Walking into Văn Lâm village on an ordinary day, visitors will encounter a house of worship quite different from the familiar image of grand Islamic mosques. There is no large bulbous dome and no soaring minaret tower for the call to prayer. The main building is simply a long, brightly whitewashed hall with flat walls, a two-sided pitched roof, and closed doors standing quietly amid the neighborhood like a village meeting house, with only the gate and front facade bearing a crescent moon embracing a star alongside Arabic and traditional Cham script. Those doors remain closed for nearly the entire year.
When the month of Ramưwan arrives, however, the entire village shifts its rhythm. Families go out to sweep ancestral graves, offering trays are laid out inside every home, and clerics dressed in white robes and headscarves file into the sanctuary to reside there for a full month. They observe the fast inside, and by the custom of the Bàni faith, they fast on behalf of the entire community. Understanding that single sentence is enough to grasp almost everything distinctive about this place.
IWhat the Bàni religion is
A clear distinction must be stated from the outset, because this is the point most frequently confused. Bàni is the localized form of Islam practiced by the Cham people, shaped specifically in South Central Vietnam, and distinct from orthodox Sunni Islam followed by the Cham Islam community and Malay Muslims. Both traditions share a common root, yet they have followed two separate paths for centuries. The library records these differences as historical facts without ranking one practice as more authentic than the other.
The word Bàni comes from Arabic and is explained as meaning people belonging to the faith or descendants of the faith. Among the Cham themselves, another paired naming system is used, in which Awal designates the Bàni community and Ahier designates the Brahmanist Cham community. Awal means before or earlier, while Ahier means after or later. These two terms do not establish a hierarchy of rank, but rather position two halves of a single whole, since in traditional Cham thought Awal and Ahier form a yin-yang pair that must coexist for ritual life to be complete.
According to Bàni doctrine, the supreme being is Po Awluah, namely Allah, who stands at the head of the pantheon. Alongside Po Awluah, Bàni believers continue to venerate ancestral spirits and retain nature deities such as the gods of Rain, Sea, and Mountain within their ritual system. Their scripture is called the Kuraân, a compilation of passages drawn from the Qur'an written in a modified Arabic script interspersed with explanatory rubrics in Cham Akhar Thrah script, which clerics memorize for recitation during ceremonies.
The greatest doctrinal difference lies in the Five Pillars of Islam, comprising the declaration of faith, five daily prayers, almsgiving, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. In orthodox Islam, those five duties rest upon each individual believer. In the Bàni tradition, they are entrusted to the clerical order to fulfill on behalf of the community. Monetary almsgiving is adapted into the ritual of rice exchange (đổi gạo), in which believers and clan members bring rice and food offerings to the sanctuary for the clerics representing their matrilineal clan, while the pilgrimage to Mecca is virtually not practiced.
In terms of historical evidence, scholars hold differing views on when Islam first entered the kingdom of Champa. One line of scholarship cites two Arabic-inscribed stelae found along the central coast, one dated 1039 and the other dated between 1025 and 1035, to argue that Islam arrived in Champa by sea between the 9th and 11th centuries among foreign merchants and artisans residing along the coast (E. Aymonier, P. Ravaisse, Bá Trung Phụ). Conversely, scholars such as P. Y. Manguin (1979) and Ludvik Kalus have argued that those two stelae actually originated in Kairouan in Tunisia rather than Champa, and several other studies place the wider spread of Islam in Champa between the 14th and 16th centuries. The library notes both scholarly perspectives.
From that early Islamic presence, through centuries of blending with indigenous beliefs and the existing Brahmanist layer, the Bàni religion took its present form. According to Cham tradition, the arrangement placing the Awal and Ahier branches within a shared ritual framework is associated with the reign of King Po Rome (reigned 1627 to 1651) in the 17th century. This belongs to oral tradition and later Cham chronicles rather than contemporary epigraphic records.
Regarding terminology, published sources use several different names for the same community, including Bàni, Cham Bàni, Bàni Islam, Awal, Bani Awal, and Agama Awal. Even among researchers and within the community itself, opinions differ on which term is preferable. The library records all of these usages without taking a side.
Three common misunderstandings deserve clarification in a factual spirit, without criticizing anyone.
First, Bàni and orthodox Islam are not identical. The Cham Islam community in the Mekong Delta, as well as a segment of the Cham population in South Central Vietnam since the early 1960s, practices orthodox Sunni Islam, in which every believer prays five times daily, the entire community fasts during Ramadan, and domed masjids stay open year-round. The Cham Bàni community practices according to the customs described above. Grouping both under the single label of Muslim Cham is accurate regarding historical origin, but obscures substantial differences in practice.
