BINH THUAN – Cham people everywhere flock to the ruins of Po Sah Inu tower in Phan Thiet city to attend the Kate festival, on October 25.
Every year, on the first day of July of the Cham calendar, Cham people from all over Binh Thuan province flock to the ruins of Po Sah Inu tower, Phu Hai ward, Phan Thiet city to attend the Kate festival, a long-standing traditional culture. locally.
From 7:30 a.m., the group immerses themselves in the most important ritual of the festival, which is the procession of the Mother of the country (goddess Po Sah Inu) from the foot of Ba Na hill to the temple tower to worship. Men, women, young people, old people… all wear traditional costumes to attend the festival.
The procession of bringing the costume of the Mother of the country (goddess Po Sah Inu) to the tower is the most important ritual and the highlight of the Kate festival of the Cham people in Binh Thuan province. From the bottom of the hill, a palanquin is solemnly welcomed, accompanied by priests and elderly women in white costumes wearing red scarves, with their heads dignified.
Going in front of the procession, the Cham girls wearing ao dai with crossed strings danced fans to the beat of drums and trumpets. Fan movements like fluttering butterfly wings, fluttering in the sun, create a unique joyful feature of Kate festival. These girls come from the Cham community in Ham Thuan Bac district.
Senior monk Thong Minh Toan (Brahmin) wears a red scarf, holds a staff, and leads the worshiping procession along the hillside of Ba Na Hills to the tower. He said, Kate is a long-standing festival of the community, kept for generations, even though it was interrupted at times during the war. “Kate is an occasion to remember the merits of the mother of the country and ancestors, pray for favorable rain and wind, peace for the homeland and villages, good crops, and a warm home,” said Master Thong Minh. Toan said.
The palanquin dressed in the goddess Po Sah Inu was carried to the front of the temple tower, hundreds of Cham people from the previous day had gathered here, they shared the joy of the festival after the hard days of the harvest.
Senior monk Thong Minh Toan, the celebrant, performs the ceremony of opening the door of the Po Sah Inu tower, before carrying the goddess’s clothes inside.
The elder monk and the shadow lady and the music priests conduct the ritual of bathing her, through the form of bathing on the Linga – Yoni stone pedestal with the meaning of washing off all the dust, before giving her clothes (the goddess Po Sah Inu). ) and pray for peace.
Meanwhile, after Madam’s clothes were brought into the tower for the ceremony, the female tutu wearing traditional costumes continued to perform traditional dances in front of the temple yard, creating a joyful and lively atmosphere.
Mr. Khe Thanh Van, 40 years old, a Cham from Ham Tri commune (Ham Thuan Bac district) blows the trumpet with a melodious melody in harmony with the rhythm of the gingang and paranung drums in front of the temple tower, enlivening the dances of Cham girls. performing in the foreground. “We Cham people have loved music since childhood, music contributes to creating joy and atmosphere for everyone, especially during festivals,” said Mr. Van.
On Kate’s occasion, Cham people from Tuy Phong, Bac Binh, Ham Thuan Nam, Ham Thuan Bac, Tanh Linh, Ham Tan, La Gi township districts all come here. They bring gifts of fruit, bananas, eggs, chicken, wine, betel nut… to worship the goddess Po Sah Inu. “I have something to offer, but betel nut is an indispensable dish in the ceremony tray,” said Mrs. Dao Thi Mai Huong, from Phan Thanh commune (Bac Binh district).
The Cham people bring offerings in front of the temple to worship on the afternoon of October 24 (one day before the main ceremony), praying for peace for their families, successful children in school, and a bountiful harvest. “In the past, it is the same now, the descendants of the Cham people always remember their roots, every year on this occasion, we also go to the tower,” said Mr. Thong Na, Ma Lam town, Ham Thuan Bac district.
The group of Po Sah Inu Cham temples, also known as Pho Hai tower, is located on Ba Na hill next to the famous Lau Ong Hoang landscape in Phan Thiet. The tower was built in the early 9th century to worship the god Siva, in the 14th century, the Cham people built a number of temples and towers around to worship Princess Po Sah Inu (son of King Parachanh), the patron goddess of the country. Every year, local Cham people hold the Kate festival on this tower.
Binh Thuan has more than 40,000 Cham people living. The people are always conscious of preserving the traditional culture of the nation, including the unique culture of the Kate festival. This festival was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Heritage on April 4.