Ramadan came to a close with a bang: All night "Allahu akbar"s on blast from various club speakers permanently installed on mosques, fireworks, feasting, apologizing for one's sins to everyone and the neighborhood alley cats, and unrelatedly, Indonesian Independence Day. (For the curious, no, I did not fast, as food and nutrition here had been becoming an issue, so I decided to vote for personal health.)
Lebaran aka Idul Fitri aka Eid ul-Fitr: 12 hours of handshaking
Lebaran is celebrated around the globe slightly differently according to local customs. The way my counterpart's family celebrated it was to go to the stadium for a public service at 6 a.m. (they are Muhammadiyah, which is different from NU, Nadhlatul Ulama. As I understand it, this is analogous to different denominations within Christianity. In a tiny, over-simplified nutshell, the differences relate to attitude about social justice and number of times you bow down for prayer).
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| The entrepreneurial spirit is everywhere: Large religious event for the whole family... |
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| ... means guaranteed sales. |
Then we went to the family elder's house, in his case, his oldest
brother, to apologize and beg forgiveness for all mistakes and sins
committed against everyone. Logistically, this occurred in the
following way: The elders stand in line, the younger members line up,
salim each elder (to salim is to take the hand and either touch it to
one's cheek or forehead), and say, "Mohon maaf lahir dan batin," forgive
my physical and emotional wrongdoings. I was not prepared for the
tears, as folks here tend to be outwardly emotionally very reserved. It
was an intimate and moving event. And then we ate, naturally. :) (Note: Date stamps are inaccurate; not sure how they got there..)
And then we embarked on the larger circuit, driving to the in-laws' desa (DAY-sah = village) to repeat the apologizing and saliming, and then trudging from house to house to do the same to extended family and old family friends. It felt a little like Halloween mixed with family reunion with a dash of Chinese New Year: On the street, you see groups of people schlepp from house to house to apologize and shake hands with everyone inside, sit, make small talk, and snack. Plus, kids get a white envelope of filled with Rupiahs. And then repeat at the next house. Like salmon, people travel back to their hometowns for Lebaran, though for the most part even extended family lives clustered together in the same desa -- children live next door, cousins, uncles, great aunts, nephews and nieces down the street. Actually makes the saliming more convenient. And I got to see the inside of many people's homes.
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| Hubcap with Qur'anic verse |
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| My CP told me that after Muslims die, they get asked what kinds of snacks they served during Lebaran, so everybody makes sure to put out only the best. |
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| A little taste of home |
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| This confirms my belief that the instinct to lick the inside of an Oreo first is innate. |
We did this until 6 p.m. My counterpart's family went back for more the next day. I bowed out, because this is how I felt:
Alun-alun Ponorogo / Townsquare Ponorogo
The alun-alun usually comes to life after sundown, with food carts, a
bouncy castle, and a modest ferris wheel. But for Lebaran, it is
bumping: The number of ferris wheels was upped to three, thus elevating the whole thing to a bona fide carnival. This is the pre-Lebaran prep:
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| Animal sideshow: Five-legged cow and three-headed duck, check. |
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| The lighter side of The Dark Knight |
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| Also doubles as clothes line |
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| One of TWO haunted houses. The pictures are truly grisly. |
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| Only slightly smaller than the Thunder Dome. |
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| "I love cats..." |
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| "... I really love cats" (and Allah) |
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| (and Soekarno and Megawati) |
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| Doll hou... room. |
17 August, Indonesian Independence Day
Although we have two weeks of vacation for Lebaran, we got together on Indonesian Independence Day for a flag ceremony at school.
The Red and White was hoisted, the proclamation read, Pancasila (the Indonesian state philosophy comprised of five principles and promulgated by Indonesia's first President, Soekarno) recited by students and teachers by heart.
And then, group picture time! It was a little like herding cats, but it all came together in the end.
