The bustling Kate festival of the Cham ethnic group

Performed by: H.An | October 2, 2024

(Fatherland) - Kate Festival, the biggest festival of the year for the Cham people who follow Brahmanism, is an occasion for people to remember gods, kings, ancestors and pray for health and peace.

In the first days of the seventh month of the Cham calendar, the bustling and joyful atmosphere of the Kate festival pervades the lives of the Cham people who follow Brahmanism. This year, the Kate festival takes place from October 1-3, and the Cham temples and towers in Ninh Thuan province are filled with color as many Cham people from all over the country come to attend.

In the early morning of October 2, tens of thousands of people flocked to Po Klong Garai Tower (Phan Rang - Thap Cham City) to attend the main Kate Festival. From early morning, the road leading to Po Klong Garai Tower was packed with people going to the festival. During the Kate Festival, Cham people living and working everywhere also return to reunite and gather with their families, friends and relatives.

Dressed in traditional costumes, the Cham people gracefully walk up the steps to the majestic and ancient towers with fluttering scarves. To create a Cham women's costume, it is necessary to combine the ao dai, skirt, cross-belt, horizontal belt, headscarf, earrings and necklaces made of shiny black beads.

“I want everyone to know about my ethnic culture,” Dang Quyen, a student in Ninh Phuoc district, said happily as she and her family attended the biggest festival of the year for the Cham people who follow Brahmanism. These days, Quyen and her family have decorated their house and prepared offerings to present to the gods and ancestors, praying for health and peace. The offerings at the bottom of the tower are up to each family’s wishes, such as rice, soup, chicken, fruit, candy, etc.

In Ninh Thuan, the main ceremony was held at three Cham temple and tower areas including Po Klong Garai Tower, Po Rome Tower and Po Inư Nưgar Temple on the morning of October 2, and continued to take place in villages, clans and families of Cham Brahmins in the following days. The Council of Cham Brahmin Dignitaries of Ninh Thuan province expressed that thanks to the support and facilitation from authorities at all levels, the people have organized the Kate Festival more solemnly and on a larger scale, thereby creating solidarity within the Cham ethnic community in particular and the people of the province in general.

According to custom, one day before the main ceremony, the Cham people will perform traditional rituals, welcoming and carrying the goddess Po Inư Nưgar's costume to the temple to prepare for the main rituals of the Kate festival. On the afternoon of October 1, in Huu Duc village (Phuoc Huu commune, Ninh Phuoc district), the Cham people welcomed the costume brought down by the Raglai people (Phuoc Ha commune, Thuan Nam district).

According to legend, the goddess Po Inư Nưgar, or Mother Goddess of the Land, taught the Cham people to grow rice, weave cloth, and raise livestock, helping them have a prosperous life. The Cham and Raglai people are sisters, the Cham is the eldest, the Raglai is the youngest. Because of the matriarchal system, the youngest daughter inherits property and is in charge of ancestor worship. Therefore, all the costumes of the kings and gods are kept by the Raglai people and are only brought down on Kate festivals or New Year's Eve.

After the costume welcoming ceremony, the Cham people performed an art program, gracefully dancing with fans to the sound of Paranung drums and the melodious sound of Saranai trumpets, inviting visitors to join in the joyful atmosphere. Ninh Thuan currently has more than 50,000 Cham people following Brahmanism, living in the districts of Ninh Phuoc, Thuan Nam, Thuan Bac and Phan Rang-Thap Cham city. In recent years, thanks to the continuous improvement of economic and social life, the organization of the Kate festival has become more intimate.

In the main ceremony on the morning of October 2, the Cham temples and towers held solemn rituals in addition to the procession of costumes to the towers, such as the tower opening ceremony, the bathing ceremony of the god statue, the dressing ceremony and the grand ceremony. On this occasion, the leaders of Ninh Thuan province presented gifts to congratulate the Cham people, hoping that they would continue to preserve, conserve and promote the unique cultural activities of the Cham people, blending with the cultures of other ethnic groups in the province, contributing to the socio-economic development of the province in the coming years.

With its important cultural and historical significance, “Kate Festival of Cham people in Ninh Thuan province” was listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017, contributing to promoting the culture and image of Ninh Thuan province to domestic and international tourists.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/ron-rang-le-hoi-kate-cua-dong-bao-dan-toc-cham-20241002152755761.htm