Second, a Bàni sanctuary is not a Buddhist pagoda. Local Vietnamese residents and even news outlets sometimes refer to it as a Bàni pagoda (chùa Bàni), perhaps because the building stays closed most of the year and opens only for festivals. Inside the sanctuary, however, there are no statues, no Buddhist altars, and no Buddhist monks. The proper Cham term is Sang Magik (or Sang Mưgik), meaning house of worship.
Third, the month of Ramưwan is not a direct replica of Ramadan. The two names share the same etymological root, yet the ritual observance differs markedly, because in the Bàni tradition the month opens with grave-sweeping ceremonies and inviting ancestral spirits home, a layer of ancestor veneration absent from orthodox Ramadan.
IIVăn Lâm village and its sanctuary
Văn Lâm, known in Cham as palei Ram (also spelled palei Răm or palei Rem), is one of the most populous Cham Bàni villages in the region, located in former Phước Nam commune, now Thuận Nam commune, Khánh Hòa province. The village sanctuary is called Magik Haluw Ram in Cham and is one of the seven Bàni Sang Magik of the former Ninh Thuận region. The sources consulted by the library do not record a specific founding year for this sanctuary, so the library leaves that date open rather than inventing an unverified figure. This is typical of Bàni sanctuaries, as original structures were built of perishable materials and rebuilt repeatedly, with documented milestones noting only that the gate stood before 1975 and was rebuilt in 2022.
- 9th to 11th centuryEarly Islamic tracesAccording to one line of scholarship, Islam reached the kingdom of Champa by sea along with foreign merchants and artisans residing along the central coast.
- 1025 to 1039Two Arabic stelaeDates of two Arabic-inscribed stelae (1039 and 1025 to 1035) cited by P. Ravaisse as evidence of early Islam in Champa, though P. Y. Manguin and Ludvik Kalus later argued both stelae originated in Tunisia.
- 14th to 17th centuryFormation of the Bàni faithEarly Islamic elements blended with indigenous beliefs and the existing Brahmanist tradition, forming the Bàni religion with its own clerical hierarchy and ritual calendar.
- 17th centuryThe Awal and Ahier pairAccording to Cham tradition, the integration of the Awal and Ahier branches into a shared ritual system is linked to the reign of King Po Rome (1627 to 1651).
- Before the mid-20th centurySanctuary of light materialsAccording to scholarly descriptions, Bàni sanctuaries were originally built with thatched roofs, bamboo or earthen walls, and earthen floors, rebuilt periodically rather than in permanent masonry.
- 1960 or 1962First orthodox masjid in the villageThe first orthodox Sunni masjid in Văn Lâm (Jamiul Muslimin Mosque 101) was erected in the early 1960s (sources record 1960 or 1962), marking the coexistence of two Islamic traditions within one village.
- Before 1975 and 2022Masonry reconstruction and new gateThe Văn Lâm Bàni sanctuary was rebuilt with brick walls and a tiled roof, with a gate dating from before 1975 and a new gate reconstructed in 2022.
- Present dayCommunity scalePublished statistics record about 29,700 Bàni followers across the former Ninh Thuận province, concentrated in 12 hamlets across 6 communes with 7 Sang Magik sanctuaries.
IIIArchitecture of a Bàni sanctuary
Visitors accustomed to picturing an Islamic mosque with a grand dome and a tall minaret tower will find a very different form here. A Bàni sanctuary is a long rectangular hall with flat masonry walls and a two-sided pitched roof, lacking both a bulbous dome and a high minaret. According to architectural descriptions in Tia Sáng magazine, traditional Sang Magik halls rarely placed large emblems on the roof and typically inscribed traditional Cham Akhar Thrah script, sometimes accompanied by Arabic script, on the facade. Field photographs taken at the Văn Lâm sanctuary in 2022 show that both the pre-1975 gate and the gate rebuilt in 2022, as well as the main doorway and the interior pulpit (minbar), display the crescent moon and star emblem alongside Arabic and Cham inscriptions.
A long open room without central dividing columns, its floor left completely clear of chairs, statues, or paintings. Against the center of the western wall stands the minbar where clerics recite the Kuraân, while clerical seating is arranged by rank in horizontal rows facing west.
According to studies of Cham religious architecture, the main entrance opens to the east toward the rising sun, whereas the front prayer wall and ritual orientation face west, corresponding to the qibla toward Mecca from Vietnam.
Originally built with a thatched roof, bamboo or mud walls, and an earthen floor. From the second half of the 20th century, the hall was rebuilt in brick, cement, and roof tiles, finished in bright whitewash while preserving the traditional layout.
Beside the main hall stand a kitchen and resting quarters, because during the month of Ramưwan the clerics reside within the compound for a full month and take all their meals and rest on site.
