Cham ethnic people in Binh Thuan celebrate the religious ceremony (Photo: dulichvn.org.vn)
(VOVworld) – The Cham ethnic people in Binh Thuan province began to celebrate their annual Ramuwan Festival on Wednesday. This is the most important traditional festival for the Cham Bani people in that province. The one-month long Ramuwan festival is a chance for the Cham Bani to show their gratitude to their ancestors. There are many rituals during the festival including visiting ancestral tombs and praying at pagodas during the month of Ramuwan. Luu Van Be, from Binh Thang commune, Bac Binh district, Binh Thuan province, said ‘Tomorrow is the 29th day of July according to the Cham calendar, we will visit our ancestors’ tombs at the graveyard on the red hill, then go to the cemetery on the white hill the next day, then go back home to worship our ancestors. This year, the local people have had a bumper crop, which is being attributed to the Party and Government’s upgrading the irrigation system. Our living conditions have improved and as a result we have more to celebrate’.

Ba Van Canh, from Phan Hoa commune, said ‘This year, the weather has been quite favorable. Now, the rice is starting to ripen, we will need to harvest it very soon. We don’t know whether or not we will have a good crop, but the color of the rice is a positive sign. Every year, on these days, we often visit our ancestors’ graves with whatever we have, maybe just a plate of fruit or some soft drinks. It’s the feeling that is the most important thing’.

Thanks to the Party and Government’s investment, Cham villages and their living standards have prospered both materially and spiritually. The province has invested more than 2.4 million USD in upgrading the local infrastructure, benefiting the local Cham people a great deal, according to Mai Sen, head of Binh Thuan’s Ethnicity Department. Sen said ‘We have provided the Cham people with loans to breed livestock and land for afforestation and housing in line with the provincial Party Committee’s resolution No4. We have introduced programs to help the Cham have better housing and have upgraded the local infrastructure. This includes electricity supplies, roads, schools, medical centers, and access to clean water’.