Preserving the Cham soul through every stroke

The Cham people have a developed literature, and writing is a testament to the level of civilization of the Cham people since ancient times. Preserving and promoting writing is the responsibility of the Cham community today and tomorrow. It is also a way to preserve the cultural values ​​of the nation, affirming the vitality of Cham culture in the flow of time.

Within the framework of the Kate festival in 2025, on the morning of October 21, at the Po Klong Garai Tower National Special Monument (Do Vinh Ward), a Cham writing contest was held with the theme "Bright handwriting - Preserving the Cham soul", attracting 120 contestants who are primary and secondary school students from schools that have implemented the Cham writing program for students. For secondary school students, each contestant has the task of copying a stanza of poetry or a folk song in Cham. As for primary school students, the requirement is to copy the content of a sentence given by the organizers.

Student Han Ngoc Chi Dao (Nhu Binh Primary School, Phuoc Huu Commune) shared: “I usually practice writing Cham characters. So when I participated in this contest, I felt very confident. However, when I watched my friends compete, I saw that they all wrote very beautifully. I will try to practice writing Cham characters more so that I can write more beautifully in the next contest.”

Ms. Tho Thi Bay - Principal of My Nghiep - Chung My Primary School (Ninh Phuoc Commune) said: "Cham students love to learn their mother tongue. For many years, the teaching of Cham script has been carried out by the school according to regulations. Through that, many generations of students have been able to write and use Cham script. Organizing Cham writing competitions like this is very necessary for Cham students and teenagers to have a playground to express their love for their ethnic writing. This is even more meaningful when it is held on every important holiday of the Cham people."

Contestants participating in the Cham writing contest "Bright handwriting - Preserving Cham soul".

The Cham writing contest “Bright handwriting - Preserving the Cham soul” is an activity to realize the Project to Preserve and promote the value of the Kate festival of the Cham people in the period 2025 - 2030. In the first time being held, the contest has created a healthy and useful playground for students to practice and demonstrate their ability to write Cham. Thereby, contributing to educating the appreciation and preservation of the beauty of the language and writing of their people. The contest attracted a large number of contestants to register to participate, demonstrating the interest of units, schools, teachers and parents in preserving and developing the Cham ethnic culture.

Mr. Nguyen Tan An - Deputy Head of the Department of Culture and Family Management - Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: “In the first time organizing the contest, we chose the theme "Bright handwriting - Preserving the Cham soul" to contribute to honoring and preserving Cham writing. Thereby, we hope to develop writing skills and raise awareness of the value of cultural heritage for the young generation. "Bright handwriting" focuses on practicing Cham writing skills, making the strokes more beautiful and accurate; and "Preserving the Cham soul" is to preserve the core cultural values ​​that have been passed down through many generations through writing. And above all, this is also a message, a practical action, affirming the vitality of Cham culture in the flow of time".

Contestants participating in the Cham writing contest "Bright handwriting - Preserving Cham soul".

Through the contest, the Organizing Committee found that the majority of contestants demonstrated a solid ability to write Cham; some contestants demonstrated very good Cham writing skills. This shows the careful and serious preparation of the contestants and teachers when coming to the contest. However, because it was the first time to organize the contest, there were some limitations such as: The selection of exam questions was not suitable for the students' abilities; the time to launch the contest was quite urgent, leading to the educational institutions being passive in the preparation work; communication and promotion activities for the contest were not as expected...

With what has happened, it is thought that the Provincial Cultural Center - the unit directly implementing the event needs to evaluate, learn from experience, overcome limitations, promote the advantages achieved so that the next contest will be more successful. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism should closely coordinate with the Department of Education and Training in building the contest into a regular activity on each Kate festival occasion. From there, it will contribute to creating a strong spread in the community, demonstrating the clear effectiveness of preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of the Cham ethnic group in Khanh Hoa.

FAMILY

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/202510/giu-hon-cham-qua-tungnet-chu-e387547/