Muslims in Indonesia have now welcomed Ramadan, which is Muslims’ fasting month. It will run from April 23 to May 23. Before the arrival of Islam, fasting was known as a method to advance one’s spirituality. Ramadan’s fasting is done to build empathy for poor people (who only eat once a day, or not at all) as well as to help one practice self-control. In reality, empathy and self-control may or may not be built during this auspicious month, but I’m not here to judge. I’m here to share a story of what Ramadan is like in the country.
In general, fasting is mandatory for adult Muslims. However, some groups—due to certain circumstances they have, fasting might affect their well-being—are exempted. For instance, old people, sick people, hard-labor workers, menstruating women, breastfeeding women, pregnant women, travelers, people in war-torn regions, and people whose home is affected by natural disasters.
Pre-Ramadan Tradition
The practice of religions in Indonesia are usually mixed with old traditions. Islam is no different. In Java, for instance, there’s a pre-Ramadan tradition called “nyekar”. The root word is “sekar”, which means “flowers”. The verb “nyekar” means “to spread flower petals (on a burial ground)”. When it’s used as a noun, it means the practice of visiting one’s graveyard (usually family members’) to pray for their souls. It’s called “nyekar” because one will usually spread flower petals onto the graveyard after praying for the deceased. Nyekar is usually done few weeks before Ramadan. People will do it again after Ramadan concludes.
The types of flowers used for Nyekar are usually roses (red or white, but mostly red), white jasmines, and kenanga. Some people will use soka and hibiscus flowers, which are mostly grown as hedges. Depending on how strict your family is, these types of “wild” flowers may or may not be used. I tried to put these types of flowers into the flower bag when I was a kid and I got scolded. The flowers were thrown out. But then I saw these types of flowers spread on many graveyards in the cemetery. Some people think non-fragrant “wild” flowers are worthless and using worthless flowers is disrespectful to the dead. However, for those who cannot afford anything else, wild flowers are better than none.
People who live in the cities will usually go back to their hometowns to pay respect to their dead ancestors or relatives. During this time of a pandemic disease, people might skip or postpone “nyekar” until a later date. It’s not deemed sacrilegious or sinful, but one might feel a little bit awful that they cannot “see” their family members.
In the Javanese calendar, the month preceding “Pasa” (Ramadan) is called “Ruwah”. This month is considered to be auspicious, hence one is encouraged to increase one’s religious practice by doing pre-Ramadan fasting. Yes. You read that right. Fasting before the actual fasting month. We have a tradition called “ruwahan” which roughly means the celebration of the Ruwah month. This tradition is usually done in the villages.
During the month of Ruwah, people will set up a religious ceremony at home then invite their neighbors to come. The guests will sit in a circle and pray together. Then they will eat snacks, drink sweet tea, and eat a meal together. Sometimes they’ll have a dessert, sometimes they don’t. It depends on the host. When the guests go home, the host will give them a basket filled with food and snacks and sometimes fruit.
It’s usually done in the evenings (because some people fast during the day) or in the afternoon before sundown (because that’s the only time slot left for them). It’s a busy month because you’ll get so many invitations. Some of the invitations have the same dates and times. You may not get enough guests because your neighbors choose to come to someone else’ ceremony. You will take it personally—you have to. (Why do they choose to go to somewhere else? You think you’re friends with them but they don’t come to your place? What kind of friends are they?! You’ve prepared so many meals but only a few come over? You should be sad–maybe society doesn’t think you’re that important. Think about it.) It’s the month that’s filled with fierce competition and occasional drama. But on the brighter side, food galore.
Prayers and Loudspeakers
The first tarawih marks the start of Ramadan. Tarawih is a prayer done in the evening during Ramadan. In Indonesia, it’s usually starts from 7.30 and finishes at 8.30. The prayer is done in a group in a masjid (a big mosque) or musholla (a small praying house). These places are usually full with people during the first week of Ramadan, then the number will slowly decrease in the weeks after. Few people do tarawih individually at home.
At around 3 o’clock in the morning, your flatmate will wake you up for a pre-dawn meal. This particular time of eating is called “sahur” in Indonesia. It’s not mandatory to eat your sahur meal, but some friends will force you to wake up and eat. Otherwise, you can skip it and continue your sleep.
Well, not really. I forgot to tell you that during sahur, the musholla in your neighborhood will have someone shout through a loudspeaker, saying “Sahuuur, sahuur!”. Their main purpose is of course to wake you up. Whether you fast or not, they don’t give a damn. You can be all upset and angry about it, it won’t change anything. And there’ll be at least one musholla in your neighborhood, so you can’t avoid it. If you live near a masjid, expect a loudspeaker combo.
Prayer calls are sung through the loudspeakers five times a day. One before sunrise (subuh), one in the midday (zuhur), one in the afternoon (ashar), one at sundown (maghrib), and the last one in the evening, few hours after sunset (isha’). During Ramadan, the loudspeakers will be more active than usual. Especially from 5 pm to 9 pm. Besides the usual prayer calls, they will play a Quran reading, prayers, religious sermons, and the like.
