Recently, at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism, members of the Ba Na community from Kong Chro Commune, Gia Lai Province, recreated the Sơma Kocham ceremony, one of the Ba Na people's most sacred and culturally distinctive communal rituals. The festival came alive with the sound of traditional gongs, graceful xoang dances and ceremonial practices deeply rooted in the cultural heritage of the Central Highlands.

According to Ba Na tradition, when crops begin to flourish and birds call through the forests, the community gathers to hold the Sơma Kocham ceremony, praying for divine protection, peaceful villages, happy families and plentiful harvests.

For the Ba Na people, the ceremony is more than a spiritual ritual. It is also an occasion for the entire village to gather, strengthen community ties and express gratitude to their ancestors.

The Ba Na believe that people live in constant connection with the spiritual world. The Yard Worship Ceremony is therefore considered a prayer to Yang - the guardian spirit of the village - asking for protection from misfortune and blessings of health, peace and prosperity.

The offerings reflect the richness of the surrounding mountains and forests, including pork, chicken, rice wine, rice and locally harvested produce. Every stage of the preparation is carefully organised under the guidance of village elders and the ritual leader.

Beneath the village Rong communal house, residents work together to raise the ceremonial pole, pound rice, prepare rice wine and cook the offerings. Once everything is ready, the offerings are respectfully arranged around the ceremonial area, with jars of rice wine placed beside the pole as the ritual leader begins prayers for peace and a successful harvest.

The sound of drums and gongs serves both as an expression of gratitude to the spirits and a celebration of the blessings the community hopes to receive.

The ceremony reaches its most sacred moment when the village elders recite prayers inviting the ancestors and guardian spirits to witness the ceremony and bless the village with peace and abundance for the coming year. At the same time, the rhythms of the gongs blend with the graceful xoang dance, symbolising the connection between people and nature.

After the ritual concludes, the village elders take the first sips of rice wine from the ceremonial jars before the rest of the community joins in the traditional blessing ritual. Each family receives a share of the blessed offerings, carrying home hopes for a fruitful harvest.

The sounds of gongs echo across the ceremonial ground, xoang dancers join hands in celebration, and traditional songs fill the air, expressing hopes for a life of prosperity and happiness.

Sơma Kocham is therefore not only a sacred spiritual ceremony but also a living repository of collective memory, strengthening the bond between people and nature while preserving the distinctive cultural identity of the Ba Na community.

Thuy Hong