The Significance of Hari Raya Food towards Malay Community in Malaysia
Abstract
It is becoming a long tradition regardless generations for the Malay community to prepare and served traditional foods for Hari
Raya celebration. Through observation and interview procedures, this paper describes the significance of traditional Hari Raya
food from three Malay generation women’s understanding on the process of Malay traditional Hari Raya food knowledge
transfer. Charitable deeds, Social Bonding and Memories are significant elements in the knowledge transfer processes.
Majorities of informers noted that Hari Raya without the traditional food is nothing or did not bring any significant for the
celebration. In other words Hari Raya foods play significant roles in cheering or complete the atmosphere of the festive
celebration.
1. Introduction
Hari Raya is a religious celebration that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting which is
celebrated in the first day of Shawwal by Muslims across the world including the Malay community in Malaysia.
This is a day where Muslim around the world shows a common goal of unity and blessing. In this greatness or blessing day, Muslims besides performing tasbeeh, tahmeed and takbeer (perform religious chanting), performing
morning Hari Raya prayer, they are also strongly urged to perform many other meaningful activities like asking
parents and family forgiveness, visit the family grave yard, pay visit to family relatives and friends as well as
entertain guests with Hari Raya foods and drinks. Foods in addition, to other activities plays significant role in the
Hari Raya celebrations and convey valuable meanings in strengthening the relationships among families, friends and
communities. Hari Raya food referred as food prepared and served particularly during the Malay culture and
Muslim religious celebrations or globally known as Aid Fitri or Aid Adha. The Malays commonly celebrate this
annual feast with varieties of foods and special dishes particularly the traditional one. It is becoming a long tradition
regardless generations for the Malay community to prepare and served traditional Hari Raya food for the
celebration. Traditional Hari Raya food is in fact to have brought significant meaning to the Malays women
generations in celebrating the religious festive celebration. Therefore, this paper describes the significance of
traditional Hari Raya food based on understanding of the process of Malay traditional Hari Raya food knowledge
transfer within the three generations Malay women or mothers.
2. Literature review
2.1. Malay traditional foods
Traditional food refers to foods that have been consumed for many generations which include all indigenous food
plants found in that region or in specific locality (European Union, 2007). Trichopoulou, Soukara, and Vasilopoulou
(2007) pronounced traditional food as an expression of one culture, history and lifestyle reflects the cultural heritage
and have left their prints to contemporary dietary patterns to subsequent generations. Traditional foods are those
foods originating locally in an area with respect to the country, region, district or sub district (Ohiokpehai, 2003)
with some ingredients and traditional food preparation represent an intrinsic part of the identity of regional foods
and by association with the people who consume them (Fajans, 2006). Jordana (2000) stated that traditional food is a
food that is differentiated through particular qualitative aspects and has a specific cultural identity, while Kwik
(2008b) contended that traditional food may be interpreted as describing a process that does not change. The Malay
food, on the other hand, has its own history of existence and the origin of its results in its unique characteristics to
these days. There was unclear written evidence as to when the tradition of Malay food culture exists (M. S. M.
Sharif, Zahari, Nor, & Muhammad, 2013). However, from the popular beliefs and based on the earliest record that
Malay food culture started to emerge in the 15th century during the Malacca Sultanate and Malacca itself act as an
important trade centre in the Malay Archipelago (Hooker, 2003). Besides Sultanate of Malacca, the active
participation in the spice trade which involved ingredients, cooking methods, recipes and eating decorum have
created an important legacy in the Malay culinary or food culture traditions. In addition, the ethnic composition of
Malay, Chinese descendants especially the Baba Nyonya and Eurasian, it become as a catalyst to the development of
culinary culture tradition. Zain (2009) argued that the formation potpourri of Malay food culture tradition is also
resulted from the acculturation processes among the Javanese, Bugis and Minangkabau.
