Bustling Kate Festival at the foot of Po Sah Inư Tower

VHO - The Kate Festival 2025 - the biggest festival of the year for the Cham people following Brahmanism in Lam Dong province - has officially taken place, attracting a large number of people and tourists to attend.

Opening of the Cham Kate Festival in Lam Dong

On the morning of October 21, at the national relic of Po Sah Inư tower, Phu Thuy ward, Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee held the Opening Ceremony of Kate Festival 2025, attended by representatives of local authorities, a large number of Cham people, people and tourists.

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, Mr. Dinh Van Tuan - Vice Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee said that the Kate Festival at the Po Sah Inư Tower relic, which was restored in 2005 and held annually, has met the spiritual and emotional needs of the Cham people and become the soul of spiritual and cultural activities, containing many values ​​of folk beliefs and religions.

Along with spiritual life, the economic life of Cham people in Lam Dong is changing rapidly and in harmony with the general development of the country.

Mr. Dinh Van Tuan, Vice Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee delivered the opening speech.

“The Party, the State and the province always believe in the joint efforts, solidarity and attachment of the Cham people in the cause of preserving, maintaining and promoting the value of heritage imbued with national cultural nuances; contributing to the culture, sports and tourism sectors joining hands to “Build an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity so that culture truly becomes an endogenous strength, a driving force for national development and protection of the Fatherland”, Mr. Dinh Van Tuan emphasized.

In order to preserve and effectively promote the value of the Kate Festival to serve the religious life and beliefs of the Cham community and contribute to the development of tourism in the province, in the coming time, the Vice Chairman of the Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee also requested the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the People's Committees of communes where Cham people live to continue to pay attention and create favorable conditions for Cham people to maintain and promote the values ​​of the Festival, encourage guidance and widespread dissemination of the content, meaning and values ​​of the Festival in the community.

Kate is the biggest festival of the year for the Cham people who follow Brahmanism.

Pay attention to investing and providing financial support for activities to preserve and promote the value of the Festival, preventing the risks of fading, changing or losing the rituals in the Festival.

At the same time, it is necessary to develop a thoughtful plan to organize the Festival, establish an Organizing Committee to direct the Festival, have a plan to protect security and order, environmental sanitation, food safety, fire prevention and fighting... reasonably, ensuring the safety of people as well as tourists attending the Festival.

In addition, we must also pay attention to preserving and conserving intact the ritual that has been passed down for generations.   today and expand the festival to suit the conditions, characteristics and cultural traditions of the local Cham people.

The program is organized in two main parts: the Ceremony and the Festival. The most important activity of the Ceremony is the procession of the Goddess Po Sah Inư's costume.

Dressing Ceremony

In addition, there are also ceremonies to open the tower door and bathe the Linga-Yoni altar. Under the direction of religious dignitaries, the procession of the Goddess's costume takes place solemnly but no less special.

The festival took place bustlingly with folk games, demonstrations of traditional crafts of the Cham people such as: Village decoration; gingerbread making... Besides, Cham boys and girls in charming traditional costumes showed their rhythm and flexibility with ethnic dances to the sound of Paranung drums and the clear, melodious sound of Saranai trumpets.

Kate Festival is a unique cultural activity of the Cham ethnic community, held annually starting from the end of June in the Cham calendar and lasting until mid-July in the Cham calendar (around September and October in the solar calendar).

This is an activity to express gratitude to gods, grandparents and ancestors, pray for favorable weather and bountiful crops; at the same time, strengthen solidarity, honor cultural values, ethics and personality.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has included the Kate Festival of the Cham people in Lam Dong in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.

Currently, this is also an activity that contributes to attracting tourists and young generations to learn and explore the unique cultural features of the Cham people, contributing to promoting the cultural tourism image of Lam Dong.

The Kate Festival of the Cham people in Lam Dong was included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in April 2022.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/ron-rang-le-hoi-kate-duoi-chan-thap-po-sah-inu-176073.html