Pahang Hari Raya -- Part 1
by prudence on 22-Aug-2012
The weekend brought the end of Ramadan -- Hari Raya Aidilfitri (which comes in various spelling options).
I've never experienced the whole of Ramadan in Southeast Asia before, and I've enjoyed the displays of special food and clothing, the distinctive music, and the decorations (the Middle Eastern twist to the iconography is very interesting -- all the malls have gone faintly Ottoman, and there are camels everywhere).
Even though I've not been fasting, I've been very aware of the effort people have been making. I've been imagining fasting in the lead-up to Christmas, and thinking what a different celebration it would be if it involved such self-control.
And Hari Raya brought palpable joy. We were in Kuantan. The final night of the Ramadan bazaar, outside the very impressive (and beautifully illuminated) state mosque, was Saturday, and there were copious displays of all kinds of food. After that, the stalls were all taken down. There's always something sad in the dismantling of festive accoutrements -- even though you know everyone's happily at home feasting with their family. As my grandmother used to say, at the end of Christmas Day, "Now it's as far away as it'll ever be."
On Sunday, the first day after the fast, breakfast TV was in full Hari Raya mode. Prominent was PM Najib -- there he is giving his Hari Raya speech; now he's talking to the nation, flanked by his wife and children; and after a quick break for a different segment, he's back again, inviting everyone to his open house...
We passed the mosque just as everyone was exiting from morning prayers. A police convoy was escorting the Sultan of Pahang on his way, and hosts of families were emerging, all looking beautiful in Malay outfits. Many women here routinely wear the traditional baju kurung (a long shirt over a matching skirt), but it takes high days and holidays to bring the menfolk out in their traditional best. Most were wearing the classic matching shiny trousers and shirts, over which are wrapped gorgeously gold-woven, glittering sarongs. The bright colours, often coordinated in family groups, created moving human flower gardens.
We taxied to the beach at Teluk Chempedak on Sunday afternoon (there being no buses to anywhere). There was a massive traffic jam en route. Wow, we thought, everyone's heading for the beach. But no, the congestion was caused by all the people going to the chief minister's open house... So much catering -- how do they do it?
At the beach, little groups were strolling, picnicking, swimming, or looking for seafood. And huge bands of young men were flinging themselves after footballs right in the glare of the sun. I guess it was great to have the energy again -- or maybe lots of mums had sent them off to play on the beach while the feast was being prepared.
I salute the very real self-sacrifice of Ramadan. I'm happy to have been a part of it, even as a stranger looking on.
I've never experienced the whole of Ramadan in Southeast Asia before, and I've enjoyed the displays of special food and clothing, the distinctive music, and the decorations (the Middle Eastern twist to the iconography is very interesting -- all the malls have gone faintly Ottoman, and there are camels everywhere).
Even though I've not been fasting, I've been very aware of the effort people have been making. I've been imagining fasting in the lead-up to Christmas, and thinking what a different celebration it would be if it involved such self-control.
And Hari Raya brought palpable joy. We were in Kuantan. The final night of the Ramadan bazaar, outside the very impressive (and beautifully illuminated) state mosque, was Saturday, and there were copious displays of all kinds of food. After that, the stalls were all taken down. There's always something sad in the dismantling of festive accoutrements -- even though you know everyone's happily at home feasting with their family. As my grandmother used to say, at the end of Christmas Day, "Now it's as far away as it'll ever be."
On Sunday, the first day after the fast, breakfast TV was in full Hari Raya mode. Prominent was PM Najib -- there he is giving his Hari Raya speech; now he's talking to the nation, flanked by his wife and children; and after a quick break for a different segment, he's back again, inviting everyone to his open house...
We passed the mosque just as everyone was exiting from morning prayers. A police convoy was escorting the Sultan of Pahang on his way, and hosts of families were emerging, all looking beautiful in Malay outfits. Many women here routinely wear the traditional baju kurung (a long shirt over a matching skirt), but it takes high days and holidays to bring the menfolk out in their traditional best. Most were wearing the classic matching shiny trousers and shirts, over which are wrapped gorgeously gold-woven, glittering sarongs. The bright colours, often coordinated in family groups, created moving human flower gardens.
We taxied to the beach at Teluk Chempedak on Sunday afternoon (there being no buses to anywhere). There was a massive traffic jam en route. Wow, we thought, everyone's heading for the beach. But no, the congestion was caused by all the people going to the chief minister's open house... So much catering -- how do they do it?
At the beach, little groups were strolling, picnicking, swimming, or looking for seafood. And huge bands of young men were flinging themselves after footballs right in the glare of the sun. I guess it was great to have the energy again -- or maybe lots of mums had sent them off to play on the beach while the feast was being prepared.
I salute the very real self-sacrifice of Ramadan. I'm happy to have been a part of it, even as a stranger looking on.