The Cham people in central Ninh Thuan province are marking the Kate festival with traditional rituals to remember their ancestors, while praying for good weather, abundant crops and growth of life.
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Cham people dances to celebrate the Kate festival
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The celebrations are first held at the Po Sha Inu tower in Phan Thiet city with Brahmin priests performing rituals and Cham people taking part in cultural activities and traditional games.
Later, the Kate festival will be celebrated in each village and family throughout the seventh month of the Cham calendar.
Activities include a competition to decorate gifts offered to Po Sha Inu, a goddess of the Cham people, and demonstrations of traditional crafts such as brocade weaving, ceramics making as well as performances of traditional instruments and folk dances.
This year, visitors attending the celebrations are able to take part in a traditional game in which one has to carry a bucket of water on their head and overcome obstacles - a game closely related to the everyday activity of the Cham community.
For the occasion, social organisations in Binh Thuan have paid visits and given gifts to the Cham people in the province.