Throughout July, the pace of work has slowed down appreciably. Not only is it the month of Ramadan, It’s also the mid term break for universities; lectures resume in the last week of August.
There’s one week left to Ramadan, culminating in the two-day celebration of Idul Fitri, a big event, for which many people visit family. “Lots of kue (cake)”, my work partner Nasri tells me. Next week is a holiday for the whole university & yesterday evening I was invited to share “membuka puas” with the forestry faculty and staff. It’s an interesting phrase that refers to the daily time at which Muslims may break their fast - shortly after sunset in this part of the world. Rather than “breaking fast”, it means (sort of) to “open satisfaction”. An animated gentleman gave a long, cheerful speech, some of which I understood, speaking about heaven and the reasons for fasting, and then we were treated a buffet dinner.
To my “new” eyes, the effects of Ramadan seem to be relatively minor - people tend to be a bit more tired, traffic seems to move slower (for some reason), but generally, life carries on pretty much as usual. I asked Amir, Cristina’s research assistant, which he reaches for first on breaking fast - food, water, or cigarettes - definitely cigarettes, he tells me. His daily routine during the last month includes waking up at about 3:30 am to prepare a meal before call to prayer starts at 4:30. Another minor difference, I can hear longer sermons & singing from the nearest mosque during evening prayers.
All the small warungs & food stalls are closed during the day, but in the city, coffee shops & restaurants still operate regularly. In a gesture of propriety, they hang light curtains across plate glass windows. No one is offended if you (especially foreigners) eat or drink while they are fasting - but it’s just not polite to flaunt it.
People do definitely look thinner now - I noticed some of the faculty members are a bit trimmer. The most obvious effect is that dehydration is evident. I felt very sorry for a team of students who were at the forest last week, collecting samples. Six to seven hours of hill-climbing with no water takes its toll, & I was surprised they would plan field work this month. I went out with them for one day, which was enough for me, & I had a bottle of water with me. Luckily the weather is at its coolest this time of year.
Comparing our biggest Christian holidays with Ramadan & Idul Fitri - well, there’s no mass marketing of consumer goods to celebrate the Muslim religious holiday. Nice to see that retailers haven’t yet figured out how to exploit it in that way. So, I guess it corresponds best to Canadian Thanksgiving Day. Mmmmm, turkey - ok, there goes my concentration.
