Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee on April 30th announced that it has issued a plan to organize the Nha Trang Ponagar Tower Festival in 2026 - one of the typical Mother Goddess worshiping festivals, maintained annually in the locality.
According to the plan, the important opening ceremony is the water procession ceremony which will take place on the morning of May 5, 2026 (ie March 19th of the lunar calendar) at the Ponagar Tower - Chua Hang relic site.
The procession wears traditional festival costumes, prepares flower cars, palanquins and offerings, departs from the Ba Po Nagar tower relic area, and moves to Hang Pagoda to perform the ritual of asking for holy water.
After that, the delegation returns to the Mandapa area. Here, young women in traditional costumes will perform the water offering ceremony to the Mother Goddess.
The participants in the ritual include the Ritual Committee; Cham dignitaries; Ba Tower Relic Management Board; Cham and Vietnamese ethnic minority girls participating in carrying water and performing rituals; representatives of the Provincial Association for Conservation of Cultural Heritage and Spiritual Tourism; clubs practicing the belief in worshiping Mother Goddess Thien Y A Na; Cham community and a large number of local people.
Besides the water procession ritual, the festival also has many notable activities such as: opening ceremony; Moc duc ceremony (replacing the Mother Goddess); palanquin procession, requiem and flower lantern release ceremony; national peace and prosperity prayer ceremony; incense offering ceremony of festivals; Ngo hour worship ceremony; peace prayer ceremony of the Cham people.
Ba Po Nagar Tower relic was ranked as a special national relic by the Government in 2025.
Previously, the Ponagar Tower Festival in Nha Trang was included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2012.
The annual organization of the festival, associated with honoring the special national relic, is an opportunity to honor Mother Thien Y A Na (Goddess Yang Po Inu Nagar) - considered the "Mother of the Land".
At the same time, this activity contributes to raising the responsibility of all levels, sectors and people in the work of preserving and promoting traditional cultural values, promoting the image of Khanh Hoa to domestic and international tourists.
