Cham Bani people in Binh Thuan celebrate Ramuwan festival

Ethnic Cham people in the central province of Binh Thuan has started celebrations to welcome their traditional Ramuwan festival, the biggest festival for the Cham community in Vietnam (Photo: VNA)

The festival began with a visit to ancestors’ graves, which took place on May 14-15. Cham Bani families go to cemeteries to cleanse and decorate their ancestors’ graves and invite them back home for celebrating Ramuwan.

Others rituals held during the festival are Va Ha festival, ancestor worshipping at home and Ramadan month when many Muslims do not eat or drink even water between sunrise and sunset.

Like Vietnamese with the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, the Cham Bani use the Ramuwan festival as an opportunity to visit home and gather together with their families to pay tribute to their ancestors and pray for happiness, bumper crops and peace.

There are also other cultural and sport activities, attracting both local people and tourists on this occasion. In recent years, the Ramuwan festival has drawn a great number of visitors and researchers both at home and abroad to explore the unique culture of the Islamic Cham community in Binh Thuan. 

The chairman of the provincial People’s Committee has asked local departments, sectors and districts to ensure best possible conditions for Cham Bani people to welcome a vibrant festival.

Binh Thuan is currently home to 41,000 ethnic Cham people, including more than 15,000 Cham Bani. The province has outlined a line-up of preferential policies to support ethnic people. To date, all localities of the province have access to electricity./.

VNA