In the north of Malaysia, Malay food culture has been mostly influenced by the Indian flamboyance during the
sixth century under the auspices of the Srivijaya kingdom. There was a large Hindu temple built by Indian traders
and missionaries in the northern districts (Su-Lyn, 2003). Again, the active participation among the spice traders in
Malaya, it contributed to the added value of Malay culinary culture traditions (M. S. M. Sharif, Nor, & Zahari,
2013). In addition, the existing of Malay food culture was also heavily convinced by the Pattani culture of Thai
lander whereby on the eighteenth century the northern states such Kedah, Perlis, Pulau Pinang and Perak including
the two east coast states namely Kelantan and Terengganu were under the influence of Siamese monarchy which
immensely powerful at the time (Hooker, 2003). From these incidences, the vast potpourris of Malays food culture
were apparen
2.2. Malay traditional Hari Raya foods
Hari Raya (Aidil Fitri and Aidil Adha) means Festival around the world for Muslims. Open house is the most
important Festival in the Islamic calendar which marks the end of Ramadan (i.e. fasting month) and the arrival of
Syawal and it is a grand festival in Malaysia (Munan, 1990). The festive food of the Malays or Malay traditional
Hari Raya foods are commonly made out of rice like ketupat, ketupat palas, lontong, and lemang as the main staple
food of the Malays is rice (Zain, 2009). Typically, the Malay traditional Hari Raya foods would be different from
what ordinarily consumed during the usual days. Beef and chicken dishes has become the choice as a main dish to
accompany ketupat, nasi impit and lemang throughout the festive celebration although in the past it were very hard
and lavish to purchase beef and chicken (Anon, 1995). That’s the reason that made Malay communities and
individual look forward for the traditional dishes during Hari Raya owing to the dishes were only prepared and
served once a year on those days as the Malay community at that time could not afford to prepare such special
dishes all year round (Md. Nor et al., 2012; M. S. Sharif, Supardi, Ishak, & Ahmad, 2008).
For festive celebration, food preparation is often given priority by the Malays which in the past, the food
preparation undertaken two or three days before the celebration (M. S. M. Sharif, Zahari, et al., 2013). This is
because the Malays certainly enjoy entertaining guests who visited their home, especially during the festive day and
in line with the teaching of Islam. A vast variety of food is generally present in this religious festival which
incorporated the Malay culture and family tradition that has been practiced for generations. Traditional foods like
ketupat, lemang, rendang, masak lodeh, lontong, and local cookies are usually prepared and served on that particular
day (Anon, 1995).
2.3. Food practice continuity
According to Guthman (2008), food practice is a spiritual portal with depth experience of life through the lens of
food. It is about nourishment, pleasure, and their significant pause in your day that brings us back to the fundamental
heart of our lives. Food practice is a way in which we are actively and fully involved with all aspects of food, eating
and gathering place around the table. It is a spiritual approach and independent of denomination or religion. It only
honors the bounty we take to feed ourselves, how do we provide this gift and how we share it with others. It is
acknowledged that the presence and intentions are essential to the process, and mindful of the choices we make
around food, guide us along the path to a richer life. In the simplest form, this is about the people together, break
bread, connecting with each other, with food, and how we take in nourishment of our bodies, hearts and souls.
Cultural practice generally refers to the manifestation of culture or sub- culture, especially in regards to the
traditional practices and customs of the ethnic group or the other culture. In the broadest sense, the term can apply to
any person manifesting any aspect of any culture at all times (Kierans & Haeney, 2010). However, in practical usage
it usually refers to the traditional practices that are developed in specific ethnic culture, especially the aspects of
culture that has been practiced since ancient times. Cultural practices also are the subject of discussion on the
question of cultural life. If an ethnic group maintains official ethnic identity but loses its cultural practices or
knowledge, resources, or the ability to continue their rise to the question whether the culture is able to truly live at
all. Traditional systems frequently see food, medicine, and health as interconnected (Kwik, 2008a) It is worth
reiterating that this paper is part of a research to find out about understanding on the process of Malay traditional
Hari Raya food knowledge transfer within the three generations Malay women or mothers.
