The Ramadan festival (also known as the fasting month) of the Bani Muslim Cham people in Binh Thuan province signifies the gratitude and filial piety of the living towards the deceased, reflecting the moral principles and origins of the living. In 2025, the Bani Muslim Cham people will begin celebrating Ramadan from February 28th, 2025 (corresponding to the 1st day of the 2nd lunar month of the Year of the Snake) until March 29th, 2025 (corresponding to the 1st day of the 3rd lunar month of the Year of the Snake).
During these days, many families of the Bani Muslim Cham community begin preparing to celebrate the month of Ramadan. In Phan Hoa commune, families start cleaning and decorating their houses and preparing traditional cakes, fruits, and other items for visiting ancestral graves and offering sacrifices to their ancestors.
The tomb sweeping ceremony is one of the mandatory rituals marking the beginning of the Ramadan season, organized by each clan and village. At the cemetery, after tending to the graves, the Char – the chief officiant of the clan, dressed in traditional attire and headscarf – performs the ritual of watering the graves, then recites prayers and offers sacrifices to the ancestors. After the tomb sweeping ceremony, everyone returns home to perform ancestral worship rituals.
Mr. Huynh Minh Duy, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Phan Hoa commune, said: "The Ramadan festival is one of the most important holidays of the year for the Cham Muslim Bani people, lasting a month with many consecutive rituals such as tomb sweeping, ancestor worship at home, and Ramadan prayer at temples and stupas... This is an opportunity for descendants and those still living to remember their ancestors, grandparents, and parents, and to pray for peace in the village, prosperity, well-being, happiness, and bountiful harvests for all families. During these days, no matter what they do or where they are, the Cham Bani people still make time to return to their hometowns to gather with family and relatives. In Phan Hoa, the People's Committee has launched a campaign to clean up the environment along the roads leading to the villages and will organize a meeting of religious leaders. In addition, the commune will continue to organize men's football matches between clubs for people to have fun, socialize, and strengthen solidarity between villages."
Binh Thuan currently has over 40,000 Cham people, including more than 20,000 followers of the Bani Muslim faith. To create the best conditions for the Cham people to celebrate the Ramadan festival, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the province, political and social organizations, and agencies under the Provincial People's Committee have planned to coordinate and support localities where Cham people of the Bani Muslim faith live to organize joyful, healthy, safe, and economical activities, preserving and promoting the good traditional cultural values of the ethnic group. At the same time, they will organize delegations to visit and extend New Year greetings to the People's Committees of communes, village management boards, temples, religious leaders, influential people, and policy beneficiaries in localities where Cham people of the Bani Muslim faith live. They will encourage the people to celebrate the festival while participating in emulation movements to develop production; maintain unity; and uphold political security and social order. Contributing to the successful achievement of socio-economic development targets and ensuring national defense and security of the locality in 2025.
During the Ramadan holiday, the Provincial People's Committee also facilitated a 3-day holiday for officials, civil servants, employees, workers, soldiers, students, and pupils of the Cham ethnic group following the Bani Islamic faith currently working, studying, or living in the province, from February 26 to 28, 2025, to celebrate the holiday.
Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/ron-rang-chuan-bi-tet-ramuwan-128036.html
Comment (0)