TL;DR: Ramưwan, also called Ramadan or the month of fasting and prayer, is the largest traditional Tết of the Cham who follow the Bà Ni branch of Islam, beginning with the grave-visiting ceremony, then ancestral offerings and purification at the temple. The festival starts on the first day of the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and lasts a month, so it has no fixed date in the solar calendar, and each year it falls about 10 to 11 solar days earlier than the previous year. This is the occasion when the Cham Bà Ni turn toward their ancestors, place filial duty above all, and pray for peace and favourable harvests for the community.
What is Ramưwan and why is it also called the Tet of the Cham Bani people?
Ramưwan, also called Ramadan or the month of fasting and prayer, is a traditional Tet with its own character for the Cham people who follow Bani Islam, which is why it is also called a "festival" or "Tet"[1]. This is one of the most important festivals of the Cham people who follow Bani Islam and Islam in Vietnam[1]. For the Cham Bani, Ramưwan is likened to the Lunar New Year of the Kinh people and is the biggest Tet of their community, tied to many activities of belief, culture and art[4].
A distinction must be made between two communities that both observe this festival but have different rules. The Cham Bani and the Cham who follow Islam both welcome Ramưwan, but the degree of fasting practice is not the same, something the later part of this article will make clear.
When during the year does Ramưwan take place?
The festival usually takes place on the first day of the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and lasts for one month. It has no fixed date and comes about 10 to 11 days earlier each year in the solar calendar[1]. Because it follows the Islamic calendar, the solar calendar timing of Ramưwan shifts from year to year. For example, in 2021 the grave-visiting ceremony in Binh Thuan took place on the morning of 11 April, on the 29th of the eighth month of the Islamic calendar, opening Tet Ramưwan[3]. In 2024, the grave-visiting ceremony of the Cham who follow the Bani religion in Phan Hoa and Phan Thanh communes, Bac Binh district, Binh Thuan, was held before the fasting month of Ramưwan, reckoned as the first day of the second lunar month, that is, the 1st day of the 9th month of the Islamic calendar[2].
This way of reckoning means Ramưwan is not tied to a fixed solar calendar marker. People outside the community who want to know the exact date of the festival in a given year usually have to check the Islamic calendar or ask the dignitaries in the village.
What rituals does Ramưwan include?
The festival has three basic parts: the grave-visiting ceremony, the ancestor worship ceremony and the fasting ceremony at the Bani Islamic temples and the Islam mosques[1]. Of these, the grave-visiting ceremony is the opening part and also the most important one[1].
The Cham Tet Ramưwan includes many traditional rituals in succession, such as the grave-visiting ceremony, the Và ha ceremony, the ceremony of worshipping ancestors at home and the Ramadan fasting month of the Char masters at the temples and towers[3]. The list may differ between sources, but it all revolves around three axes: visiting graves, worshipping ancestors at home and fasting at the place of worship.
The grave-visiting ceremony
By tradition, Cham villages organise the grave-visiting ceremony in this order: on the first day, graves far from home are visited; on the second and third days, graves closer to home are visited, usually carried out a few days before the main ceremony[1]. The Cham Bani hold that visiting graves is a rite to invite the ancestors home to enjoy Tet. Graves in distant places are visited first, the invitation rite is performed first, so that grandparents buried far away have time to return home in time alongside grandparents buried near home[1].
During the grave-visiting ceremony, families wear traditional clothing and bring offerings to the cemeteries of their community to make offerings[1]. The offerings include betel and areca prepared in advance, tobacco, drinking water and cakes[1]. At the grave site, people arrange fruit and ginger cakes, then sit in rows around them to recite prayers, inviting the ancestors to welcome Tet Ramưwan under the presiding of the ceremony by those who hold religious office[2].
The role of presiding belongs to the Char master. The Char master is the one who presides over the offering ceremony, beginning the ritual of reciting the Koran in Arabic, while the assistant celebrants sprinkle holy water on each stone (grave marker) with the meaning of purification, making the dead cooler, cleaner and more pure; after that they recite prayers and make offerings to welcome the ancestors home to enjoy Tet[1].
