Kate Festival

Time: From the 1st day of the seventh month according to Cham calendar (equivalent to 25 September to 5 October by solar calendar).

Place: Po Nagar Tower Temple (Huu Duc Hamlet), Po Klong Garai Tower (Do Vinh Ward, Cham Tower), Po Rome Tower (Hau Sanh Hamlet).

Objects of worship: Gods: Po Klong Garai, Po Rome.

Characteristics: Ritual of the Cham people.

The Cham people’s Kate Festival lasts three days on a large area, from tower temple (Bi mon or Ka lan) to villages (Paley) to each family (Nga wom).

This is the most unique festival of the Cham community. It is not only connected with ancient tower temples where the highest technical and aesthetic values of Cham culture are stored but also other cultural aspects such as votive things, costumes, music instruments, and songs praising kings who made great service to the country and people. The festival is also an occasion where the participants can enjoy unique folk singing, dancing and music. They can dance with Cham girls and relax with Gi nang drumming and Saranai trumpeting. The festival serves as evidence for the cultural richness of the Vietnamese.

The Cham people’s Kate Festival takes place in three tower temples at the same time and on the same day. The rituals are similar in content and the way of conducting.

The festival consists of two parts, rituals and festivities, as follows:
The first day is for the ceremony to receive Goddess Po Nagar’s costumes in Huu Duc Hamlet.

The ceremony takes place from 1.30 p.m of the first day to 9 p.m of the same day in the hamlet’s temple. It is for receiving the costumes of Po Nagar, who the Cham people consider the mother of their land. She is the ancestress of the Cham community. She taught local people to grow rice, plant cotton, weave clothing and carry out the festival. At the temple, people hold ceremonies to receive and give the goddess’ precious things and cultural exchanges between the Cham and Raglai people.

The second day is for Kate Festival at Cham Towers.
The costume receiving ritual (often starting at 7 a.m) All the royal costumes at Cham tower temples are kept by the Raglai people. Therefore, at the Kate Festival, the Cham people have to do a ceremony to welcome the Ragrai people who bring the costumes to the Cham Tower Temples. The ceremony is held solemnly because it initiates the whole festival.

The ceremony to receive costumes at Po Nagar Temple takes place in the afternoon, one day before the official festival day at the tower temples. It starts at 1.30 p.m and finishes at 9 p.m the same day. Similar ceremonies at Po Rome and Po Klong Garai Towers take place in the next morning. Although they take place at different times, the rituals are almost the same.

On the day of the ceremony to receive King Po Klong Garai’s costumes at Po Klong Grai Temple in Phuoc Dong, the Raglai people arrive there in the early morning. The man who takes care of the temple offers liquor and eggs to ask for gods’ permission to take the costumes to Po Klong Garai Tower for a ritual. When he finishes his job, King Po Klong Garai’s costumes are put on a palanquin and taken to Po Klong Garai Tower. The way from Phuoc Dong Hamlet to the tower is about four kilometers. As soon as the procession arrives at the tower, a group of dancers will perform a dance in front of the tower. This dance will also performed at the end of any stage of the Cham people’s rituals.

The similar ceremony at Po Rome Tower takes place on the same day.

The Ghe Ngo Festival, Vietnam is a Khmer observance and is particularly prevalent amongst the Khmer groups residing in the southern Mekong Delta region. The Ghe Ngo Festival is held on the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month, which is also the year end time for the Khmer people. So the Ghe Ngo Festival is also an occasion for them to herald a new year with hopes of prosperity and fertility.

The festivities of the Vietnam Ghe Ngo Festival begin on the Khmer New Year’s Eve whence the people assemble in the grounds of their local pagoda, preferably an area devoid of trees. A massive bamboo archway is built and charmingly adorned with fresh blooms and leaves. Underneath this archway, the Khmer people make their offerings of the newly harvested sticky rice, bananas, sweet potatoes, coconuts and cassava.

The moon deity is also summoned to partake in these ceremonies and is offered prayers amidst the chanting of prayers and the intoxicating smell of incense sticks. Children play an important role in the rituals of the Ghe Ngo Festival, Vietnam. They pray to the Moon God and their wishes are said to foretell the destiny of the Khmer people in the forthcoming year.

After the rituals are over, the merry-making commences, to the accompaniment of rice wine, of course. The dark skies are lit up by thousands of incandescent paper lanterns and little boats made from banana leaves are floated in the canals.

