Approaching the end of the Muslim fasting month of
Ramadan, the whole of Indonesia was on the move. People travelled home to celebrate
Idul Fitri/Lebaran - the "Ramadan-is-over" festival.
We
have had a week off uni and one by one in the days before Lebaran, the girls in
my kos left, heading back to their homes in other parts of Java and Indonesia.
I am very thankful to have been able to spend Lebaran with a Javanese Muslim family
- Dewi's family.
I went to Dewi's house on Sunday afternoon
and we broke the fast for the last time at sundown. It was the last night of Ramadan
so kids gathered at their local mosques to start their parade carrying torches
and paper lanterns. Dewi took me to a local field where we watched the whole parade.
The kids had made their lanterns (with parental help I'm sure!) in the shape of
smiley faces, hearts or stars. Some carried models of mosques, the Qu'ran, the
Kaaba (in Mecca), aeroplanes, army tanks, buses and sailing boats. The kids were
very cute and dressed up for the parade. The atmosphere was exciting and noisy
- with chanting in Arabic, marching bands and fireworks. It was all quite a spectacle!
Early Monday morning, Dewi's family went to the Southern Town Square for the special
mass prayer gathering. I borrowed a headscarf and joined the crowds of pedestrians
heading for the Square. I sat with Dewi and her mum in the women's section. It
was interesting to watch so many people performing their prayers together. After
that, we went to the local mosque where there were short speeches and then a greet-athon.
All the women shook hands with all the other women! So that was a lot of handshakes.
On Tuesday morning I saw the 'Grebeg Poso' procession with Agung, Dewi's brother.
The palace guard units marched out of the palace dressed in their bright outfits
and armed with various weapons. The Sultan was away so he was represented by his
younger brother. At the end of the procession the 'gunungan', a large mound of
food, was carried. The procession ended at the mosque, where the gunungan was
fought over. The food is considered (by some) to be sacred so people snatched
what they could. A weird and fascinating tradition.
At lunch
time, the family function for Dewi's dad's side of the family was held next door
at a cafe. It was interesting to meet various relatives and eat more yummy food.
It also included another handshake greet-athon - an efficient and nice way to
acknowledge the presence of everyone else.
In the afternoon,
relatives from Jakarta dropped by at the house and I enjoyed hearing Dewi's family
relate their experiences of the May earthquake. Later in the afternoon, we drove
to Magelang in Central Java, where some relatives of Dewi's mum live. It was the
first time I've been out of the special province of Yogya. Well well.
So Lebaran was a really fun time and it was an amazing cultural experience to
see all the celebrations.
*Taken from a weblog
Anne kept during her semester in Indonesia
We
have had a week off uni and one by one in the days before Lebaran, the girls in
my kos left, heading back to their homes in other parts of Java and Indonesia.
I am very thankful to have been able to spend Lebaran with a Javanese Muslim family
- Dewi's family.