At night, close your ears<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, the hurly burly national capital, the virtue of
\npoliteness seems to have been gradually driven to the outskirts.
\nThe humming tune of Muslims glorifying the name of God every
\nevening during this holy month of Ramadhan is drowned out by the
\ndeafening explosions of firecrackers. The sound of the exploding
\nfireworks, tossed up or thrown on the ground by young children,
\nis such a nuisance that the entire community, regardless of
\nreligious affiliation, feels greatly disturbed. Many have begun
\nto lose their tolerance. Parents, notably those who are not so
\nwell educated, are at a loss as to how they can teach their
\nchildren to behave.<\/p>\n
Isn't there anyone out there with good manners, capable of
\nteaching these parents? Today, people jokingly say that even the
\ndevil himself has left the city to seek asylum in another, more
\ncivilized province.<\/p>\n
Some of the fathers who frequent the mosque every Ramadhan
\nevening have complained that the problem of children's education
\nis not an easy issue to address in the current drive toward
\nmodernization. They once took their children to places of
\nworship, but the youngsters would just make a lot of noise and
\ndisturb the serenity of the atmosphere. Now they ask their
\nchildren to go elsewhere to play. The result? Children lighting
\nfirecrackers, closing their ears and throwing them in the air or
\non the ground.<\/p>\n
This is perhaps the noisiest by-product of the emergence of
\nill-behaved urban children, although lately only one casualty has
\nbeen reported in a firecracker-related incident.<\/p>\n
A baby was killed when a fire gutted the home of a firecracker
\nmaker in downtown Jakarta, after his products, which he had not
\nhad time to sell, exploded in July this year. But in the
\nprovinces, in incidents not involving children, firecrackers have
\nclaimed many lives in all sorts of locations, from a traditional
\nreligious school to a boat.<\/p>\n
Ethnic Betawi (the indigenous Jakartans) have been playing
\nwith these dangerous and disturbing toys for a long time. This
\nsmall time game is of course not recorded by history but the
\nBetawi people have been very much influenced by Chinese culture.
\nThe Chinese themselves were here long before the Dutch and their
\nnumber sharply increased after Governor General Jan Pieterszoon
\nCoen renamed Jakarta as Batavia and made it the capital of the
\nDutch colonial power. From the beginning, the Chinese had
\nundergone acculturation with the local people and married into
\nthe local population, while most locals spoke the Malay dialect
\nand later called themselves Betawi, a corruption of Batavia.<\/p>\n
Though the Chinese influence on the indigenous people was very
\nstrong among the Betawi living on the outskirts of the city,
\nthere was also a strong Arab influence, especially among those
\nliving in other parts of the city.<\/p>\n
The Arab influence was felt particularly strongly through
\nIslamic teachings but the biggest Chinese festival, Tjap Go Meh,
\nattracted Betawis as well as the Chinese themselves. Tjap Go Meh
\nfalls on the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year, which also
\nmarks the beginning of spring. Later, the festival grew so large
\nthat it was celebrated in different parts of the city on
\ndifferent nights. When Glodok, in the downtown area, was given
\nthe honor of opening festivities the whole of Jl. Gajah Mada was
\nclosed to traffic from Harmonie to Kota. The Betawis were proud
\nof saying that old women who never went out even during the Idul
\nFitri holidays ventured into the streets to celebrate Tjap Go
\nMeh. Firecrackers also played an important part in the festival,
\nalthough it was nothing compared to the hullabaloo we see today.<\/p>\n
But in 1954 the Jakarta authorities banned the Betawis from
\ntaking part in the door-to-door begging dragon dances, which
\nfollowed the main Tjap Go Meh festival. And tragically, in 1960,
\nthe military authority, which ruled supreme under the protection
\nof president Sukarno, banned Tjap Go Meh for good.<\/p>\n
In any case, given the close-knit relationship between the
\nChinese and Betawi communities, it would be difficult to abolish
\nthe firecracker-burning tradition. The chairman of the Indonesian
\nUlemas Council (MUI), Prof. Buya Hamka, has tirelessly urged
\npeople here to scrap the tradition because it represents neither
\nIndonesian nor Islamic culture, but the people remain adamant.
\nThe problem is made far more complex by the reluctance of the
\npolice to uncover and close the firecracker home industry in
\nrural areas and right here in town, where it operates in the full
\nview of the public.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/at-night-close-your-ears-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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