New Year's Eve ceremony (Tong On ceremony) of Cham people

Every year from the beginning of January in the Cham calendar until the end of the first quarter of the month, Cham villages are bustling with preparations for the New Year's Eve Ceremony. Rija Nâgar Ceremony, in the Cham people's short name Jagar, Rija means dance ceremony, Nâgar means region, area, village. According to folklore, it is also called the New Year's Eve Ceremony. Rija Nâgar Ceremony is a system of folk beliefs associated with the Cham community for a long time and has become a folk festival in the spiritual life, preserved by many Cham villages to this day.

To learn about the Rija Nâgar ceremony, please join Vietnam.vn to attend the ceremony through the photo collection "New Year's Eve (Tống Ôn ceremony) of the Cham people" by author Nguyen Van Anh. The photo collection helps you understand more about the Tống Ôn ceremony, a common ceremony of the entire Cham community (including Cham Brahmanism and Cham Bani religion). It is a very important ceremony, closely related to the religious life of the Cham people to get rid of the bad luck of the old year and pray for all the good things in the new year, prepare for the beginning of the field work, pray for a bountiful harvest. Therefore, every year, according to tradition, the Rija Nâgar ceremony is held for two days "one day in and one day out" (on Thursday and out Friday). The photo collection was sent by the author to participate in the Photo and Video Contest "Happy Vietnam - Happy Vietnam", organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications .

Nowadays, the Rija Nâgar ceremony is also held for two days, but not necessarily on Thursday and Friday as before, but is held on Tuesday and Wednesday or Saturday and Sunday of the week until the end of January in the Cham calendar. Nowadays, the number of Vo and Bong teachers in Bac Binh district is not much. Therefore, if all villages held the Rija Nâgar ceremony on Thursday and Friday, it would not be completed in time until the end of the first moon of the month.

The most special thing in the Rija Nâgar Festival is the fire-trampling dance of the Bong shaman. Each god invited to the ceremony has his own dance, his own costume and his own props. During the two days of the ceremony, Bong shaman is ecstatic in the trance dance, when he is in a trance, Bong holds a horse whip and dances, jumps and tramples the blazing fire in front of the ceremony hall to the cheers of everyone. Every year the Bong shaman can trample the fire, the villagers believe that he will send away the drought and heat and bring cool weather and favorable wind for the villagers to cultivate.

The Rija Nâgar ceremony takes place at a ceremonial house (kajang) in an empty lot at the end of the village. Offerings include: goat, chicken, 5 trays of rice, sticky rice, sweet soup, betel and areca nuts, cakes (bananas, cakes), egg wine, beeswax... In addition, on the ceremony table there are also important offerings: Fire and water. The main shamans include: Mr. Mâduen (Mr. Vỏ), Mr. Ka-in (Mr. Bóng) wearing red shirts, dancing, stepping on fire, and going into trance to reflect the wishes of the community to the gods and vice versa.

The end of the Rija Nâgar Festival is the Palaw Saih ritual, which is the ritual of releasing effigies made of rice flour to replace and exchange with the villagers for the living people and livestock to get rid of all the dirt and evil of the old year and welcome the good things, favorable weather, and bountiful crops in the new year. The New Year Festival is a unique traditional cultural feature of the Cham people, held on the first days of the new year according to the Cham calendar. For generations, the Festival has been preserved with the meaning of praying for health, a peaceful life, favorable weather, and bountiful crops. To get rid of the dirt and evil of the old year and welcome the good things in the new year. This is also an opportunity for the Cham community to sit together, learn, and exchange production experiences to enrich their material and spiritual lives. In 2024, the Photo and Video Contest "Happy Vietnam - Happy Vietnam" continues to be organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications in coordination with the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists on the website. https://happy.vietnam.vn is open to all Vietnamese citizens and foreigners aged 15 and over. The contest aims to honor individuals and groups with positive information products, making practical contributions to the propaganda and promotion of a beautiful image of Vietnam to the world . Thereby helping people in the country, compatriots abroad and international friends access authentic images of the country, Vietnamese people, Vietnam's achievements in ensuring human rights, towards a happy Vietnam. Each contest category (photo and video) has the following prizes and prize values: - 01 Gold Medal: 70,000,000 VND - 02 Silver Medals: 20,000,000 VND - 03 Bronze Medals: 10,000,000 VND - 10 Encouragement Prizes: 5,000,000 VND - 01 most voted work: 5,000,000 VND The winning authors will be invited by the Organizing Committee to attend the Announcement Ceremony and Award Ceremony and Certificate on live television of Vietnam Television.

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