Return to Cham village to enjoy Kate festival

In Vietnam's cultural heritage, Cham cultural imprints are clearly shown in many aspects such as: Architecture, customs, sculptures, festivals, performing arts, pottery, weaving... In which, Kate Festival is a folk festival with strong identity, outlining the community life - a place where the cultural quintessence of Cham people in the province converges.

Bustling preparations

Kate is the biggest festival of the year for the Cham people who follow Brahmanism to commemorate the gods and kings who have contributed greatly and are respected by the people, to commemorate their grandparents and ancestors and to pray for national peace and prosperity, favorable weather and bountiful harvests. This year, the festival will be held for 3 days, from October 20 to 23. The festival will be held at 3 Cham temples and towers: Po Klong Garai Tower (Do Vinh Ward), Po Rome Tower and Po Inư Nưgar Temple (Phuoc Huu Commune).

Kate festival in Cham village Huu Duc (Phuoc Huu commune).

The ceremony will take place at the tower with the following parts: Carrying the costumes up to the tower, opening the tower, bathing the statue and dressing, and the grand ceremony. The atmosphere of the ceremony is decorated with hymns and folk dances mixed with the low and high notes of the Kanhi instrument; bustling and joyful with the sounds of the Ginang and Ba-ra-nung drums... After the main ceremony, the Kate Festival continues to take place in the villages, clans and families of the Cham Brahman people. This is also an occasion for the Cham people living far away to return home to reunite with their relatives and family.

In order to create a joyful atmosphere in the festival, Cham villages also organize a variety of cultural, artistic and traditional entertainment activities that connect the community, such as: carrying water, pushing sticks, traditional dancing, chanting Ariya... attracting the participation of a large number of Cham villagers and tourists from all over to attend. All create a Kate Festival with brilliant colors and rich Cham cultural identity.

As the venue for many important ceremonies in the Kate Festival, up to now, Po Klong Garai Tower (Do Vinh Ward) has actively completed the preparation work. Mr. Dong Van Nhuong - Deputy Head of the Management Board of Po Klong Garai Tower Relic, said: Every year, on the occasion of the Kate Festival, Po Klong Garai Tower welcomes tens of thousands of visitors from all over the country to visit and learn about Cham culture. To ensure the organization of the festival is in accordance with the law, in accordance with the national cultural traditions and to promote local tourism , right before the festival, the Management Board of the relic site proactively coordinated with the Council of Cham Brahmin dignitaries to deploy, review and assign specific tasks to each unit. Accordingly, the unit organized the hanging of billboards and banners along the road leading to the Po Klong Garai and Po Rome tower clusters; organized cleaning, ensuring environmental sanitation, pruning and taking care of trees in the relic site. Along with that, the exhibition booths are arranged to introduce artifacts and images of the festival and activities of the Cham ethnic people, especially images of the national treasure, the statue of King Po Klong Garai. In order to create a joyful and exciting atmosphere for the people, the Management Board also coordinates with art troupes, Bau Truc pottery village, My Nghiep brocade weaving village... to perform for tourists during the festival. At the same time, coordinate with local authorities and police to ensure security and order throughout the festival.

Along with Po Klong Garai tower, before the Kate festival, the atmosphere at Po Rome tower area, Po Inư Nưgar temple (Phuoc Huu commune) is equally bustling. Cham people in Phuoc Huu and Ninh Phuoc communes perform rituals to clean the tower, decorate silk strips and prepare offerings such as betel, areca, wine, cakes, fruits... Artisans of traditional craft villages also participate in creating handicrafts such as pottery, brocade costumes to serve the rituals and cultural activities during the festival. The bustling, vibrant but no less solemn atmosphere creates the unique culture of the Cham ethnic group.

Preserving and promoting heritage values

In recent years, many mechanisms and policies of the Party, State and province on investment in socio -economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas in general and Cham people in the province in particular have been promoting positive effects, contributing to improving the lives of ethnic minorities, and the appearance of the countryside is increasingly improving. Regarding ethnic and religious affairs, the Party Committee and authorities at all levels in Khanh Hoa always create the most favorable conditions for people to practice their worship, in accordance with the traditional values ​​of the nation.

According to the Provincial Council of Cham Brahmin dignitaries, the Kate Festival has been preserved and preserved quite intact from the time, space, order, method, participants in the worship, costumes of dignitaries, women, young men, Cham girls, objects of worship, offerings to the rituals performed by the dignitaries participating in the ceremony. This is the result of the joint efforts to preserve, maintain and promote from many components, individuals, groups, and communities, including the role of the provincial functional branches that have paid attention to implementing many solutions to preserve and honor the tangible and intangible values ​​related to the Kate Festival in particular and Cham culture in general. Specifically, departments, branches, and localities have coordinated to build, establish, and submit scientific dossiers to request competent agencies to consider and recognize. For example, in 2017, the Kate Festival of the Cham people of the former Ninh Thuan province was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage; Next, Phuoc Thien stele and the statue of King Po Klong Garai were recognized as two national treasures. In addition, the province also invested synchronously in infrastructure, connecting the organization of the Kate Festival with scenic spots to attract tourists to visit and learn about the value of the heritage, contributing to creating particularly attractive tourism products.

Monk Dong Ba - Vice Chairman of the Provincial Council of Cham Brahmin dignitaries said: The support policies of the Party and State have contributed to improving the material and spiritual life of the Cham people. Infrastructure has been invested, production support programs and cultural preservation have been focused on, helping the Cham people not only develop the economy but also preserve and promote traditional cultural values. Thanks to that, the atmosphere of the Kate Festival this year is more bustling and joyful, expressing the excitement and gratitude of the people for the practical policies of the Party and State.

PEACEFUL

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/202510/ve-lang-cham-vui-hoi-kate-c93576b/