Po Nagar Cham Towers Festival - A place that unites the community.

The Po Nagar Tower Festival is one of the largest traditional folk festivals in the South Central Coast and Central Highlands region of Vietnam. It not only honors noble human values ​​but also represents a unique cultural intersection between the Vietnamese belief in worshipping the Mother Goddess YA Na and the Cham people's Mother Goddess Po Inư Nưgar.

A bustling festival

The 2026 Po Nagar Tower Festival will take place from May 5th to 11th (corresponding to the 19th to 25th of the 3rd lunar month), lasting three days longer than the previous year's festival, creating more favorable conditions for locals, pilgrims, and tourists to participate in and experience traditional rituals and ceremonies. During the festival days, a continuous stream of people will flock to the Po Nagar Tower National Special Monument to offer gifts and express their reverence to Thien Ya Na Holy Mother/Mother of the Land, praying for peace and good fortune. The festival atmosphere will be joyful and lively with vibrant music, beautiful shadow puppet performances, and prayers. The festival is also an opportunity for everyone to wear traditional costumes, honoring their national cultural identity.

The procession for the palanquin procession, prayers for the deceased, and lantern release ceremony departed from the Po Nagar Cham Towers, a special national historical site.

Every year during the Po Nagar Cham Tower Festival, members of the Linh Dong Temple group (Ayun Pa ward, Gia Lai province) prepare offerings and practice dances to present to the Holy Mother YA Na. This year, nearly 30 members of the group traveled hundreds of kilometers to participate in the ceremony. Pham Nhu Y, a young member of the group, said: "This is my third time attending the Po Nagar Cham Tower Festival. Each time I come and offer prayers to the Mother, I feel peaceful and happy. I pray for health and peace for everyone, and for favorable weather so that everyone can prosper in their businesses."

During this year's Po Nagar Tower Festival, Mr. Dao Nang Bien's family (a Cham family from Ninh Hai commune) visited the Po Nagar Tower National Special Monument to offer gifts to the Mother Goddess. "Returning to the Mother Goddess makes us even happier and more excited. The offerings we present include: fruit, rice, soup, boiled chicken, wine, water… The goddess Po Inu Nugar has bestowed many blessings so that everyone can live in peace and happiness. Therefore, no matter how far away or how busy we are, whenever the festival comes around, my family always makes time to return and offer our respects to the Mother Goddess," Mr. Dao Nang Bien shared.

The image of Thiên YA Na Thánh Mẫu (Goddess of Heaven) in Vietnamese culture is also the Mother Goddess Pô Inư Nưgar of the Cham people.

The joy of the people participating in the parade during the Po Nagar Cham Towers Festival in 2026.

The thread that binds the community together.

The Po Nagar Tower Festival vividly showcases the Vietnamese folk belief in worshipping the Mother Goddess, while also sharing many similarities and close ties with the Cham people's custom of worshipping the Mother Goddess Po Inu Nugar. Besides some activities unique to both ethnic groups, the traditional rituals and ceremonies of the festival always involve both Vietnamese and Cham people, such as: the water procession, the palanquin procession, the prayer for the deceased, the floating lantern ceremony, the changing of the Mother Goddess's robes, the prayer for national peace and prosperity, and other traditional sacrificial ceremonies. Mr. Nam Trau, a Cham shaman from My Son commune, said: “The Cham people believe that returning to the Mother Goddess is a joyful day to pray for good things, remembering the gratitude owed to those who pioneered and taught them. The Vietnamese, on the other hand, see Thien Ya Na as the savior of humanity, credited with teaching the people how to cultivate crops and raise livestock, and also pray for health, peace and happiness for all families, and national peace and development when attending the Po Nagar Tower Festival.”

According to Mr. Le Van Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Po Nagar Tower Festival is not only an honor and source of pride but also a responsibility of the government and people of Khanh Hoa province in preserving, conserving, and promoting traditional cultural, spiritual, and folk religious values. The festival takes place over seven days with many unique rituals and ceremonies; in addition, there are shadow puppet shows by groups practicing the Mother Goddess worship, and traditional art performances by artists from the Provincial Traditional Arts Theater... These activities contribute to creating a vibrant and lively festival atmosphere, while also demonstrating the spirit of unity and solidarity among the Vietnamese people.

GIANG DINH

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/202605/le-hoi-thap-ba-po-nagar-noi-gan-ket-cong-dong-3cc0317/