Локальные особенности проведения фестиваля Рамуван среди вьетнамской религиозной группы чам бани

2. An overview of Ramưvan Festival of the Cham Bani

2.1. Festival time

Ramưvan festival is celebrated in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, called the fasting month. Every year, in the second half of August in the lunar calendar, all Bani villages eagerly prepare for the festival. Dignitaries prepare scriptures, costumes and ritual tools, whilst women buy ingredients and fruits to make cakes, gifts, creating new clothes for children.

According to the rules of Islamic globally, the fasting month of Ramadan is a quiet month, focusing only on praying in the mosque, without leisure activities. However, as for the Cham Bani people, in recent decades, at the end of August Islamic calendar, cultural and sports activities are organised for the Ramưvan festival, creating a joyful, jubilant and bustling atmosphere in Cham Bani villages. If the Kate festival is considered by the Cham Ahier as the "Tet" of the Brahmin-influenced Cham community, the Ramưvan festival might be considered as the "Tet" by the Cham Bani.

Ramuwan festival of the Bani Muslim Cham is held in the ninth month of Islamic calendar. The ceremony consists of two parts: Ancestor Worship - Pambang Muk Kei, taking place in families (at the end of the eighth month of Islamic calendar) and Lent - Ramưwan in the mosque (the ninth month of Islamic calendar).

2.2. Ancestor Worship (Pambăng Muk Kei)

In Cham Bani villages, in the last days of Sha'a ban (the Eighth month of Islamic calendar)[3], Ancestor Worshiping Ceremony includes 3 ceremonies: Grave Tending Ceremony (Kabur rak); Unofficial Ceremony (Da-a laba) and Official Offering Ceremony (Pambăng Muk Kei).

2.2.1. Grave Tending Ceremony (Kabur rak)

Different from the Islamic doctrine that only worships the supreme being, Allah (the Cham people call it Po Âwloah) and his angel, Mohammed, the Cham Bani in Ninh Thuan still worship polytheists according to the belief in animism. In which, there are natural gods, gos with meritorious services in history, gods who follow folk beliefs and especially still uphold the tradition of ancestor worship.

When a Cham Bani pass, they are buried in a cemetery called Kaburrak. The cemetery of the Cham Bani has its own unique characteristics. The grave is not protruded, but flat. There are large, round stones put on each grave and aligned with each other. Cemeteries are usually very wide and flat land, with big and round rocks painted white, arranged in many long, straight rows. In the days before Ramưwan, family members perform tend the graves, cleaning and decorating their relatives' graves, inviting the spirits coming home to enjoy offerings during the holidays. On the day of the grave tending, people dressed in the most beautiful costumes gather at the cemetery. Whilst men carry hoes, water cans and ceremonial items, women wear trays of betel nut (Thon Hala), made of bamboo, and rattan (Nđôn Ganhaong, also known as Nđôn Sula) and other kinds of offerings, holding a papyrus mat (ciew bang) for Acar dignitaries. They pull weeds, clean graves, and paint the stones white. The Acar dignitaries sat in a long line along the rows of grave stones, carry out self-baptism rituals and prayed to the saints for permission to perform the ceremony. After completing the baptism ritual, wearing costumes, wrapping towels, they perform the ritual of cleansing the graves, by pouring holy water (ia gar)[4] on the tomb stone and reciting prayers. Next is the ceremony of applying a mixture of water and orange bark powder onto the stone slab (luk ia kalik spray kruơc). In the smoke of fragrant incense, the Acar dignitaries and the deacons of the clan sit in rows along the tombs, chanting long prayers drawn from the Kuru-ưn (Qu’ran) in Arabic language. People in the clans kneel, put their hands on their heads and bow in front of the graves of their ancestors and families.

The offerings in the ceremony of the tending grave ceremony are pieces of betel nut Dam-Dara, areca and lime are embedded on half of a betel leaf. These pieces of betel nut were prepared by women in the families from midnight until morning. At the end of the recitation, the Acar dignitaries hand over to the clans, and everyone to pray and bow.