The three-day event celebrates Goddess Ponagar or Thiên Y A Na – the Holy Mother of the Chăm community in the central region, who according to local belief taught people how to grow rice, raise silkworms and weave fabric. Rituals such as a requiem and the release of floating flower candles were accompanied by a ceremony to pray for peace, happiness and prosperity for the nation, with cultural activities honouring the spiritual life of the ethnic people in the southern central region. In 2012, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism named the Ponargar festival a national heritage.