The loudspeakers were first used out of necessity, but their existence remains undisturbed in today’s world where it’s possible to print a prayer schedule and set the clock to remind one of the praying times.
There have been many requests, even by Muslims themselves, to remove loudspeakers from mushollas, but it never happened. Prayer house organizers are very protective of their loudspeakers for some reasons. Some people think removing loudspeakers is sacrilegious, while some others will defend these instruments because they help them tell the time. They may have clocks and/or smart phones, but these things apparently don’t shout the way loudspeakers do.
Teenagers sometimes make their own rendition of a sahur shout-out, which might include hitting cans, buckets, and/or bamboos, while singing “Sahur… sahur…!” at the top of their lungs. It’s the most acceptable time to make noise and upset people, so I guess they must enjoy it very much. In some neighborhoods, people will literally knock on your door and keep rapping until you answer them. They’ll tell you they come to remind you of sahur time and leave soon after. You’ll have to thank them—this is the only acceptable response. This usually happens in villages, where privacy is a rather foreign concept. “It’s not intrusive if you mean well”—this sort of thinking backs this practice.
Sahur meal reminds you of a typical Indonesian diet, which consists of white rice, sayur (vegetable dishes), and lauk (proteins/side dishes). Sweet hot tea is usually served as a post-meal drink, though nutrition-wise, tea makes proteins harder to digest. Sometimes, you’ll have sliced fruits and korma (dates) to close the meal.
If you’re a struggling college student, a dessert is likely to be a luxury you can’t afford. You’d be grateful for a bowl of instant noodle and a mini mug of instant coffee. Or, if you don’t mind walking to a nearby warung (a small restaurant) and waiting in line for 20 to 30 minutes, you can have a proper meal. It won’t be anything like what you have at home, but this is the passage of adulthood you have to go through. It builds character.
Sahur is timed. There will be the sound of a siren (yes, a siren!) from a nearby musholla that reminds you to stop eating. The time period when you’re expected to stop eating is called Imsak. Some people, who wake up late, are allowed to eat during Imsak but must stop when the first prayer call is heard. Conservative Muslims, however, believe that you’re not allowed to eat during Imsak no matter what. So it really depends on which tradition you follow.
The Day After
The first call to prayer is made few hours before the sun rises. The timing is called “subuh”. People can do their prayers at home or in a musholla or masjid. They’ll usually go back to sleep afterwards. Some people will choose to stay awake and do some light exercises or watch the TV.
In the morning, people will get ready for school or work as usual. Except that they don’t eat breakfast this time. People will do their second prayer “zuhur” during midday, then the third prayer “ashar” in the afternoon. Students will usually go home at noon or afternoon, and use the time to take a nap or do their assignments. Workers typically go home at five and will use the time to prepare for “buka” (breaking the fast).
The time of buka is marked by the sound of, wait for it, another siren! It will be played through the mushollas’ loudspeakers in your neighborhood. While waiting for the siren sound, one might do some activities like hanging out with friends, which is called “ngabuburit”. Some people will take advantage of this time to practice their entrepreneurship skills. They will sell kolak (a type of dessert), cold drinks, porridge, or boxed rice.
College students usually open stands to sell these types of food. If your college friend sells a kolak, it might not taste great and it could be a bit overpriced, but your moral compass will force you to buy it. It’s just the way it is. They will bring some kolaks to your apartment and guilt you until you buy one or two. College friendship is hard. It’s filled with politics and manipulation.
When I said kolak is a dessert, it’s not actually a dessert. We eat it before our meal, so it’s a dessert that serves as an appetizer. The idea of “dessert” is foreign to us. We follow this simple rule: any small meals are to be eaten before the big meal (the main dish). Whether it’s sweet or salty, it doesn’t matter.
When the siren sounds, you will run to your home to have a sip of water. People will usually do the maghrib prayer afterward (because the timing for this prayer is short), then they’ll continue with their buka.
It’s recommended to break your fast with something sweet and warm, so you’ll down a glass of sweet tea and that overpriced kolak you bought from your college friend. You may eat a plate of fried snacks, such as fried bananas or fried tofu or fried tempeh or all of them. Then you eat the main dish, the typical Indonesian meal I mentioned above (rice, sayur, and lauk). I know fasting is supposed to build empathy for the have-nots, but it’s difficult to talk empathy to ravenous folks. It’s not a secret that many people gain weight during the fasting month.
While sahur meal is typically smaller, buka meal is usually like a feast. This is because the timing is longer. You have the whole night to eat. If you’re a traveler or a struggling college student, you can visit a masjid to break your fast. They usually prepare sweet tea, snacks, and sometimes, boxed rice, for travelers and the needy people every day during Ramadan.
After breaking your fast, you’ll lie down on the couch trying to digest everything you’ve eaten. Then you’ll go to the nearby musholla to do Isha and Tarawih prayers.
After tarawih, people will go home and read the Quran, read a book, watch the TV, or do the dishes. Then they’ll go to bed early so they can wake up on time for sahur the next day. And thus, the cycle is repeated: sahur–buka–tarawih–sahur.
Image credit: Rokok Indonesia