'Andil daging': 'Betawi' tradition for Idul Fitri
'Andil daging': 'Betawi' tradition for Idul Fitri
By Yoko N. Sari
JAKARTA (JP): Idul Fitri is a time for Moslems to celebrate after a month of battling their urges. For two days, family and friends get together for specially prepared meals, which, for Betawi people (old Jakartans), means buffalo meat.
Betawi people prefer water buffalo meat, which they collectively purchase and slaughter a day before Idul Fitri.
Andilan or Andil daging, the savings program set up to buy the water buffalo, is still used in Condet, East Jakarta, where efforts are being made to preserve Betawi culture.
A total of 20 water buffaloes will be slaughtered in Condet for the upcoming Idul Fitri.
Bang Diding has been the coordinator for three years, a profession he inherited from his grandfather. His uncle was also an andilan coordinator.
Diding said that Betawi people prefer their method to buying buffalo at the market because they know the condition of the buffaloes.
"The buffaloes must be male and healthy. We have never slaughtered female buffaloes for fear that they might be pregnant.
"The buffaloes always have health certificates from local authorities," Diding told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
Space for housing and slaughtering the water buffalo is a problem.
However, the use of his yard to house the animals, which he bought in Purwakarta and Slawi in West and Central Java, violates city regulations. All cattle entering the city must be examined by the City Husbandry Agency and be slaughtered at designated slaughter houses in Cakung, East Jakarta.
But the violation is tolerated by city officials due to its roots in Betawi tradition. An official of the agency, Ismunanto, said that the agency simply examines the meat after the cattle have been slaughtered.
Coordination
Diding said the tradition got a boost three years ago when people became interested again in becoming savings coordinators, of which there are now about ten.
He explained those who want to participate in the andilan usually contact him long before Idul Fitri. "I give an estimate for the price of the water buffalo and they start depositing their share after that. Usually they deposit their money every week," Diding said .
"Taking care of the deposits gives me a headache. Most only deposit Rp 2,000 or Rp 3,000 per week," he said, explaining why he refused to coordinate more than three savings groups.
The size of each group depends on the price of the buffalo, which ranges from Rp 1.8 million (US$837) to Rp 2.5 million. Eighteen people are usually necessary to save up for the smaller buffaloes, 20 for the more expensive.
The buffalo is slaughtered a day before Idul Fitri. All members of the andilan witness the process to make sure they receive their fair share of meat. Afterwards, the coordinator is responsible for giving each andilan member his or her share of money that is made from selling the leftover buffalo legs.
A member can receive up to seven kilograms of meat. Diding and the other coordinators usually take home Rp 100,000 worth of as payment for their services. (yns)