Festival in Malaysia -Module 2 (item no: 3 )

Festivals in Malaysia

i) Hari Raya Puasa;- This particular festival is celebrated on 1st of Syawal after 1 full month of fasting during the Ramadhan month. Malay community who are Muslims will go to the graves of their loves ones to give respect and offer prayers for them. Then the male Muslim will go to prayers in the mosque in the early morning of 1st Syawal which represents the 1st day of Hari Raya Puasa or commonly also known as Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. Friends and relatives will visit them to wish them and they will be serve with dishes and the most common of all is ketupat and rendang. Ketupat is made of cooked rice which is compressed and is folded in by a ‘nipah’ leaves. The leaves are similar to coconut leaves except it is softer to fold. Rendang is a spicy beef floss dish and curries are served as well. Cookies and desserts are serve to guest. As for the children, they will receive “duit raya” in which money is contain in a green packet, a similar to what Chinese is giving in Chinese New Year. In Malaysia, we also had open houses organized by VIP’s or even some organization and all Malaysians including visitors are invited to indulge themselves with the delicacies available during the particular festival.

ii) Chinese New Year;- prior before Chinese New Year, which is the eve of the Chinese New Year, members of the family will return home to get together to have a feast which is the reunion dinner. During the eve of Chinese New Year, a red cloth or red cloth with decoration is hung on the door of each family’s house. The red cloth is known as “chai”. On the Chinese New Year, there are rules to be observe and among them is that there should not sweep the floor as sweeping the floor represents sweeping away the wealth. During the first day, prayers will be offered to the deceased. On the day of Chinese New Year, children or adults alike are not permitted to talk anything bad as it is an auspicious occasion. Children will wish their parents or elders who are married, happy new year and in turn they will receive a red packet containing money which is known is “ang pow”. ‘Ang pow’ literally translated as red packet. Only married members are eligible to give ‘ang pow’ as they are deem to have grown up. Friends and relatives will visit each other house and traditional cookies is normally served, such as “kuih kapit” or love letters and ‘kuih bangkit’, a cookies made of flour. For some families who are financially established, they may invite lion dance troupe to perform at their home to usher good luck, and after the performance the host of the house may present an ‘ang pow’ to the members of the lion dance. At the same after the lion dance they may lit up fire-crackers to ward off all bad elements for the good luck to return. Unfortunately, due to safety reason, the authorities do not permit such event to take place. Food during Chinese New Year is extremely very delicious and children will enjoy most of them, especially “tnee –koay” know to the Malay as “kuih bakul” which is made of glutinous rice flour. It is a sweet food in which the name “tnee’ means sweet, while the ‘koay’ means delicacies. Exchanging of gifts is a common sight you will see during Chinese New Year and normally oranges will always accompanied together as the pronunciation of oranges in Chinese , be Hokkien which is “kam” sound like gold. Chinese New Year comes to an end on the 15th day of the calendar, which is normally known as “Chap Goh Meh” literally translated as 15th night. During this particular day, young ladies will throw oranges to the sea, wishing that they will marry a good husband.

iii) Thaipusam; - Thaipusam is celebrated by the Indians community in which Thaipusam is an annual Hindu festival which commemorates the Hindu god, Subramanian. Devotees spear their cheeks with long, shiny steel rods - often a metre long - and pierce their chests and backs with small, hook-like needles in penance.
Thaipusam falls on a full moon day in the auspicious 10th Tamil month of Thai when the constellation of Pusam, the star of well-being, rises over the eastern horizon. Drums beat out trance-inducing rhythms and long wooden pipes, known as nathaswaram, croon devotional tunes in a loud carnival atmosphere.
Hundreds of people line up along the routes to break coconuts and offer fruits to the God all along the chariot's meandering route.Throughout its history, the chariot has been pulled by up to six pairs of bulls. But in 2000, the organisers responded to accusations of animal abuse, by switching to a motorised vehicle.
However, in the island of Penang in northwestern Peninsular Malaysia, the chariot there continued to be pulled by the bulls. Many in the island's large ethnic-Chinese community also take part in the festivities, breaking hundreds of coconuts.To many Thaipusam is the day of thanksgiving or atonement for wrongs as well as a day for the devotees to fulfill their vows they made.
Spectacular edifices or kavadis are often carried or pulled by the devotees with chains and ropes anchored in the skin of their backs or chests. Kavadi are often decorated with pictures of Hindu deities .
After ritual cleansing at a stream at the foothills, they walk up the 272 steps accompanied by family and friends.
Devotees will be required to fast and observe a strict vegetarian diet for about 40 days and renounce all forms of comfort and pleasure-giving activities prior to Thaipusam . The 40 days are spent in meditation and prayer .


