Exploiting Cham cultural values to serve Binh Thuan tourism

Binh Thuan is a land with a unique and diverse culture, a gathering of many ethnic groups living together. One of the ethnic groups that has made an impression thanks to its unique cultural values is the Cham community.

Binh Thuan currently has more than 40,000 Cham people living scattered in the districts of Tuy Phong, Bac Binh, Ham Thuan Bac, Ham Thuan Nam, Tanh Linh. Cham culture is a true reflection of the appearance of a nation, including material and spiritual aspects such as: Ethics, rule of law, religious beliefs and art forms, notably dances, music , sculpture architecture... Besides creating conditions for the Cham community to practice beliefs, religions and the Kate Festival on Po Sah Inư tower attracts a large number of people and tourists to come here to study, enjoy and enjoy the traditional culture of the Cham people, especially recently, on April 4, 2022, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decided to include the traditional Kate Festival of the Cham people of Binh Thuan province in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage. In addition to the Kate festival, the Cham people also have many festivals imbued with unique cultural beliefs such as: Ramưwan Festival, Rijanưgar Festival... and many types of folk singing, dancing and music are preserved and restored, creating a distinct and unique character of the Cham culture. Currently, the relics are preserved and promoted, contributing to serving the spiritual and cultural life of the Cham people, meeting the needs of research, sightseeing and enjoyment of domestic and foreign tourists when coming to Binh Thuan. The preservation and promotion of Cham cultural heritage values have always been of interest, contributing to enriching and diversifying the colorful culture of Binh Thuan, promoting the development of tourism in the province.

cham.jpg.jpg — The ritual of carrying costumes and royal decrees to Po Sah Inư tower during the Kate Festival. Photo: N. Lan

In recent times, Binh Thuan has been planning to restore some traditional occupations, reconstruct folk festivals, embellish historical and cultural relics of the Cham people, organize community tourism activities, such as: Po Klaong Monai temple, Cham Royal open warehouse (Mrs. Nguyen Thi Them) and Po Anit temple (Bac Binh), Po Sah Inu tower (Phan Thiet), Po Dam tower (Tuy Phong) ... have been restored and embellished. Many relics have been discovered, excavated and preserved. Large-scale folk festivals such as Kate festival have been successfully restored at Po Sah Inu tower and put into operation every year, attracting many domestic and foreign tourists. Types of Cham folk singing, dancing and music: Activities on research, exploitation and development of Cham art works are encouraged for creativity, such as: "Fire of love", "Desire to survive", "Love of pottery village", "Legend of Po Sah Inư", "Kate festival", "Echo of origin", Cham folk song festival and traditional costume performance, Cham ethnic musical instrument concert to stimulate and attract artists of all ages to participate. Introducing typical Cham cuisine, Traditional gingerbread molding contest, Fast and beautiful Cham writing contest, performing original folk art programs, recreating folk festivals such as Kate Festival, Fire-stepping Festival (Rija Inưgar) on the occasion of Kate, mobilizing many intellectuals, religious dignitaries and local people to participate and attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists to visit and research. Cham language radio and television programs of The province has broadcast, contributing to raising awareness of the Cham community about economic , cultural and social development in the spirit of Resolution 04/NQ-TU of the Standing Committee of Binh Thuan Provincial Party Committee.

However, the preservation and development of Cham ethnic culture are only the initial results. To preserve the traditional culture of the Cham ethnic group in a sustainable and correct way, the Provincial Party Committee, the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province, the Cham community and especially the Cham intellectuals continue to implement in the spirit of the Resolution of the 5th Central Committee, Session VIII of the Party, attaching importance to preserving and promoting the tangible and intangible cultural values of the Cham people, contributing to building, enriching and diversifying an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity. Therefore, to develop sustainable tourism on the basis of exploiting the values of Cham cultural heritage, it is necessary to have a strategy for conservation, exploitation and appropriate development. The provincial tourism industry needs to select tourism products on the basis of promoting the values of Cham cultural heritage. Tourism products need to respect the diversity, richness and specificity of Cham culture. On the other hand, it is necessary to raise awareness, protect interests and promote the role and responsibility associated with preserving the culture of the Cham community in tourism development. Develop content and destinations, associated with promoting Cham relics and cultural heritages. Improve the professional qualifications of tour guides to serve tourism development at the above relics. Raise awareness of environmental protection at Cham relics and cultural heritages to contribute to the exploitation and development of sustainable tourism at relics in Binh Thuan province.

In the coming time, Binh Thuan has been planning to restore some traditional occupations, reconstruct folk festivals, embellish historical and cultural relics, including Cham culture, organize community tourism activities, mobilize people to preserve natural landscapes, build civilized urban lifestyles, and create a healthy cultural environment. These initial moves have shown that the province is always interested in exploiting and promoting the strengths of ethnic cultural values in socio-economic development in general and tourism in particular, so that Binh Thuan can truly become one of the attractive destinations on the Vietnam tourism map.

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