Another essential feature is that a Bàni sanctuary remains closed for almost the entire year. Unlike Islamic Mosque 101, Văn Lâm about five hundred meters away, where worshippers gather five times every day, the Sang Magik opens only during the month of Ramưwan and major festival cycles such as the Suk Yeng ceremony. Outside those occasions, Bàni ritual life takes place in family homes and clan cemeteries. That quietness is not a sign of decline, but the normal rhythm of the sanctuary.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
One premise must be stated plainly before reading further. Islam does not teach feng shui. The ritual orientation of an Islamic sanctuary is fixed by the qibla, the direction toward Mecca, which is a liturgical rule rather than a geomantic calculation. The notes below offer a comparative reading by the library for readers familiar with traditional Vietnamese geomancy, and represent neither religious doctrine nor the intentions of the builders.
First is placement within the village. The Bàni sanctuary does not stand on the outskirts, but sits right amid the residential neighborhood on the same level ground as family homes, without high perimeter walls or a vast forecourt. Read through traditional Vietnamese eyes, this is a central gathering (tụ giữa) configuration that places the sanctuary at the heart of the settlement rather than isolating it. Northern Vietnamese communal houses (đình) are often sited in a similar way, even though the underlying reasons of the two traditions are unrelated.
Second is the interplay of two directions, which offers the most intriguing point of comparison. The main doors open to the east to greet the rising sun, whereas the direction of prayer faces west toward Mecca. A person thus steps inside facing one way and then turns around to pray in the opposite direction. In traditional Vietnamese geomancy, the East belongs to the Wood element associated with morning vitality, while the West belongs to the Metal element associated with the setting sun, so a building combining two opposite orientations in this manner would puzzle a classical geomancer. Here, however, it is not a matter of auspicious or inauspicious bearings, but the imprint of two layered traditions, with the indigenous Cham layer opening the doors toward the rising sun and the Islamic layer orienting prayer toward the holy city in the west. The physical form of the building expresses the exact same synthesis found in its rituals.
Third is the empty interior. Traditional Vietnamese geomancy closely evaluates interior arrangement, from the placement of the incense altar and the depth of the rear sanctum to how qi flows from the threshold to the altar. Here there is nothing of the sort to calculate, because the interior hall is left completely empty. That emptiness is deliberate, as this space venerates no physical object and exists solely for turning toward a single direction.
VThe month of Ramưwan and the Acar clergy
Ramưwan (also spelled Ramưvan or Ramâwan) is the largest annual festival month of the Cham Bàni community. Reckoned by the traditional Cham calendar, it falls on different solar dates each year, usually around March or April. Rather than a single holiday, it is an entire ritual season encompassing ceremonies at clan cemeteries, in family homes, and inside the sanctuary.
The five-rank clerical hierarchy
The Bàni clergy is organized into five ranks, ascending from Acar (also called Car), Mưdin (or Madin), Katip, and Imưm (or Imâm) to Po Gru (Chief Cleric). Acar is the foundational rank and the most numerous, with each cleric representing his matrilineal clan in religious duties and progressing through four sub-grades known as Jamak, Talavi, Po Sit, and Po Praong. The Mưdin coordinates ritual procedures and teaches children to recite the Kuraân. The Katip performs Friday rituals at the sanctuary and ceremonies at private homes (according to researcher Bá Trung Phụ, a Bàni Katip primarily conducts ritual liturgies rather than delivering doctrinal sermons as in orthodox Islam). An Imưm is a senior cleric who has studied for at least fifteen years, mastered the Kuraân, and may be selected for the prestigious order of Imâm Pah (the Forty Imâms) through a rigorous ordination rite. The Po Gru is the highest authority of each sanctuary, elected by all the clerics and villagers to decide religious affairs and ritual dates for the village.
Together, all five ranks form the clerical body that believers collectively call the Acar clerics. It is this group that fulfills the five religious duties on behalf of the entire community.
| Stage | Location | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Grave-sweeping | Clan cemeteries | Before the festival month begins, families visit their matrilineal clan cemeteries with cakes, fruit, and betel, while Acar clerics sprinkle holy water and apply fragrant oil to the grave stones to invite ancestral spirits home. |
| Ancestral offerings | Individual homes | Families lay out wooden platforms, pillows, betel trays, teapots, cakes, and fruit. Each deceased relative is offered one vegetarian tray and one meat tray. |
| Clerics enter the sanctuary | Sanctuary | The Acar clerics perform ritual purification and move into the sanctuary for the entire thirty-day month, fasting and praying on behalf of the whole community. |
| Strict fasting period | Sanctuary | Published sources differ on the length of the strictest phase, with some recording the first fifteen days and others the first three days. During this phase, clerics abstain from food and drink before sunset, avoid heavy labor, and do not return home. |
| Village taboos | Family households | On the opening day and throughout the strict fasting phase, households refrain from slaughtering animals, bring food offerings to the sanctuary for their clan clerics, and maintain harmony in the neighborhood. |
| Second half and breaking the fast | Sanctuary and village | From the sixteenth day onward, daily life in the village returns to normal. At the end of the month, families bring offerings to the Sang Magik for the fast-breaking ceremony, the clerics depart, and the doors close again until the next festival. |
Beyond the month of Ramưwan, the Văn Lâm sanctuary also participates in the Suk Yeng cycle (also spelled Suk Yơng), a rotating Friday festival held once every three years across the seven Bàni Sang Magik of the former Ninh Thuận region. During the 2025 festival season, Văn Lâm served as the second stop in the seven-village cycle, welcoming clerics and believers from neighboring villages.