One of the most popular customs of the Ghe Ngo Festival, Vietnam is the Ghe Ngo (boat) race that takes place on the Khmer New Year’s Day. Long boats made from the trunk of the Sao tree, with about 50 men aboard take to the rivers and make a dash for the finishing line to the cheers, claps and clamor of the thousands of people lined up on the banks.

The Vietnam festivals & events are good ways to know the culture, customs and traditions of the Vietnamese people. In Vietnam, Ghe Ngo Festival gives you an opportunity to get close with the little known Khmer people.

Do Son Buffalo Fight Festival

Overview

Place: Do Son (Đồ Sơn) district, Haiphong.
Time: 9th day of 8th lunar month.
Characteristics: show the wish of a good fishery season, present the spirit of the people

 History

Buffalo fighting Festival in Do Son starts from first to fifteenth of 8th lunar month. Through many qualifying rounds, nine buffaloes will be selected to compete on the 9th day of 8th lunar month.

According to several  historic statistics, Buffalo fighingt Festival in Do Son started 1000 years ago, in King Ly Thanh Tong’s dynasty.

Legend has it that an oldest man of the village dreamed of the two buffaloes fighting on the sea waves creating big and silvery waves. The next morning, he told everybody about his dream and that year the whole fishing village had surplus season. Villagers thought  that was the happy omen and  they held this festival to pray for the luck to their life.

Buffalo fight festival
This is a unique festival. The buffalo is chosen and raised carefully according some specific standards. Each of Communes appoints two experienced person to buy a buffalo. The good buffalo is a healthy one which has "long neck, medium buttock, small tail", "long thigh", "reddish brown skin, pinch fur", "a hole, four Cowlick", etc. They go everywhere to find; some even go to the surrounding provinces like Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Thai Binh. It is hard to buy a good buffalo but it is more difficult to teach it. Its daily meals are of special one and increased  to the day of competition.

The fighting is very interesting. At the opening, tens of boys and girls dance with flags. After the speaker sound, buffaloes are lead into the fighting ground. When having the command; the takers release them  and the two buffaloes start fighting in the encouragement shout . The losing buffalo will be the one first running away. The rirst ranked will be taken to the Communal House in the shout of everybody. Whatever it is the winner or loser , both of buffaloes will be killed to worship the General and their meat  is equally divided to everybody.

The Buffalo fighting Festival in Do Son is very unique and attracts more and more visitors. Today, besides the main festival in  9th of lunar August, the Buffalo fighting Festival in Do Son also takes place in Summer Tourism Festival on 1 May (normal calendar).

Festival in July (2) - in Hue province, Dong Nai province

Traditional festivals in Thua Thien - Hue province:
 

Vietnam traditional festivals in July Chi Long Village Festival
Time: 12th to the 13th day of the sixth lunar month. The main festival day on the 13th day of the sixth lunar month.
Location: Phong Chuong Commune, Phong Dien District, Thua Thien Hue Province.
Objects of worship: Lady Dai Cang (in the 15th century), who had merit of escorting 4 heads of clan (Le, Nguyen, Vo, Tran) reclaimed wasteland and set up the village.
Activities: Ky phuoc ceremony, procession of heads of clan's votive tablets, túc yêt ceremony (includes: reading funeral oration, bong dancing, incense offering). The offerings include the whole pig and ox. After worshipping, some offerings are put on paper boat and floated on river. The custom of avoiding going to the forest and no fire from morning to evening.

Vietnam traditional festivals in July Phu Xuan Communal House Festival
Time: 5th to the 6th day of the sixth lunar month
Location: Thai Phien Street, Tay Loc Ward, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue Province.
Objects of worship: The genies of founding the village.
Activities: Tam sinh sacrifice (use three animals: ox, pig, and goat as offerings to sacrifice to the god).

Traditional festivals in Dong Nai province:
 

Vietnam traditional festivals in July Ky Yen Festival
Time: The 26th day of the sixth lunar month.
Location: Nguyen Huu Canh Temple, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province.
Activities: Boat racing, vying for offerings to get fortunes.

Khau Vai love market festival

Each year, there is a market session on lunar March 27 (often falling on solar May), but it is not a farming produce trading market but a love market. The name and activities of the market have common things with love market in Sapa.

