Bustling Kate festival of Cham people in Ninh Thuan

(Dan Tri) - The traditional Kate festival of the Cham people in Ninh Thuan took place in a bustling and unique manner, attracting a large number of tourists and locals to attend at Po Klong Garai tower.

On October 14 (July 1st of the Cham calendar), thousands of Cham people and tourists from all over the world flocked to Po Klong Garai tower area (Phan Rang - Thap Cham city, Ninh Thuan) to attend the Kate festival in 2023.

From very early in the morning, the roads leading to Po Klong Garai tower (Do Vinh ward, Phan Rang - Thap Cham city) are crowded with tourists and Cham people. During the Kate festival, the worship day at the tower is considered an important activity and attracts a large number of tourists to participate.

According to custom, during the Kate festival, Cham people will bring offerings to Cham towers such as Po Klong Garai, Po Inư Nưgar, Po Rome to worship. Among them, Po Klong Garai tower attracts many people and tourists from all over the world. From 6am, many people took the opportunity to carry offerings and climb the stairs to Po Klong Garai tower.

Kate is the most important festival of the Cham people who follow Brahmanism and is held once a year. The festival is held to commemorate the gods and offer offerings to ancestors with sincere prayers for national peace and prosperity, favorable weather, bountiful harvests, good health and family prosperity.

Cham people display offerings to worship their ancestors, kings, gods... at Po Klong Garai tower. The offerings below the tower are up to each family's wishes such as rice, soup, chicken, fruit, candy...

A Cham family's tray of five fruits and betel and areca nuts is displayed on the ground next to the Po Klong Garai tower. At the foot of the tower, there is an area where families express their sincerity with offerings of their choice, including familiar fruits such as sugarcane, rambutan, longan, dragon fruit, oranges and some betel and areca nuts. People also offer chicken, rice, soup, eggs, salt, and candy.

Extended families or neighbors often go together, sit and display offerings at the foot of the Po Klong Garai tower. The worship time is from about 6am to 11am. After the worship, people will eat and drink with their families and neighbors right at the foot of the tower.

Earlier, early in the morning of October 14, Cham dignitaries led a procession carrying the ceremonial costumes of King Po Klong Garai (a king with great contributions to the Cham people) from the village to Po Klong Garai tower and Po Rome tower. Following the procession were graceful Cham girls dancing with a large number of Cham people and tourists from all over.

The main offerings in the Kate festival at the tower temple will include: 1 goat, 3 chickens for the purification ceremony in the tower, 5 trays of rice with soup and goat meat, 1 tray of rice with sesame salt, 3 loaves of rice cakes and fruits. In addition, people also prepare wine, eggs, sticky rice, sweet soup, betel and areca nuts... These are the offerings brought to the towers, and at the foot of the towers will be hundreds of different trays of offerings prepared by the sincere participants.

The main ceremony was held at Po Klong Garai tower. In the ancient tower space, the representative of the Cham community expressed their remembrance and gratitude to the gods and ancestors who had blessed them with favorable weather, good crops, and prosperity for every family...

After the ceremony, young girls performed traditional art to welcome the festival and showcased the unique art of the Cham people. In the next three days, in the villages of the Cham community, people organized many fun activities to welcome the festival, visit and wish each other all the best.

A Cham family wearing traditional costumes attends the Kate festival this year at Po Klong Garai tower. "Every year, Cham people who work or study far away from home arrange to attend the Kate festival. The festival is not only a traditional cultural feature of the Cham people, but it also helps strengthen family and neighborhood ties. This is also an opportunity to promote the unique culture of the Cham people to tourists nationwide," said Thien Sam, a young Cham person working in Ho Chi Minh City.

During these days, life in Cham villages becomes bustling with the sound of Saranai trumpets, Ginang drums and fan dances of Cham girls in traditional costumes. Cham boys and girls also dress up in splendid traditional costumes and "go to the festival" to pray for health and peace at Cham towers.

Kate is the biggest festival of the year for the Cham people who follow Brahmanism to commemorate the gods and kings who have made many contributions and are respected by the people, to commemorate their ancestors and pray for national peace and prosperity, favorable weather and bountiful harvests. The Kate festival has contributed to preserving, maintaining and promoting cultural values. This is also an opportunity to promote the image of the locality to domestic and foreign tourists. In 2017, the Kate festival of the Cham people was included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

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