Festival «Katê»

   On the sun-baked plains of Khánh Hòa province, in south-central Vietnam, a cluster of red-brick towers has stood for more than seven centuries. Once a year the Chăm people — heirs of the ancient Champa civilisation — gather at their feet to honour their gods and ancestors to the beat of drums and the wail of a reed oboe.

   2026 dates: the main rites at the towers fall on 10 October, the first day of the seventh month of the Cham calendar; in Phước Hữu commune the festive programme runs from 5 to 10 October.

   In brief:

• a solemn procession and the robing of the deity's stone statue in ceremonial y phục garments;
• live music on paranưng drums and the kèn saranai oboe, along with temple dances;
• displays of Chăm brocade and the famous Bàu Trúc pottery, shaped entirely by hand;
• shared feasting and celebration at the foot of the towers.

   Katê is the greatest festival of the Chăm, dedicated to their guardian deities and the memory of their forebears. It unfolds at the ancient sanctuaries of Po Klong Garai and Po Rome near Phan Rang, on the first day of the seventh month of the Chăm calendar. The rites follow a strict order: priests carry in the festival costume, wash and dress the stone image of the god and recite prayers, and then the courtyard fills with music and dance. Recognised as national intangible heritage, Katê is a living tradition passed down the generations, not a museum reconstruction.

   There is something here for locals and travellers alike: for Chăm families it is the highlight of the year, while visitors get a rare chance to see Champa culture from the inside — to taste the festive food and study the patterns of hand-woven brocade and hand-shaped pottery. For a foreign traveller, Katê is a key to understanding that Vietnam is not only the Việt majority: the Chăm keep their own religion, rooted in Hinduism, and their gods, rites and ornament feel closer to the temples of Southeast Asia than to the pagodas of the north. Bring a camera — at sunset the red-brick towers take on an almost otherworldly glow.

   Climb up to the ancient towers and live through Katê alongside the Chăm — one day worth an entire journey.