LÂM ĐỒNG — The Lâm Đồng Province's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has announced it will host the Katê Festival, the largest traditional festival of the Chăm people, in October.

The festival will highlight the theme of “Lễ hội Katê – Bảo tồn và lan tỏa giá trị di sản văn hóa Chăm” (Katê Festival preserves and promotes the cultural and heritage values of the Chăm).

The event will feature traditional rituals like offering costumes to Po Sah Inư Goddess, bathing Linga - Yoni statues, and performing a ‘thanksgiving’ ceremony at Pô Sah Inư Chăm Towers on Bà Nài Hill in Phú Thủy Ward on October 9 and 10.

Chăm performers and artists will present folk dances and music performances featuring traditional instruments, a fashion show of traditional costumes, folk games, and cultural exchanges and experiences to help visitors understand Chăm culture.

The Museum of Lâm Đồng and the Mũi Né Antique Museum will jointly host an exhibition “National Treasures and Archaeological Imprints of Chăm Culture in Lâm Đồng” at the Pô Sah Inư Tower during the festival.

The province’s Chăm Cultural Centre in Bắc Bình Ward will introduce the Katê thanksgiving ritual and demonstrate traditional crafts, such as brocade weaving and pottery-making on October 11 and 12.

The centre will also offer a writing contest describing traditional Chăm script, folk games, and folk art performances.

Visitors can enjoy Chăm cuisine and learn to make ginrong laya, a traditional sweet pastry shaped like ginger. It is made of flour, fresh ginger, eggs, and wine yeast. It is fried and then dipped in sugar syrup.

A special exhibition themed “Colours of Chăm Culture” will take place from October 11 to 25, introducing the distinctive tangible and intangible cultural values of the Chăm community in the province.

The Katê festival is celebrated annually for three days in the seventh lunar month by the Chăm, who follow the Balamon religion in the province. It is an opportunity for them to show their gratitude to kings, mandarins and ancestors and pray for good harvests, health and prosperity.

The festival was recognised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as an intangible cultural heritage in 2022.

Lâm Đồng plans to propose building the Katê Festival into a cultural event that is managed and organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, making it a unique cultural tourism product of the province and contributing to its socio-economic development. — VNS