But what’s different is that Khau Vai is a love market for various ethnic minority groups from four mountainous districts in Dong Van Plateau and ethnic minority groups in communes adjacent to Bao Lam and Bao Loc districts of Cao Bang province.

Local senior people said that this love market dated back to 1919. Roads are now more accessible than the previous years, so more people come to the market. However, activities of the market are still rich in cultural identity.

A local myth tells the story of a young couple from different tribes who fell in love with each other. The girls belonged to the Giay group and the boy belonged to the Nung group. The girl was so beautiful that her tribe did not want to let her get married with a man from another tribe. Consequently, violent conflict arose between the two tribes.

One day, the boy witnessed an aggressive fight between the tribes as a result of their love. To stop the blood shed, the lovers sorrowfully decided to say goodbye. However, they made plans to meet once a year on that day, lunar March 27.

The place where they used to meet is Khau Vai, which thereafter became a meeting place for all of those in love.

In the market area, there are two temples called Ong and Ba (Mr and Mrs). A story tells that, once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl born in two different places of the Dong Van Plateau. The boy’s surname is Linh and the girl’s surname is Loc. They love each other very much despite being hindered by deep streams and high rock mountains.

Because their families prevented their marriage, they together came to Khau Vai, a prosperous land with rich plants which they could live on.

Although they did not have a child but they lived happily until they died. In honour of their merits in cultivating the wild land into a rich land, the local people built the two temples to worship them.

Therefore, on every lunar March 27, Khau Vai attracts couples of different ages, including those who seek their partners for the first time. However, most of them are those who love each other very much but cannot wed together because of many different reasons.

On the day when the market session takes place, it is likely that both the wife and her husband together go to the market but they look for their own partners to share emotions. If one of them has to stay at home, he or she is not jealous in love because the dating at the marketplace is really a faithful feeling exchange.

It can be said that the beauty of love is a basic factor to keep the existence of Khau Vai love market for such a long time.

With the assistance of Ha Giang Culture and Information Department, Meo Vac district and Khau Vai commune authorities hold the traditional love market of Khau Vai in order to promote cultural identity of ethnic minority groups in the locality.

The love market festival is held on lunar March 26 and 27 with the participation of a large number of locals. The festival features food and drink culture, song performances and folk games. Ethnic costumes, jewellery, ethnic musical instruments and culture and art publications are on display at the market, reflecting activities of the local people.

Go Thap Festival

Time: The 16th day of the third lunar month and the 16th day of the eleventh lunar month.
Place: Tan Kieu Commune, Thap Muoi District, Dong Thap Province.
Characteristics: Cau an ceremony

Go Thap Historical Site includes 5 relics, among which Doc Binh Kieu Grave and Ba Chua Xu Temple are the most famous. Every year, the festival is held in the large-scale with ceremonies of via Ba Chua Xu (the 16th day of the third lunar month) and Doc Binh Kieu’s death anniversary (the 16th day of the eleventh lunar month), attracts many people.

The festival involves cau an ceremony, worshipping the Agriculture genie, worshipping Ong (Doc Binh Kieu) or Ba Chua Xu. During the festival, other activities such as unicorn dance, boi singing, martial fighting, battle of fire are held.

Festival in July (1) - in Hai Phong city, Thai Binh province, Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City

Traditional festivals in Hai Phong City:

Vietnam traditional festivals in July Kha Lam Temple Festival
Time: The 3rd day of the sixth lunar month.
Location: Kha Lam Temple, Kien An District, Hai Phong City.
Objects of worship: Princess Chieu Minh - the daughter of King Tran Thanh Tong, who had merit of building bridge, opening market, taking care of old people, assisting people in misfortune, offering all her fields and gardens to people.
Activities: Incense offering, recalling ceremonies, reciting the Buddhist scriptures, celebrating a requiem.

Traditional festivals in Thai Binh province:

Vietnam traditional festivals in July Phu Hieu Festival
Time: The 14th day of the sixth lunar month.
Location: Doc Lap Commune, Hung Ha District, Thai Binh Province.
Objects of worship: The village's tutelary god.
Activities: Water procession, sacrifice to the god, dragon dance, cheo singing.

Traditional festivals in Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City: 

Ong Pagoda Festival
Time: The 24th day of the sixth lunar month.
Location: 676 - 678 Nguyen Trai Street, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City.
Objects of worship: Quan Cong and many other Chinese gods.
Activities: Incense offering ceremony, statue-washing ceremony, unicorn dance, boi sin