From Tuesday to Sunday of this past week I stayed with a Malay family to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri or as it is more commonly known throughout the world Eid al-Fitr. Hari Raya is the Feast of Breaking of the Fast, celebrating the end of Ramadan. During the ninth month of the Islamic calender Muslims worldwide observe a month of fasting, which is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam, known as Ramadan.
In Malaysia, it is customary for Malays to go back to their hometowns and celebrate with their families, this is known as Balik Kampung- which roughly translates to 'homecoming'. During this time people will ask for forgiveness from their parents, in-laws or other elders. In many kampungs (hometowns/villages) people also decorate the outside of their houses with oil lamps, usually in bamboo ,think tiki torches, and as you drive through the country side and see the houses the sights are beautiful.
On Tuesday afternoon I met my Malay host family. Well I met Mama, my host sister (Sya) and Abang (host brother) because the rest of the family had already gone back to their hometown. That same evening I broke fast with them and was asked if I wanted to try to fast the next day. Fasting (puasa) was something I wanted to try so I readily said yes! Fasting was from sunup (~5:30AM) to sundown (~7:30PM) so you had to be up earlier than 5:30AM to be able to have a big breakfast and drink as much water as possible! This is known as sahur, or a pre-dawn meal. On Wednesday morning I was woken up around 5AM and had a filling breakfast, I am not used to eating such heavy meals early in the morning but I made my best to finish my plate as Mama recommended and drank glass after glass of water. After my host family finished some last details we all piled up in abang's car and drove up north to Perak. I was very happy to have been able to make it the whole day without eating or drinking water, I can actually say it was one of my proudest moments thus far.
Since we were still en route to the village, we stopped to buy some snacks to break fast, we had to wait until we reached the village to have our proper meal. After all, it was the last day of fasting. After reaching Aya's (my host dad) village later that night, I met the rest of the family. Two older sisters, a younger sister, and a few younger cousins.
Waking up the next day (Aug 8th) was special for me. Not only was it Hari Raya but also my 18th birthday, and Aya said "You have a big celebration, think of it this way, all the Muslims around the world are celebrating your birthday too!" which made me laugh. It is customary for Malays to wear traditional clothes for Hari Raya, this means the baju kurung and tudung (long skirt and a head scarf) for women and the baju melayu for the men (silk shirt worn with a sarong), usually families wear a color and we all wore pink, except the men they didn't like the idea of pink. After taking many pictures we all set out to visit relatives! (Pictures are coming soon. I'm kind of horrible at taking them so I have to ask my host sis to send them to me. But I promise they will be up as soon as I get them!)
To put it simply wherever you are in Malaysia you will eat! Every house we visited, we were offered food and well I simply could not refuse! During those three days we were at the village I must have eaten nonstop. I did try some Malay food which is quite spicy but delicious, I am thankful my taste buds can handle all the spicy! From all the food I ate I can say my favorite was lemang and ketupat! Both are nasi (rice) and that is all you eat here! Nasi for breakfast, nasi for lunch and nasi for dinner! Anyways, lemang is a glutenous rice cooked inside a bamboo which is pretty nifty if you ask me. Usually lemang is served with redang which is a type of spicy meat with lots and lots of spices. After these past few days with my Malay family and the weeks I have spent with my other host family I can say for certain that food is the center of all Malaysian culture, but how could it not be with all the variety and deliciousness?!
When you greet other Malay's you need to salaam (did I spell this correctly?) them, which is a special greeting where you take a person's right hand and bow low and place their hand to your forehead and then since it was Hari Raya you said 'Selamat Hari Raya' which is roughly 'Happy Hari Raya.' This greeting shows respect to that person.
There is also another tradition known as Duit Raya is where people give money to children and sometimes unmarried people. Oh! And there are the open houses where it literally is an open house, you go to someone's house and eat! You might not know the person and they are also very welcoming of non-Muslims attending.
These past few days were an experience for me. It was overwhelming at first trying to adjust to a lifestyle that was completely new to me and to have been welcomed to a family who was eager to show their traditions and the importance of Raya with me. Although Malay was all that was spoken the last few days and my Malay is honestly non-existent it was an adventure trying to communicate with the children- although the only person I understood was a 3 year old child.
During this last week I learned so much about Malay culture simply by living and observing, it was a very different way of life that proved to be rewarding in the end. I am grateful that I was able to experience a few days of Hari Raya with my Malay host family, since the celebration lasts for about a month. A month of fasting and a month of eating as Ayah and Mama rightly said.
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| Lemang! |
