Killing time by fishing before breaking fast

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

During the fasting month of Ramadhan, it has become tradition for Muslims to spend their time at various activities while waiting for the mosque drums to summon the breaking of the fast. Such activity is locally known as ngabuburit.

Apparently, a favorite ngabuburit in Tangerang is fishing at lakes, rivers and the ocean. Many people enjoy ngabuburit fishing so much that they have often forgotten to leave their fishing behind, even though the mosque drums had signaled the breaking of the fast.

When The Jakarta Post visited Lake Cipondoh on Jl. K.H. Hasyim Ashary in the Cipondoh district of Tangerang over the weekend, more than 50 local and Jakartan residents were were fishing there.

Many were sitting in neat lines along the lake bank, while others were using rafts to reach the center of the lake, where they believed more fish would take their bait.

Sudrajat, 34, a resident in Gondrong subdistrict, said he usually began fishing at 3 p.m. and left for home at 5:45 p.m. But when the Post met him, the father of three wanted to go home even though it was still only 4:30 p.m.

"This is the first time in my life I have caught four fish in this lake within 90 minutes. I want to give them to my wife before the hour gets too late, since there is still enough time to cook them for our breaking-the-fast meal," he joyfully told the Post while excusing himself.

The father lives just a stone's throw from Lake Cipondoh and fishes at the lake almost every day during the fasting month. If he can catch two or three fish, it means that he can save some money which would otherwise be spent on food for breaking the fast and sahur, the meal eaten at daybreak.

Wahyudin, 23, another Cipondoh resident, said it was his first time to fish at the lake. Before, he only accompanied his friends to the lake and was not interested in fishing.

"Since I often saw my friends enjoying the fishing, especially the moment they caught a fish, I decided to try it myself," he said.

Wahyudin said that he and his group of four friends also fish at the lake as a way to pass time until the summons for maghrib, the sunset prayer.

"It's not bad at all, and I'm satisfied even though I only caught one fish," he said, adding that he will give the fish to his mother, as usual.

Besides local residents, many visitors prefer ngabuburit fishing at Lake Cipondoh because there are several restaurants nearby, and visitors to the lake can fish for free.

On the other hand, Ali Rahman, 44, a resident in Grendeng subdistrict said that he prefers to spend his ngabuburit by fishing at the Cisadane riverbank during Ramadhan.

"Unfortunately, the original fish of the Cisadane River, which were very tasty, have been eliminated by industrial waste. Now there are only sapu-sapu fish in the river," he said, adding that fishing was an interesting way to pass the time while waiting for the call to maghrib.

At Tanjung Pasir Beach in the Teluk Naga district of Tangerang, dozens of people also fish while waiting for the daily breaking of the fast. Some people even take their families along so that they can break their fast with a meal of grilled fish.

"It's very nice -- my family and I can ask the vendor here to cook the fish I have just caught from the sea," said Yosa, a visitor from Serpong.