A devotee carrying kavadi A kavadi

iv) Maal Hijrah;- Maal Hijrah also known as Awal Muharram is a Islamic new year which is an annual event celebrated throughout whole Malaysia,
Ma'al Hijrah, is the first day in Islamic or Hijri calendar, the year during which the Hijra occurred (Islamic prophet Muhammad's emigration from Mecca to Medina in the year 622A.D.). Muslims usually celebrated it on a moderate scale, usher in the eventful day by reciting Koranic verses and holding special prayers and sermons at public halls and mosques.They will also held a parade to commemorate this particular event.




v) Hungry Ghost festival;- Hungry Ghost festival is a popular occasion that is taken very seriously by the Chinese. This festival that falls on the 7th month of the lunar New Year is celebrated mainly in China and other countries like Singapore and Malaysia. It is believed by the Chinese that during this month, the gates of hell are opened to free the hungry ghosts who then wander to seek food on Earth.
Some even think that the ghosts would seek revenge on those who had wronged them in their lives. The reason why the Chinese celebrate this festival is to remember their dead family members and pay tribute to them. They also feel that offering food to the deceased appeases them and wards off bad luck. During the 7th month, the Chinese offer prayers to the deceased relatives and burn joss sticks. In Singapore, it is a common sight to see entertaining ‘wayang’ shows and concerts performed on outdoor stages in some neighborhoods. These events are always held at night. There is a belief that this entertainment would please those wandering ghosts.

An interesting superstition that the Chinese have about the festival is that it is bad to go swimming during the 7th month. They think that an evil ghost might cause you to drown in the swimming pool. In addition to this, children are also advised to return home early and not to wander around alone at night. This belief is due to the reason that the wandering ghosts might possess children. The Chinese also do a lot of offerings to the deceased. These offerings are made by burning fake money notes, which are also known as ‘hell money’ and even paper television or radio sets. Some families also burn paper houses & cars to give to their dead relatives. The Chinese feel that these offerings reach the ghosts and help them live comfortably in their world.
The Chinese regard the 15th of the month as an important date to give a feast to the ghosts. On this date, the family will cook a lot of dishes and offer them to the deceased. This is done to please the ghosts and also to gain good luck for the family. 15 days after the feast, the festival will be over, as the Chinese believe that the ghosts return back to where they come from.
vi) Deepavali;- also known as 'Festival of Lights' or Deepavali is a festival which has the potential of unifying entire India because of the charisma and splendor surrounding this festival. Deepavali has been given the traditional name of 'festival of lights' because of the hundreds and thousands of small oil lamps or diyas lighted by many households. The burning of these diyas are considered to be the lighted pathway of a person's expression of happiness and also a manner of paying obeisance to God, the Supreme power for attainment of health, prosperity, knowledge, financial security and peace in one's life.It is celebrated by Indian in Malaysia. In fact the festival of Deepavali is regarded to bring the supernatural joy and brightness in a person's life with the hope of discovering light amidst darkness, achieving happiness in place of ignorance and spreading of love amidst hatred and violence. It also signifies triumph of good over evil. In Hindu mythology the light signifies goodness and vitality. In cities candles and classy neon lights often substitute these diyas.The Hindu mythology reveals the most famous of these stories is the story revolving around Lord Ram and his family. It celebrates the homecoming of Lord Ram, who according to a legend came home to Ayodhya after defeating the evil Ravana and spending fourteen years in exile. Deepavali is also the day of Lord Ram's coronation. According to a popular legend King Dashratha had three wives by the names of Kaushalaya, Keykayee and Sumitra who had four sons Ram, Bharat, Laxmana and Shatrughan. Lord Ram, the son of Queen Kaushalaya was the eldest of all four brothers while Bharat was the son of Queen Keykayee.
During .Deepavali, friends will visit each other and they will wish them and guest will be treated with special dishes including the most popular among them is “muruku”. Guest will be treated with rice with curries dishes. Open houses which are a common culture in Malaysian Indian are normally organized by VIP’s as well as certain Indian organization.

vii) San Pedro festival; - this particular festival is celebrated by the Eurasians of Portuguese parentage community in Melaka. The Portuguese Settlement in Ujong Pasir here was a scene of dancing, singing and feasting amidst dim candles and brightly decorated fishing boats, as the Fiesta San Pedro kicked off on Saturday night. A cultural troupe showing a lively traditional dance at the Portuguese Settlement in Malacca on and guest will have a taste of the local food and watch the colourful cultural dances. It was the only traditional Portuguese village in the country, in which its people continue to practice centuries-old traditions and customs. The festival offers a colourful glimpse into the lives of the Portuguese community and over the years, Fiesta San Pedro has grown to be a popular tourist event for both Melaka and the nation.”
viii) Pesta Gawai;- Pesta Gawai or Perayaan Gawai is celebrated by the Iban , Bidayuh and Kadazan community in Sarawak to mark the end of paddy harvesting season. Usually it is celebrated in large scale at the end of the month of May or beginning of the month of June in villages, cities and towns in Sarawak. At the Gawai festival, all types of food is served including ‘air tuak’ a special beverage is presented to the ‘dewa padi dan kekayaan’. ‘Dewa padi dan kekayaan’ literally means the god of paddy and wealth. The most fascinating is the Ngajat Lesong dance performance performs by a dancer where he will lift up a ‘lesung padi’ with his teeth to demonstrate his strength. A poem will be read by one the member and a cockerel will be sacrifice by collecting it’s blood. This is the mark the opening of the Gawai and the cockerel blood will be sprinkle over the food which is presented to the ‘ dewa padi dan kekayaan’. After the completion of the ceremony, guests and the community around them are invited to the ‘ranyai’ or ‘pokok istiadat’ within the long house to enjoy the feast with them.
A lesung with a pounder