The ancestor worship ceremony
After the grave-visiting ceremony, families return home to worship their ancestors according to traditional custom and hold feasts to entertain guests and friends. Children and grandchildren gather in full along with offerings according to custom to present, inviting grandparents and ancestors to share in the joy[1]. The Cham Bani set up an altar at home for only two days, then welcome the grandparents and ancestors into the temple until the end of the Ramưwan season[1]. During this time, villages hold festivals at sports grounds, and several hundred people gather to wish each other a peaceful new year and sing and dance the traditional dances of their community[1].
The fasting ceremony at the mosque
The dignitaries of Bani Islam and Islam perform the religious ritual of belief, that is, the fasting ceremony, at the mosques, and it lasts for one month[1]. The difference between the two communities lies in the scope of those who practise it and the duration.
| Content | Cham Bani people | Cham people who follow Islam |
|---|---|---|
| Fasting time | 5 days in the fasting month | One month at the mosque |
| Those who practise | Dignitaries and believers | The community performs the fasting ritual at the mosque |
| Form | Abstaining from food and drink from sunrise to sunset | Fasting at the mosque |
| Exemptions | Pregnant women, children, the elderly, the sick | Not stated in the source |
Accordingly, throughout the fasting month, the dignitaries and believers of Bani Islam go to the temple and abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset for 5 days, except for pregnant women, children, the elderly and the sick, devoting much time to prayer, reflection on moral conduct and doing good deeds. As for the community of Cham who follow Islam, they perform the fasting ritual at the mosque lasting one month[1].
In Binh Thuan, unlike the Ramadan fasting month in which everyone must fast in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, the Ramưwan fasting month of the Cham in Binh Thuan applies only to the masters who hold office in the mosque, and is not mandatory for ordinary people[2]. Thus, although both are called a fasting month, the scope of obligation can differ between localities and between groups of believers. Where sources do not agree on the duration and those who fast, the reader should understand that there are differences by community and by locality, and that there is no single standard applied to all.
What is special about the Cham people's tomb-visiting ritual?
The most immediately noticeable feature is the way the tombs are built. Cham tombs are not built to last: they are covered with sand level with the ground and marked by a round stone; these stones are laid out in long, evenly spaced rows[3]. At the cemetery, families set out offerings and sit in circles around the tombs, group by group along clan lines[3].
Water is used as part of the rite. The Char master leads the offering ceremony and pours water on the tomb to purify it, to make the deceased cooler, cleaner and more pure, after which he reads prayers and makes offerings to welcome the ancestors home for Tet[3]. The offerings at the tomb-visiting ceremony are fairly simple, consisting of betel and areca, tobacco, drinking water, and cakes and sweets[3].
The atmosphere of preparation is also part of the ceremony. In the days leading up to the festival, the mood of preparation in Cham Bani villages is very lively; village roads and lanes are brightly decorated with flags and flowers. Families bustle about decorating their homes, wrapping cakes and pressing cốm (young sticky rice)[1].
Where the tomb-visiting ceremony takes place
Sources record the tomb-visiting ceremony in a number of different localities. In Binh Thuan, Cham people gather at the Cham cemetery, also called Dong Do, in Phan Ri Thanh commune, Bac Binh district, to carry out the rite of visiting the tombs of their grandparents and ancestors[3]. Dong Do sits on a high sand dune, far from residential areas; to get there, people must cross a stretch of river by boat and then walk a considerable distance[3].
In Ninh Thuan, the Cham village cemetery in Van Lam hamlet, Phuoc Nam commune, Thuan Nam district is recorded by the source as the largest cemetery of the Cham people, where thousands of Cham Bani from various clans and families, dressed in traditional costume and carrying trays of produce, perform the rite of offering to the deceased[4].
Note that the place names above are the administrative units recorded in the source at the time of publication. After 1 July 2025, the whole country reorganised its administrative units and the district level no longer exists, so readers looking these up today may encounter new commune and ward names.
The meaning of the Ramưwan festival for the Cham Bani community
The Ramưwan festival is bound up with activities that express the moral principle of remembering the source of the water we drink, turning towards family and ancestors, and placing filial duty above all. It is an occasion for relatives to gather together, for those who have left their home village to return and join the joyful festive atmosphere, to pray for peace, favourable rain and wind, and a bountiful harvest[1].