The clearest contrast between Ramưwan and orthodox Islamic Ramadan lies in two points. First is who observes the fast, which in orthodox Islam is every adult believer, whereas in Bàni practice it is the clerical order fasting on the community's behalf. Second is the layer of ancestor veneration, as grave-sweeping and welcoming ancestral spirits home form the mandatory opening of Ramưwan, an indigenous ritual layer absent from Ramadan. Those two features sum up the centuries-long localization that shaped the Bàni tradition.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Thôn Văn Lâm, xã Phước Nam cũ, nay là xã Thuận Nam, tỉnh Khánh Hòa
- Getting there
- Located in Văn Lâm hamlet (known in Cham as palei Ram), former Phước Nam commune, now Thuận Nam commune, Khánh Hòa province, along National Route 1 heading south from Phan Rang. Within the same hamlet, about five hundred meters away, stands Islamic Mosque 101 (Jamiul Muslimin) of the Cham Islam community, and in neighboring Nho Lâm hamlet stands Islamic Mosque 104, which belong to a separate religious system.
- Coordinates
- 11.5, 108.9167
This is the house of worship of a specific community rather than a tourist site, and the sanctuary stays closed for nearly the entire year. Visitors are expected to ask local residents before entering the grounds, dress modestly, remove shoes before stepping into the hall, and refrain from bringing food or drink inside. During the month of Ramưwan and the Suk Yeng festival, rituals inside belong to the clerics, so visitors should remain outside and not take photographs without permission.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
Contribute photos, information or video for Van Lam Bani Mosque
Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Thánh đường Bàni Văn LâmEveryone is welcome to enrich this page: a photo you took, a detail the page misses, a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
Thầy Ưng Khiêm mời cộng đồng cùng làm giàu trang này. Ảnh chụp tận nơi, một chi tiết lịch sử chưa được nhắc, một đoạn video ngắn: mọi đóng góp đều được đọc và trả lời.
No community contribution yet. You could be the first. Chưa có đóng góp nào từ cộng đồng. Bạn có thể là người đầu tiên.
?Quick Questions
What is the Bàni religion?
It is the localized form of Islam practiced by the Cham people, formed specifically in South Central Vietnam from early Islamic currents that reached Champa in history. The Cham also call this branch Awal, paired with Ahier, the Brahmanist Cham branch. The Bàni faith worships Po Awluah (Allah) while preserving ancestor veneration and nature deities.
How do Cham Bàni and Cham Islam differ?
Cham Islam follows orthodox Sunni Islam, where every believer prays five times daily and the entire community fasts during Ramadan. Cham Bàni delegates the five religious duties to the clerical order on the village's behalf, maintains ancestor veneration, and opens its sanctuary only during festival seasons rather than year-round. Both share a historical root but have followed separate paths for centuries.
Why do only the Acar clerics fast while ordinary villagers do not?
Because the Bàni tradition entrusts the Five Pillars of Islam to the clerical order to fulfill on behalf of the entire community. During the month of Ramưwan, the Acar clerics take up residence inside the sanctuary to fast and conduct rituals for the full month, while lay believers perform grave-sweeping, offer ancestral meals at home, bring offerings to the sanctuary, and observe village taboos.
When does the month of Ramưwan take place?
It is reckoned according to the traditional Cham calendar and therefore shifts across solar dates from year to year, usually falling around March or April. The ritual month opens with grave-sweeping at clan cemeteries and ancestral offerings at home, after which the clerics enter the sanctuary for a full month of fasting before breaking the fast.
Why is a Bàni sanctuary sometimes called a pagoda?
That is an informal habit among outsiders, likely because the building stays closed most of the year and opens only during festivals. Inside the sanctuary there are no statues, no Buddhist altars, and no Buddhist monks. The proper Cham term is Sang Magik (or Sang Mưgik), meaning house of worship, and the sanctuary in Văn Lâm is called Magik Haluw Ram.