- On 30 Jun 2022
Betawi People Traditions Welcoming Eid Al-Fitr
Buddy Culture, Betawi people are known to be religious. Preparations to welcome Eid al-Fitr for the Betawi people can be said to have been carried out since the month of Ramadan arrived. The majority of Betawi people are happy to welcome the holy month of Ramadan, as well as Eid. The tradition of nyekar, nyorog, from the past until now still exists in the Betawi community tradition which is usually carried out before undergoing the fasting worship of Ramadan. At the end of the month of Sha'ban, usually Betawi residents make pilgrimages to their ancestral graves as well as clean them. Meanwhile, the nyorog tradition is the Betawi people's way of respecting their parents and relatives who are much older than them. Before undergoing the fasting worship of Ramadan, usually, young people will deliver a variety of foods and fruits to their parents or elders in the family.
While the tradition of merang or cleaning the hair in a crowd at the river, now it is no longer there. In the past, the day before fasting for Ramadan, Betawi youths celebrated their joy by beating the mosque drum or drum carried by cart and traveling around the village. The beating of the drum only stopped for a moment near prayer time. At that time the atmosphere of worship in the month of Ramadan was very solemn. Especially at night, until before dawn. After the tarawih prayer, continue with tadarusan at the surau, prayer room, or mosque. Especially when fasting Ramadan has passed the second week. The spirit seeks reward on the night of Lailatul Qadr, formerly known as the night of likuran. Namely worship activities at night in the month of Ramadan, where the majority of Muslims in Betawi worship more intensely, especially when fasting has entered the night 21 to 29. The voices of those who recite the Koran are faintly heard from a distance and seem to never stop. At that time, not a few had completed the Qur'an more than three times during the month of Ramadan.
In the past, on the remaining days of Ramadan, men especially cleaned the inside and outside of the house or yard. If there is still time, the men usually also paint the fence or walls of the house. Meanwhile, women are no less busy. They wash clothes for Eid prayers for all members of the house while preparing various ingredients and meat, to be processed into cakes or typical Betawi snacks to welcome Eid al-Fitr. Various forms of cakes and snacks such as vegetable ketupat, meat stew, chicken opor, nastar cake, diamonds, Betawi dodol, and tape uli are ready to be served on the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
On the night of takbiran, echoes of takbir, tahlil, and tahmid call out to each other between mosques or prayer rooms accompanied by the rhythm of beating drums by the congregation of the mosque. Some children do takbiran around by parading the drum using a cart around the village. The joy on the eve of Eid increases when young people play with firecrackers, fireworks, and even the roof or bledukan.
Cultural friends, here are some traditions of the Betawi people to welcome Eid al-Fitr. This tradition is carried out on the night of takbiran and after Eid prayers. Some of these traditions are starting to fade, some are still being maintained. The following is the Betawi people's tradition of welcoming Eid
Andilan Tradition
Andilan means urunan or joint venture to buy buffalo before or before the month of Ramadan arrives. Later the buffalo will be slaughtered ahead of Eid al-Fitr. In order not to be heavy, a package (lorisan) is made in the form of a community gathering which is then collected for a year to buy buffalo. The buffalo that had been purchased were fed well so they could gain weight quickly, then the residents took turns being herded during the month of Ramadan. In the past, there were still many savanna or fields in Jakarta, so that buffaloes could easily be grazed. Before Eid, the people who take part in the social gathering share the buffalo, and the meat will be cooked and eaten together. This sharing tradition is a form of gratitude to God and an effort to foster cooperation among fellow Betawi residents. This tradition still exists, although it is threatened with extinction. Some of the Betawi residents who live on the outskirts of Jakarta still maintain the partisan tradition. Because buffalo are rather difficult to find, not a few of them replace them with cows.
Playing Bledugan
Generally, this game is played by boys and Betawi teenagers. In addition to the name Bledugan, this game is also known by other names such as bungungan, lodong, jleguran, or bamboo cannon. This game is usually played on the field to enliven the atmosphere of the takbiran night. The tools used are long bamboo with a medium diameter and given holes, carbide or kerosene, and rags or used clothes. The gameplay is similar to firecrackers, all you have to do is pour kerosene or carbide water into the ignition hole. Then, a piece of wood that has been wrapped in cloth and dipped in kerosene and then given a fire, is used as an ignition device. You should be careful in doing this game to avoid things that are not desirable.
Nyorog or Tuker Rantang
The tradition of nyorog or sorogan, or exchange of baskets, which is carried out before fasting in Ramadan, on the night of takbiran, is revived again. The contents of the basket usually consist of beef stew or sticky rice and vegetable sambal godok. The basket will be returned and filled with food by the person who was given it. This tradition is a form of friendship between Betawi residents by sharing food between neighbors, relatives, and relatives.
Making Betawi Typical Food
A week or at least 3 days before Idul Fitri, women are usually busy looking for ingredients and processing them to be used as snacks and snacks as dishes at home or to be distributed to neighbors and relatives. Betawi specialties that will be served during Eid al-Fitr include ketupat Sayur Godog, Opor Ayam, and Vegetable cork pucung. Meanwhile, the snacks include tape uli, nastar cake, Betawi dodol, Betawi diamonds, syringe cake, melinca cake, Sugar Palm Fruit sweets, Malay gooseberry sweets, and others.
Forgive each other
After the Eid prayer is over, shaking hands between residents and forgiveness will be carried out first at the mosque or Eid prayer place. Then usually, they will invite their relatives to go around to the neighbor's house to forgive each other. Usually, the house of both parents or elders in the family will be the last stop. But some do it earlier before going around to the neighbor's house to help each other.
Grave Pilgrimage
After finishing the service and after noontime, usually, the family will make a pilgrimage, come and pray for the graves of their parents, relatives, or ancestors who have died. Some do it after one or two days of Eid al-Fitr, and it is usually at the tomb that the whole extended family will meet each other.
Silaturahim for a week
Betawi people who are still living the tradition of celebrating Eid al-Fitr for seven consecutive days are Betawi people who live in the Cengkareng area, West Jakarta. In this area, there are still many indigenous Betawi people who still maintain the traditional heritage of the previous generation. Apart from maintaining a friendship, it is known that almost every adult is busy working every day and hardly has enough free time to stay in touch with family or neighbors. That is why the week-long Eid tradition is maintained by maintaining friendships and visiting each other with family members, or relatives.
The following is the agenda for the Betawi people's Eid celebration in Cengkareng, by staying in touch for a week. The first day is intended to stay in touch with the homes of parents, brothers, sisters, or nuclear family only. The second day is scheduled to stay in touch from Selong village – Tanah Koja. On the third day, it was the turn of the family who lived in the Kosambi area and its surroundings to serve as hosts to serve the upcoming guests. On the fourth day, the area around Al-Itqon Islamic Boarding School, Cemara Complex, Pondok Randu, Bojong, to Pondok Cabe got their turn to be the host. Entering the fifth day, the distance traveled to stay in touch became increasingly distant. On this fifth day, the indigenous Betawi people are scheduled to visit relatives in the Rawa Buaya and Cengkareng areas (Bambu Larangan, Batu Ceper, and Poris). The sixth day is for families around Cantiga, Pulo, Semanan, and Gondrong to serve future guests. The time has come on the last day, which is the seventh day. On the seventh day, it is usually used to visit family homes that have been missed or missed, if the family who has been assigned to host is unable to serve guests. The reason is that someone is sick or is performing Umrah. So, the seventh day is used as a substitute day for friendship.