The tomb-visiting ceremony is a folk custom and belief of the Cham Bani people, a commemoration and expression of gratitude to ancestors and clan, as well as a spiritual matter for everyone in the community[3]. With the meaning of helping descendants remember their ancestors, grandparents and those who gave them life, and of praying for peace in the village, prosperity in every home and good harvests, the Ramưwan Tet of the Cham people consists of many traditional rites in succession[3].
Cham Bani people hold that the month of fasting and prayer purifies body and spirit, restrains base desires, and aims towards a life of truth, goodness and beauty, and towards solidarity of community and people[1]. The distinctive character of the ethnic element is always interwoven with the religious element, along with many customary laws and ceremonies steeped in folk religious belief and the community's traditional culture, which makes the Ramưwan festival attract many visitors seeking to learn about the culture and beliefs of the Cham people in Ninh Thuan[1].
During these days, Cham people far from home all make time to return to make offerings to their ancestors and gather with family and relatives. In Cham villages, every house is crowded and bustling, filled with the atmosphere of Tet[3].
How do Cham Bani and Cham Ba La Mon differ at Tet?
The Cham people of Binh Thuan have many festivals with distinctive cultural and religious features. While Cham Ba La Mon have the lively, colourful Kate festival, the Cham Bani community has the Ramưwan Tet[3]. These are two communities who are both Cham but follow two different religious traditions, and each community has its own Tet festival. The traditional Ramưwan Tet is described by the source as a spiritual cultural product of the ancient belief tradition of the Cham people[3].
This distinction matters when researching: if you are looking into the Kate festival, that is the festival of the Cham Ba La Mon, whereas Ramưwan is the festival of the Cham Bani and of Cham people who follow Islam. The two festivals differ in timing, rites and the setting in which they are practised.
The scale of the community and the context of holding the festival today
According to figures published by the source, Binh Thuan has more than 39,600 Cham people, making up more than 3% of the province's population and 39% of its ethnic minorities, concentrated mainly in 4 purely Cham communes and 9 mixed hamlets across 6 of the province's 10 districts, towns and cities[3]. Ninh Thuan has more than 74,000 Cham people following Ba La Mon, Bani and Islam, living in 22 villages across 6 districts and cities; of these, more than 31,500 are Cham Bani and Muslim, living in 6 communes in 4 districts: Thuan Nam, Ninh Phuoc, Ninh Son and Thuan Bac[4]. These figures relate to the time the source was published, not to the present day.
As for organisation, during the festival local authorities issue directions to make it easier for people to celebrate Tet. The former Chairman of the Binh Thuan Provincial People's Committee (now part of Lam Dong) directed departments, agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and mass organisations in the province, and local authorities, to create all favourable conditions for people to enjoy a joyful, safe and thrifty Tet, and encouraged people to enjoy Tet without forgetting the task of developing production[3].
On the community side, Su ca Chau Minh Huong, Chairman of the Council of Su ca of Bani Islam in the former Ninh Thuan province, now part of Khanh Hoa, said that people are very excited to welcome the Ramưwan festival, hoping for a new year of favourable rain and wind, a good harvest, and peace and prosperity for every family[1]. Mr Thanh Thanh Tam, Head of the Representative Board of the Islamic Community of the former Ninh Thuan province, now part of Khanh Hoa, and also Head of the Hakem Board of Mosque 102, remarked that the Ramưwan festival is one of the most important festivals of the Cham people who follow Bani Islam and Islam in Vietnam, and has become an indispensable cultural beauty in the life of the Cham people[1].
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestions for learning about the Ramưwan festival
If you want to learn about or attend the Ramưwan festival, the first thing to do is to identify the specific year and then check the Islamic calendar, because the festival does not fall on a fixed solar date. Next, make a clear distinction between whether you are learning about the Chăm Bà Ni community or the Chăm community that follows Islam, because the length of the fasting period and the range of practitioners differ between the two groups. When visiting a cemetery or a place of worship, wearing appropriate clothing and following the guidance of the religious dignitaries is a way to show respect for the community's religious practice. The rituals within Ramưwan are cultural and religious practices that are being maintained in contemporary life, so the appropriate approach is to observe and learn, not to speculate in place of the community's own voice.
