Coming of age ceremony of young girls in Cham village Luong Tri

The coming of age ceremony is an important ceremony marking the development in the life of young Bani Muslim Cham girls. This is the time when they are officially recognized by the community as Bani Muslims. The coming of age ceremony for young girls is called Karoh, performed by the monk and dignitaries of the Bani Muslim mosque in Luong Tri village.

Elders of the Manh Xi clan guide young girls preparing to enter the makeup room to wait for the Coming of Age Ceremony.

Coming to Luong Tri village (called palei Cang in Cham language) in Nhon Son commune, Ninh Son district in the first days of the new year 2025, we were able to attend the coming of age ceremony for Cham ethnic girls following Bani Islam. From early morning on January 3, the first Friday of the new year 2025, the Manh Xi clan members were present very early at the family of Dao Thi Kim Soan at the end of the village. This is a day of great significance for the Manh Xi clan, with the prestigious Dao Van Thi as the clan leader. The clan organized a coming of age ceremony before puberty for the children from 9 to 11 years old, namely Dao Ngoc Anh Duong, Dao Quynh Thien An, and Dao Thuy Minh Han.

The children wear yellow shirts and head scarves, preparing to perform the Coming of Age ceremony.

In the large yard of Kim Xoàn’s house, the villagers set up a ceremonial tent covered with a monk’s mat, facing south, where the ceremony was held under a beautiful colorful backdrop. Opposite the ceremonial tent was a dressing room for the young girls, led by Mrs. Dao Thi Noi, who guided the children through the ritual, called Mrs. Muk Ba.

Before practicing the coming-of-age ceremony, Mrs. Dao Thi Noi took her grandchildren to bathe, wear traditional costumes, and wear many gold bracelets and earrings, showing that her daughters who have reached adulthood are beautified and enjoy the rights and responsibilities of a Ba Ni Muslim. The coming-of-age ceremony goes through the steps of cleansing, makeup, practicing the ritual of reading prayers, applying scented water, cutting hair, feeding salt, worshiping the gods, bowing in gratitude, etc.

Mr. Dao Cong Van holds his son Dao The Bao is the "character" witnessing the Coming of Age Ceremony for young girls.

Monk Dao Bui, Vice President of the Council of Bani Muslim Monks in Ninh Thuan province, abbot of the Bani Muslim mosque in Luong Tri village, presiding over the coming of age ceremony, said that like other religions, the life cycle beliefs of the Bani Muslim Cham people go through the most important rituals: full month, full year, adulthood, and wedding ceremony. Karoh translated into common language means "mirror", meaning that when a girl reaches adulthood, she knows how to look in the mirror and beautify herself. The coming of age ceremony is performed by religious dignitaries in each clan, in odd numbers of 3, 5, and 7 grandchildren. The ceremony is uniformly held on good days such as Wednesday, Friday, and good months such as 3, 6, 8, 10, and 11 according to the Cham calendar. Depending on the economic conditions of the clan and the actual conditions of each village, the ceremony is flexibly adjusted to suit the circumstances. However, according to general regulations, in the coming of age ceremony, it is necessary to ensure that the offerings include a tray of betel and areca nuts; Sweet tray has bananas, sticky rice, cakes; salty tray has goat soup, boiled chicken, braised fish, boiled goat meat, watermelon, thinly sliced ​​young banana tree with betel leaves...

Young girls sit in the theater performing the Coming of Age Ceremony.

In the smoke of incense and the light of beeswax lamps, Mrs. Muk Ba guided the children from the makeup booth in traditional costumes to the ceremony booth to kneel before the dignitaries. The head monk Dao Bui applied scented water to the foreheads of the young girls, used scissors to cut the hair on the forehead and the hair on both sides of the temples. At the same time, he used a ceremonial knife to shave the sideburns on the foreheads of the young girls. After that, the head monk gave the girls “salt” to eat and then spit the water into the spittoon. “Feeding salt” shows the believers’ belief in the sacred, obeying the rules of religion, and living a good life.

The monk Dao Bui used scented water to cleanse the young girls.

After the hair cutting and “salt feeding” which is the most important ritual of the ceremony, Mrs. Muk Ba Dao Thi Noi guided the young girls through the makeup booth to change their costumes. Afterwards, the girls returned to the booth to pay their respects to the Master and the Imums and perform the coming of age ceremony. Outside the booth, the elders of the Manh Xi clan paid their congratulations and prayed to the Supreme Being to bless the girls to study successfully, become useful citizens for their families and society, and actively contribute to building a rich and beautiful homeland and country.

After the ceremony ended, the families held a party to welcome relatives who came to celebrate the coming of age ceremony of the descendants of the Manh Xi clan in Luong Tri village. Ms. Dao Thi Kim Soan, mother of Dao Quynh Thien An, happily said: “On this auspicious day, my family and the clan are happy to organize the coming of age ceremony for the children. This is a very important ceremony in the spiritual life of the Cham Muslim Bani people. The grown-up children are allowed to participate in religious beliefs and community activities in the residential area.”

Thai Son Ngoc (Ethnic and Development Newspaper)

Source: https://baophutho.vn/le-truong-thanh-cua-thieu-nu-lang-cham-luong-tri-226160.htm