RAMADAN FASTING AND FEASTING IN LAMNO ACEH By ASLAM NUR A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Arts In the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology Faculty of Arts The Australian National University January 1996. I declare that this thesis is my own composition, and that all sources have been acknowledge. Aslam Nur ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Throughout the course of my research and the writing of this thesis, I received invaluable help and encouragement from many people. It is impossible to individually mention each of them here. I am extremely grateful to my supervisor Professor James J. Fox, and my co-supervisor Patrick Guinness, whose comments and suggestions have been invaluable and whose intellectual influences are apparent throughout this work. Their great interest in the anthropological study of Islamic communities and cultures, particularly Indonesian Muslim communities, was very meaningful in shaping my study. Without their guidance, comments and suggestions, I could have not finished this thesis. I am also deeply grateful to the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) for its generous financial support without which the study could not have been carried out. I am indebted to all the wonderful people in Lamno who allowed me to take part in their lives, attend their ceremonies, and ask question about everything. They were not just my informants, but my support and my friends. Similarly, I am also indebted to all staff and friends in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, for their encouragement and wonderful friendship with me during my study at this university. Also many thanks to my Indonesian friends in Canberra who always supported me during the writing this thesis by frequently asking "sudcih selesai apa belum?". For my brothers and sisters who have given me support and encouragement in the whole process of my education, I can only say thanks to you all. Through this thesis, I especially want to remember and express my deepest thanks to my parents. Without their love and their invocation for my future, I would be nothing. Finally, two other important people in my life deserve special mention. One is my daughter, Nurul Rahmi, and the other is my wife, Cut Yenny Afnidar. I acknowledge their support and assistance in various ways. It is to them that I dedicate this work. Al-hamdulillah. ABSTRACT This thesis is a description of the religious and social experiences of a Acehnese Muslim society during Ramadan. Since there is a local adaptation of religious practice in every Islamic community, this study intends to examine the meaning of Ramadan for the Acehnese people of Indonesia and more specifically, the people of Lamno. This kecamatan (district) is located in the coastal area to the west of Banda Aceh, the capital city of the special province of Aceh. Although all Islamic communities in the world express the meaning of Ramadan in terms of universal Islamic values, the specific articulation of these values in Aceh, is closely related to the socio-cultural background of the local population. Fasting (abstaining from food, drink and sexual intercourse) as the main worship during Ramadan is practised individually as a direct responsibility to God. However, since fasting is conducted by all Muslims at the same time and in a particular month, this religious duty affects Muslims social activities. Because Ramadan fasting is related to other forms of worship such as giving alms and preparing meals for poor people, all these forms of worship have a direct impact on the life of the community. These activities articulate and thus reinforce certain key values in the Acehnese community. In all aspects of Ramadan activities, the element of ritual is an instrumental and expressive activity that tends to promote social solidarity. This study indicates that for the Acehnese, Ramadan is not only perceived as a month of fasting; of blessing; and of God's forgiveness - as is mentioned in the Qur'an and the hadith - but also as a month of purification; a month of ibadah (religious worship); and a month of joy. These notions have traditionally determined the ideal path for the Acehnese in order to reach the essential core of Ramadan at the normative level. The study finds that most of the people's activities as well as some social norms have changed during Ramadan. The interaction between members of the family, of the extended family, and of the community become more harmonious compared with other times. Thus aspects of the social life of the Lamno people during Ramadan resembles the circumstance of normative communitas during liminality. CONTENTS Page Declaration Acknowledgment.................................................................................................. i Abstract............................................................................................................... iii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background........................................................................1 1.2 Lamno...............................................................................4 1.3 Outline.............................................................................11 CHAPTER II RAMADAN IN THE ISLAMIC PRESCRIPTION 2.1 Introduction.....................................................................13 2.2 Religious Services of Ramadan.......................................14 2.3 Important Islamic Events During Ramadan................... 22 CHAPTER III SHABAN: WELCOME YE RAMADAN 3.1 Introduction.................................................................... 26 3.2 Kaurie Bu........................................................................ 29 3.3 Kaurie Beureat................................................................ 32 3.4 Peugleh Meunasah.......................................................... 35 3.5 Meuramin....................................................................... 38 3.6 Makmeugang.................................................................. 42 CHAPTER IV RAMADAN: PATHWAY TO PARADISE 4.1 Introduction.................................................................... 48 4.2 Puasa............................................................................... 50 4.3 Taraweh.......................................................................... 57 4.4 Meudaroh........................................................................ 61 4.5 Nuzulul Qur'an............................................................... 65 4.6 Zaket Pitrah.................................................................... 70 4.7 Huroe Raya.................................................................... 74 v CHAPTER V RAMADAN IN THE ACEHNESE PERCEPTION 5.1 Introduction.......................................................................82 5.2 Ramadan, Month of Purification.......................................83 5.3 Ramadan, Month of Worship............................................ 90 5.4 Ramadan, Month of Joy.................................................... 96 CHAPTERVI CONCLUSION......................................................................103 GLOSSARY.....................................................................................................108 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................... I ll vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background For the Acehnese who live in Lamno and probably for Muslims elsewhere as well, Ramadan is the most important month of the year. During this month, all Muslims are obligated to fast, that is to avoid eating, drinking and sexual relations from sunrise until sunset. Ramadan is regarded by Muslims as a holy month and the greatest month because during this month God will give forgiveness to those who fulfil all obligations and avoid the forbidden. In Aceh, as in other Islamic societies, Ramadan is welcomed with joy and gladness and there is much pleasure evident in the tone of people's voices. Ramadan's ritual activities thus provide a window - from an anthropological perspective - to investigate the way Islamic duties are carried out at a practical level by Muslims. Despite its particular significance, Ramadan has been ignored so far as a specific topic in most Indonesian ethnographies of Islam. There have been several works written about Ramadan, but these are only short discussions and are purely ethnographic descriptions without any interpretation. Snouck Hurgronje (1906), for example, only devoted a few pages to Ramadan activities in his ethnographic works on Aceh. Although his record on Ramadan activities among the Pidie people of Aceh was brief, James Siegel (1969) found that in this society Ramadan is a moment of pride and triumph. It is especially a time when men feel renewed and in full possession of themselves. According to Siegel, if a man returns home from rantau (outside home area) at any time during the year, it is most likely to be either during Ramadan or during some other great Islamic festivals, such as the celebration of the pilgrimage. Blackwood (1993) also found that among the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, Ramadan is a time for the Minangkabau who live outside their homeland to return to their home areas. During this time, the migrants renew their close ties with their village and bring their earnings to share with kin in the village. In his discussion of religion among the three principal strata of Javanese Islam, Clifford Geertz (1991) gave a short account of the fast as