Ethnic Cham people in the central province of Binh Thuan began celebrations to welcome their traditional Ramuwan festival, the biggest festival for the Islamic community in Viet Nam, on May 24.
A ritual at Ramuwan festival (Photo: tuoitre.vn)
The three-day festival starts with a visit to ancestors’ graves. 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 and Tet holiday, the Cham Bani use the 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.
During the Ramuwan, there are also other cultural and sport activities, attracting both local people and tourists.
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.