitaries have entered the fasting month to pray at pagodas. According to the Head of Lam Giang Village: After the fasting month, the Village Executive Board will continue to coordinate with monks, prestigious people, and clans to propagate and mobilize Cham people to well implement the Party's policies, the State's laws and policies, and emulation movements deployed and launched by the locality. Especially applying science and technology in production and animal husbandry to improve productivity and economic efficiency; "Smart mass mobilization" models in building village roads; planting trees, treating waste and domestic wastewater, ensuring environmental landscape; maintaining security and order, complying with traffic safety, preventing crimes and social evils in residential areas. Continuing to build solidarity, close-knit village relationships, helping and supporting each other to improve in life; preserving and promoting the good traditional cultural values of Cham people.

Source