By James Tabafunda
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
In Seattle’s Rainier Valley, the Cham community stands at a crossroads—honoring centuries-old traditions while forging a new future for the next generation. The Cham, a Muslim minority in Southeast Asia, primarily in Vietnam and Cambodia, have become one of the city’s most vibrant Asian American communities.
At the heart of this community is the Cham Refugees Community (CRC), a nonprofit founded in 1982. For more than 40 years, CRC has served as a cornerstone for Cham refugees who fled persecution and war in Southeast Asia. Each year, the CRC welcomes more than 1,600 individuals and families from across South King County. Its services range from case management, youth programs, senior support, language classes, and cultural events.
Hasanah Ysa: keeper of Cham traditions
Hasanah Ysa
Hasanah Ysa, a CRC finance specialist since 2021, can be viewed as the heart of the community. She arrived in the United States in 1986 and has witnessed the Cham community’s evolution up close. Today, she manages the organization’s finances, supports a new mosque project, and volunteers her time to ensure CRC’s mission continues.
But her contributions go far beyond numbers. She is CRC’s celebrated chef and language instructor, seeing food and language as important badges of Cham identity. “For our traditional clothes, it doesn’t matter what we’re wearing,” Ysa said, reflecting her approach to tradition. “What matters is that we come together, celebrate, and remember where we came from.”
Ramuwan: A month of family and faith
For Seattle’s Cham community, the month of Ramuwan is more than a religious period of time. It is one of the largest celebrations of tradition, identity, and family. Throughout the month, communal prayers and home rituals bring the community together.
“Ramuwan is a time to reunite families, pray for happiness, and hope for good harvests,” Ysa says. Community gatherings at CRC and local mosques combine cultural and religious traditions. “We use our religion of Islam for Ramadan, and after that, we celebrate together,” she said.
Kate Festival: Tradition updated
Each year, Cham communities around the world observe the Kate Festival, a tradition traced back to the ancient temples of Vietnam’s Ninh Thuan province. Over the decades, the festival has transformed.
“Back then (in southern Vietnam), we had music, games, and big celebrations,” Ysa recalls. “Now, our traditions are more closely tied to our religious beliefs. We pray together, but our focus is on Allah. We don’t pray to statues or for rain as before; we ask Allah for blessings.”
This update reflects the community’s adaptation, mixing a well-established heritage with the Islamic religious beliefs that many Cham refugees now follow. The spirit of community continues to be strong. Cham families organize community events—camping trips, for example—where children and elders gather, share life stories, and celebrate their ethnicity. These events make the communal aspect of Kate real, reinforcing pride and unity.
Matrilineal roots: Another tradition updated
Cham society is well known for its matrilineal traditions, where family lineage and inheritance pass through the mother’s side. These traditions define Cham culture in Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan provinces in Vietnam and specify that the youngest daughter inherits the largest share of property. Husbands move into their wives’ family homes after marriage, and children would take their mother’s surname. Cham women play central roles in both community and family life.
Both adaptation and migration have brought change. In Seattle, influenced by legal and religious mandates, many Cham families now use the father’s surname for official documents, aligning with larger societal practices.
“We try to keep our traditions, but we have to follow the rules here,” Ysa said.
Music, dance: Traditions changed
In southern Vietnam, Ysa’s original home, Cham music and dance are central to religious and cultural celebrations. For Ysa, these traditions have changed.
“I’m living two lives right now,” she says. “I remember the celebrations of my youth in Vietnam, but here, there’s no music.”
This change is partly due to increased awareness of religious study in the U.S. Cham Muslims in Seattle have learned specific forms of dance and music are not traditionally part of Islamic worship. Now, many families prefer to value religious observance over musical celebration, aligning closer to international Islamic practices.
Still, a few aspects of Cham musical celebration remain. The drum, a traditional instrument in Cham religious celebrations, continues to be played in certain ceremonies.
Weddings and funerals
Cham wedding customs in Seattle remain influenced by matrilineal heritage. Traditionally, women assumed the lead role in choosing partners, with marriages structured in a way that husbands joined their wives’ households. The bride’s family arranges and finances the wedding, a reminder of enduring matriarchal values.
Ysa says arranged marriages still occur, and some Cham families still honor the full three-day tradition of celebration and abstinence at the bride’s home. But many now opt for a different approach: the religious promise of nika (often spelled nikah) and a reception, often on different days to accommodate conflicting schedules.
For Ysa, the heart of the wedding remains the nika where families officially give their blessings. “The most important thing is the family’s blessing and the religious promise,” she said. “The party is just for fun.”
Funeral customs also reflect centuries-old practices shaped by respect for ancestry and religious beliefs. Hindu Cham families conduct grand cremation ceremonies, particularly the Brahmin (Ba Cham) community. Muslim Cham families hold burials, with a ritual washing of the body performed by individuals of the same gender. The body is wrapped in plain cotton and laid directly in the ground, with prayers held at home or at the mosque. Spiritual preparation and simplicity are characteristics of Muslim Cham funeral customs.
Traditional clothing
Traditional clothing remains an outward display of Cham identity, especially during community gatherings and festivals. While white cotton garments and long skirts were common and continue to have historical significance, current Cham community members embrace a more open approach. Men now wear sarongs with a shirt, prioritizing practicality and comfort. Modesty remains customary for women, particularly among Muslim Cham, who typically wear headscarves and long dresses in accordance with religious guidelines.
Food and language
For more than 30 years, Seattle’s Cham community has maintained its traditions, even as younger generations become more familiar with American culture. At the heart of this cultural preservation is Hasanah Ysa, who ensures her cooking and language teaching include Cham youth.
CRC hosts community gatherings for major Islamic holidays, and Ysa prepares traditional dishes such as lamb curry and beef curry for hundreds of community members. These recipes, rooted in Cham heritage and influenced by Indian and Southeast Asian cuisines, serve as a bridge between generations. Ysa’s cooking classes ensure that Cham youth learn not just to enjoy these dishes, but to prepare them, preserving vital culinary knowledge that can be passed down through generations.
Ysa also leads Cham language classes for youth, emphasizing the importance of preserving the Cham language, which is distinct from Khmer, Vietnamese, or English. Many Cham children in Seattle speak only English at home, risking a disconnect from their cultural roots. Ysa, who spent a decade relearning the Cham language as an adult, teaches reading, writing, and conversation to students as young as sixth grade. Her classes feature everyday vocabulary, especially related to family life and food so that children can communicate with elders and participate more easily in community gatherings.
Sahrudine Apdalhaliem, a CRC board member, said, “Our language is on the verge of disappearing,” in a March 28 issue of Northwest Asian Weekly.
A new era: Building for the future
This year marks a turning point. After years of planning and fundraising, CRC is preparing to break ground on a new 14,000-square-foot community center and mosque, set to open by early 2027. The $12 million project will expand programming for youth and elders, provide affordable housing, and serve as a spiritual and cultural anchor for the Cham and wider Muslim community in South Seattle. The new center will feature an event hall, classrooms, and a prayer space for 400 worshippers, a vital resource in a region where such facilities are scarce.
For Hasanah Ysa, being Cham is more than an ethnic identity; it’s a calling. “I want our children to know who they are, where they come from, and what it means to be Cham,” she said. “We have to keep our traditions alive—not just for ourselves, but for the generations to come.”