Kate is the oldest and most unique folk festival of the Brahmanical Cham people in Binh Thuan with the meaning of remembering the gods and praying for favorable weather, good harvests, and harmonious couples.

On the occasion of Kate festival, not only Cham people in Binh Thuan but Cham people living and working throughout the country return to reunite and gather with their family and friends.

Over the past 15 years, the Kate festival has been held annually by Binh Thuan province at Po Sah Inu tower in Phu Hai ward, Phan Thiet city and it becomes one of 6 typical festivals selected by the province for tourism development. Not only meeting the spiritual and emotional needs of the Cham people, the Kate festival also contributes to promoting the culture and image of Binh Thuan to domestic and international tourists.

In April 2022, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decided to include the Kate festival of the Cham people in Binh Thuan province on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

According to the Binh Thuan Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the organization of the Kate festival is to preserve and promote the value of the national intangible cultural heritage and at the same time introduce and exploit the valuable cultural capital and traditional folk arts of the Cham people to serve tourism, promote local cultural, economic and social development, and contribute to building an advanced culture, rich in Vietnamese national identity.

The festival will take place on October 13-14, 2023, at the Po Sah Inu tower relic, including the Ceremony and the Festival. Ceremony is considered the main content of the festival, which is run by Cham dignitaries, following the religious regulations and traditional customs of the Cham people.

 As for the Festival, there will be folk games, competitions, and performances introducing traditional crafts and Cham folk art performances to create an atmosphere of excitement, joy, and solidarity.

In recent years, in addition to investing in socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in general and Cham people in particular, Binh Thuan province has been preserving and promoting traditional cultural values of the Cham people such as: Preserving and developing traditional pottery making, Cham festivals, building a Cham cultural exhibition center...

PV