BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//jEvents 2.0 for Joomla//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Asia/Kuching BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20200525T080000 RDATE:20380119T111407 TZOFFSETFROM:+0800 TZOFFSETTO:+0800 TZNAME:Asia/Kuching +08 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:8a24010976d47fc76ab11c27cffde148 CATEGORIES:Stories CREATED:20210526T112434 SUMMARY:#UGHIPs Series: UNIMAS Raya Stories – Celebrating Korité in Senegal and Eidul Fitr in Tanzania DESCRIPTION:
Have you ever wondered how it feels like to celebrate something familiar in an entirely different world? Sate your curiosity and celebrate the Sene galese Korité Mubarak with Mr. Apha Bodian and the dazzling Tanzan ian Eidul Fitr with Dr Abdalla Hassan.
Africa is a continent of wonde r. As one travels from the British-influenced United Republic of Tanzania ( Swahili: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania) in the west to the far e ast French-speaking République du Sénégal, one is bound to be dazz led by their diverse culture.
Dr Abdalla currently resides in Kuala L
umpur with his small African family. Adorning their traditional dresses, hi
s family celebrates a very Malaysian Raya – kuih raya,
But 10 years away from home, Dr Abdall admitted that he still misses the festivities in Tanzania. Festivity towards Syawal starts as early as mid-Syaaban (the mont h before Ramadhan). Giving alms – or gifts, as they call them, is their sec ond nature. He gets a present, she gets a present, everyone gets a present! They take full advantage of Ramadhan to stretch good deeds and to reach ou t to their less fortunate brethren. It is common to see hundreds of Ramadha n care packs stacked neatly in rows along the road. On Malam Raya, when we decorate our gates with fairy lights and tuntong, Tanzani ans dance, partying to rejoice the breaking of fast. Intricate floral henna adorns the delicate hands of Tanzanian women. For them, Eidul Fitr is a ru nway stage for the latest fashion. In the morning, the city of Dar es Salaa m appears like a magic carpet colorfully weaved with prostrating devotees i n their new attire during the morning prayer.
Dr Abdalla’s good frien d, Mr Alpha just returned to his homeland, Senegal, with his Malaysian wife – whom he met at UNIMAS (cia cia cia…). He admitted that he feels more Malaysian than a Senegalese as things were different eight years ago when he first left for Malaysia. One thing he was comforted by is the everl asting Korité traditions. If you come home late from work, the streets of S enegal will serve you café (a.k.a. coffee. Senegalese are fancy, m aybe it is their French inherited chic?) for Ndogou (iftar). This is also the month when in-laws would anticipate Suukaru Koor, Ramadan gifts from their sons or daughter in-laws.
During Syawal, after the mornin g prayer, dishes are served in trays to be eaten together. Mr Alpha said th at compared to Hari Raya, Hari Raya Haji or Tabaski < /em>Mubarak is more celebrated. They would dance to the beat of the drum. H owever, Korité is well celebrated in his household as the Malaysian t radition is ingrained deeply in his beloved wife, and of course, in him.
“Raya penting! She (his wife) will get busy with kueh and biskut raya!” he laughed.
DTSTAMP:20240328T225242Z DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kuching:20210526T080000 DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kuching:20210526T170000 SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR