Native Jakartans preserve old Idul Fitri traditions

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Sixty-one-year-old Masyim doesn't mind looking around for young coconut leaves far away from his neighborhood in Srengseng Sawah, South Jakarta, as he can earn Rp 1.5 million (US$157) from selling ketupat (rice cake) casings made from the leaves.

"It is difficult to find coconut trees around here. We used to have plenty, but a lot of the land has been sold," the Betawi man told The Jakarta Post.

Masyim is one of around 3,000 native Jakartans living on the Setu Babakan cultural reserve who observe tradition when celebrating Idul Fitri, which fell on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15 this year.

Masyim, who grows fruit on land by the lake for a living, said many native Jakartans in the area used to sell ketupat casings to various places around Jakarta to earn additional money for Lebaran.

"I have been doing this all my life ... I helped my father plait leaves when I was five or six. Many of my neighbors stopped several years ago. Only one or two still continue the tradition," he said.

Masyim added that he used to make around 3,000 ketupat casings each Lebaran and sell them for Rp 500 each.

He and his family -- a wife and three children -- would get together for the three days prior to Idul Fitri to make the casings for ketupat, which is traditionally eaten at Idul Fitri, to be sold to neighbors and Lenteng Agung and Pasar Minggu traditional markets, both in South Jakarta.

For the Betawi, there would not be Idul Fitri without each house preparing dodol, a sticky sweet made of palm sugar, flour and coconut milk.

"Not many households make dodol anymore because it is hard to make. It takes two hours to make the mixture, and then it has to be continuously stirred over a fire for eight hours. So many of us prefer to buy it instead," said Mai, 60, who lives a few houses away from Masyim.

Mai and her three daughters were busy taking orders for dodol from neighbors.

"I charge them Rp 20,000 for a kilogram of dodol. So, besides feeding my own family, I also sell food to others. I have been making dodol for decades but have only sold it in recent years," she said.

Sahroni, 38, acknowledged that many traditional activities to welcome Idul Fitri, such as preparing traditional dishes, lighting firecrackers and homemade bamboo cannons at Ramadhan, beating traditional drums (beduk) at the beginning and end of Ramadhan, as well as saving money to buy oxen to share for Idul Fitri meals, has fizzled out over the last couple of years.

"It is different now without those traditions. Many of us have been influenced by modern life, which advocates a more practical life and activities. We don't want to spend hours just to prepare food or making bamboo cannons. Unless we can make money out of it we won't do it anymore," added Sahroni.