Observing the 'Nahuwe' Tradition or Grandchildren Going on Hajj in the State of Sepa, Maluku

Residents of the State of Sepa, Amahai Subdistrict, Central Maluku Regency, Maluku, held the tradition of seeing off a grandchild departing for the Holy Land, known locally as ‘nahuwe’.

Ahead of the 2026 Hajj embarkation, one such ‘nahuwe’ tradition for seeing off a grandchild on Hajj was held at the home of a prospective pilgrim named Siti Aisyah Selano, daughter of Ismail Selano and Khadijah Soloto.

Women and men with lineage from the Selano and Soloto clans then gathered raw foods, such as sago, cassava, bananas, and rice.

Meanwhile, the men collected money, known as ‘salawate’. These agricultural products were then paraded around the village while singing and dancing.

Upon arriving at the pilgrim’s home, they were welcomed with the characteristic sawat dance of this oldest Muslim state in Maluku. Elders, women, and children joined in singing to the rhythm of sawat music.

Afterwards, the paraded agricultural products were handed over to the pilgrim’s home to be consumed together.

A resident named Sihat Soloto said the ‘nahuwe’ tradition, meaning ‘to go and see’, is held every Hajj month. The residents, he said, who collaborate to gather food and funds, share the same origins from the pilgrim’s clan.

The tradition, he added, is held to lighten the economic burden of the prospective pilgrim. They also pray for safety during the performance of the Hajj pillar.

“So earlier, the grandchildren from the Selano clan brought food, as did the grandchildren from the Soloto clan,” he said on Thursday (30/4).

He said the tradition has been passed down through generations and is still preserved to this day.

“So in the past, our elders, when coming to see grandchildren or children going on Hajj, they brought food and money; in the language, it’s called ‘nahuwe’, meaning to go and see,” he stated.

Prospective Hajj pilgrims from the State of Sepa, Amahai Subdistrict, Central Maluku Regency, total five people. They will hold a tradition of handshaking and mutual forgiveness, up to the ‘kasi makan negeri’ tradition at the oldest mosque in Maluku, namely the Jami Silalouw Mosque, State of Sepa, on Friday (1/5).

They will join kloter 26 and are planned to enter the Hajj dormitory in Waiheru or the Muzdalifah guesthouse in Waiheru Village, Teluk Ambon Subdistrict, on Friday (8/5).

Prospective Hajj pilgrims from Maluku Province total 587 and are divided into two kloters, namely kloter 24 and kloter 26.