Po Nagar festival

Dates and the goddess

The festival is fixed to the third month of the lunar calendar, running from the 20th to the 23rd day^[1]. It honours Po Nagar, the mother of the land in Cham belief, whom Vietnamese worshippers identify with Thiên Y A Na; the towers themselves, and the goddess's image, are described in the separate article on the Po Nagar Cham towers^[1].

The 2026 programme was widened to run from the 19th to the 25th of the third lunar month, corresponding to 5 to 11 May, with the core rites still held on the traditional days^[4].

The rites

The festival runs over four days, from the 20th to the 23rd of the third lunar month, and the national heritage inventory fixes its main rites to set hours on three of them^[2]. On the 20th, a robe changing ceremony is held at noon, followed by a lantern floating ceremony on the river in the evening^[2]. On the 21st, a prayer for national peace and prosperity is held in the morning and a noon offering at midday^[2]. No dated rite is listed for the 22nd, the third day^[2]. On the 23rd, a traditional sacrificial rite is held before dawn, an opening and royal veneration ceremony follows during the morning, a water carrying and fruit tray contest runs in the middle of the day, and a gratitude incense offering closes the festival late at night^[2]. Shadow dance and ceremonial singing are performed on all the days of the festival^[2].

Participants

Attendees include Cham pilgrims from the Balamon communities of the areas that were Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận provinces before the 2025 mergers, Kinh worshippers of the Mother Goddess, and other peoples from the central coast and the highlands^[2]. Over 100 devotional delegations take part in a typical year, and the 2026 programme was built around roughly 150 delegations and about 9,000 people registered to present offerings^[2][4].

Recognition as national heritage

The Thap Ba (Po Nagar) festival was entered on the national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2012^[2]. The towers themselves, ranked a national relic since 1979, were separately ranked a special national relic under Decision 152 of 17 January 2025, with the certificate presented to Khánh Hòa on 10 July 2025^[4].

Attendance in recent years

In 2024 the festival, held over four days from 28 April to 1 May, drew over 100,000 pilgrims, residents and tourists, more than 100 devotional groups and over 5,000 registered participants, an attendance the provincial paper described as about 50 percent higher than the previous year^[3]. For the 2026 edition, held 5 to 11 May, organisers again expected over 100,000 pilgrims and visitors, with about 150 delegations and around 9,000 people registered to make offerings^[4].