Cham community celebrates Kate festival

The festival also took place in southern Ninh Thuan province on September 30 with the participation of Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh. This is the biggest event in the year of the Cham following Brahmanism to pay respect to gods and pray for productive harvests and multiple natural and human resources.

Cham traditional performance at the festival (Photo: sggp.org.vn)

It featured numbers of traditional rituals and performances, including an important Goddess costume carrying ceremony, as well as games and competitions at temples and towers.

Apart from festive activities in the community, the Cham people also celebrated the festival in their families.

Local authorities and agencies created favourable conditions for residents to enjoy the event. Especially, this year’s Kate festival in Ninh Thuan was held in combination with the “Grapes and Wine Festival”, attracting thousands of domestic and foreign visitors to attend.

On this occasion, local authorities of both provinces visited and presented gifts to Cham residents and dignitaries.

Binh Thuan is home to over 40,000 Cham people, making up 3.2% of the local population. The Cham people have several distinctive festivals, including the Ramuwan, the Rija Nugar and the Chabun.

Local authorities have helped the Cham people improve their life positively over the past years. Agricultural production of the Cham community was invested heavily and the percentage of poor households dropped to 4.8% in comparison with 25% in 2004.