The holy month of Ramadhan will leave us
soon and Muslims will celebrate a day of triumph, Idul Fitri, after having
completed the fasting period. Indonesia has a unique annual tradition of Idul
Fitri, locally known as Lebaran, by making their traditional homecoming, or
mudik, to spend this special day with their families.
To Indonesian Muslims, “going home”, or returning to
one’s place of origin, is a cultural occasion closely loaded with symbols.
Despite the difficulties for most people of returning to their hometowns for
the annual holiday because of traffic and poor infrastructure, Indonesians look
forward to being united with their families, friends and relatives to celebrate
a joyous Idul Fitri.
They are homo semioticus, humans with the desire to
make meaning in regard to the homecoming custom. The annual exodus of millions
of urban people to their hometowns during Idul Fitri signifies primordial
pride. Heedless of one’s financial security, fame, rank or status in the city,
people consider themselves successful people of Padang, Medan or Makassar who
have made it in Jakarta, rather than wealthy Jakartans.
For them, material triumph does not obscure cultural
roots. Mudik, therefore, offers Muslims a golden moment of self-evaluation and
self-assessment. They are supposed to be proud of their origins, hometown and
cultural distinctiveness despite their distant residence and occupation.
Mudik actually reminds us of the subtle distinction
between happiness and comfort. While the former is inseparably associated with
the life of the village, the latter is linked to that of the city. Some believe
that their village needs to be original, leaving no room for modernization such
as investment in the village, which is believed detrimental to the natural
atmosphere. Not many city dwellers would want their village to develop at the
expense of its natural beauty and wilderness like their surroundings in the
metropolis. The pride in primordial matters — origin, hometown and custom —
should not be a mere catchword. Rather it is a pride that calls for active and
dynamic contribution to the villagers’ prosperity. For that purpose, the city
dwellers help their families and friends in rural areas with financial support
and training in agriculture, plantation and fisheries. Furthermore, mudik also
underlines the symbol of diversity.
With many coming home prior to or during Lebaran, one
would see that pride in his or her roots should lead to mutual understanding of
diverse identities. Arrogance and claims of truth must be cast away. Along with
mudik comes the respect for different ways to celebrate Idul Fitri across the
archipelago. A unique celebration, for instance, occurs in North Lombok, West
Nusa Tenggara. The Wetu Telu community usually holds Lebaran adat (customary
Lebaran). Whereas the regular Lebaran morning prayers are attended by young and
old, men and women alike, only the Wetu Telu’s most respected male elders are
privy to the Lebaran adat prayers. Another key difference from the Lebaran
prayers elsewhere in the country is that the Lebaran adat prayers are held
simultaneously at the six ancient mosques in Wetu Telu’s six villages in Bayan
subdistrict. Lebaran adat is not more important to the community than the
regular Lebaran, but rather is intended to complement it. It is always
celebrated three days after Idul Fitri because of a local belief that it takes
that long to translate divine will into earthly actions — one day each for the
actions of conception, birth and growth. Muslims’ love for returning to their
identity through primordial power and respect for diversity constitutes the
country’s social capital necessary to develop this nation. I wish all of you
and your loved ones a very happy Eid Mubarak during this blessed time!... pride
in his or her roots should lead to mutual understanding of diverse identities.
The writer Donny Syofyan is a lecturer at the faculty
of cultural sciences at Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra.
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