3. Methodology
The Significance of Hari Raya Food towards Malay Community in MalaysiaAbstractIt is becoming a long tradition regardless generations for the Malay community to prepare and served traditional foods for HariRaya celebration. Through observation and interview procedures, this paper describes the significance of traditional Hari Rayafood from three Malay generation women’s understanding on the process of Malay traditional Hari Raya food knowledgetransfer. Charitable deeds, Social Bonding and Memories are significant elements in the knowledge transfer processes.Majorities of informers noted that Hari Raya without the traditional food is nothing or did not bring any significant for thecelebration. In other words Hari Raya foods play significant roles in cheering or complete the atmosphere of the festivecelebration.1. Introduction Hari Raya is a religious celebration that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting which iscelebrated in the first day of Shawwal by Muslims across the world including the Malay community in Malaysia.This is a day where Muslim around the world shows a common goal of unity and blessing. In this greatness or blessing day, Muslims besides performing tasbeeh, tahmeed and takbeer (perform religious chanting), performingmorning Hari Raya prayer, they are also strongly urged to perform many other meaningful activities like askingparents and family forgiveness, visit the family grave yard, pay visit to family relatives and friends as well asentertain guests with Hari Raya foods and drinks. Foods in addition, to other activities plays significant role in theHari Raya celebrations and convey valuable meanings in strengthening the relationships among families, friends andcommunities. Hari Raya food referred as food prepared and served particularly during the Malay culture andMuslim religious celebrations or globally known as Aid Fitri or Aid Adha. The Malays commonly celebrate thisannual feast with varieties of foods and special dishes particularly the traditional one. It is becoming a long traditionregardless generations for the Malay community to prepare and served traditional Hari Raya food for thecelebration. Traditional Hari Raya food is in fact to have brought significant meaning to the Malays womengenerations in celebrating the religious festive celebration. Therefore, this paper describes the significance oftraditional Hari Raya food based on understanding of the process of Malay traditional Hari Raya food knowledgetransfer within the three generations Malay women or mothers.2. Literature review2.1. Malay traditional foods Traditional food refers to foods that have been consumed for many generations which include all indigenous foodplants found in that region or in specific locality (European Union, 2007). Trichopoulou, Soukara, and Vasilopoulou(2007) pronounced traditional food as an expression of one culture, history and lifestyle reflects the cultural heritageand have left their prints to contemporary dietary patterns to subsequent generations. Traditional foods are thosefoods originating locally in an area with respect to the country, region, district or sub district (Ohiokpehai, 2003)with some ingredients and traditional food preparation represent an intrinsic part of the identity of regional foodsand by association with the people who consume them (Fajans, 2006). Jordana (2000) stated that traditional food is afood that is differentiated through particular qualitative aspects and has a specific cultural identity, while Kwik(2008b) contended that traditional food may be interpreted as describing a process that does not change. The Malayfood, on the other hand, has its own history of existence and the origin of its results in its unique characteristics tothese days. There was unclear written evidence as to when the tradition of Malay food culture exists (M. S. M.Sharif, Zahari, Nor, & Muhammad, 2013). However, from the popular beliefs and based on the earliest record thatMalay food culture started to emerge in the 15th century during the Malacca Sultanate and Malacca itself act as animportant trade centre in the Malay Archipelago (Hooker, 2003). Besides Sultanate of Malacca, the activeparticipation in the spice trade which involved ingredients, cooking methods, recipes and eating decorum havecreated an important legacy in the Malay culinary or food culture traditions. In addition, the ethnic composition ofMalay, Chinese descendants especially the Baba Nyonya and Eurasian, it become as a catalyst to the development ofculinary culture tradition. Zain (2009) argued that the formation potpourri of Malay food culture tradition is alsoresulted from the acculturation processes among the Javanese, Bugis and Minangkabau. In the north of Malaysia, Malay food culture has been mostly influenced by the Indian flamboyance during thesixth century under the auspices of the Srivijaya kingdom. There was a large Hindu temple built by Indian tradersand missionaries in the northern districts (Su-Lyn, 2003). Again, the active participation among the spice traders inMalaya, it contributed to the added value of Malay culinary culture traditions (M. S. M. Sharif, Nor, & Zahari,2013). In addition, the existing of Malay food culture was also heavily convinced by the Pattani culture of Thailander whereby on the eighteenth century the northern states such Kedah, Perlis, Pulau Pinang and Perak includingthe two east coast states namely Kelantan and Terengganu were under the influence of Siamese monarchy whichimmensely powerful at the time (Hooker, 2003). From these incidences, the vast potpourris of Malays food culturewere apparen2.2. Malay traditional Hari Raya foodsHari Raya (Aidil Fitri and Aidil Adha) means Festival around the world for Muslims. Open house is the mostimportant Festival in the Islamic calendar which marks the end of Ramadan (i.e. fasting month) and the arrival ofSyawal and it is a grand festival in Malaysia (Munan, 1990). The festive food of the Malays or Malay traditionalHari Raya foods are commonly made out of rice like ketupat, ketupat palas, lontong, and lemang as the main staplefood of the Malays is rice (Zain, 2009). Typically, the Malay traditional Hari Raya foods would be different fromwhat ordinarily consumed during the usual days. Beef and chicken dishes has become the choice as a main dish toaccompany ketupat, nasi impit and lemang throughout the festive celebration although in the past it were very hardand lavish to purchase beef and chicken (Anon, 1995). That’s the reason that made Malay communities andindividual look forward for the traditional dishes during Hari Raya owing to the dishes were only prepared andserved once a year on those days as the Malay community at that time could not afford to prepare such specialdishes all year round (Md. Nor et al., 2012; M. S. Sharif, Supardi, Ishak, & Ahmad, 2008).For festive celebration, food preparation is often given priority by the Malays which in the past, the foodpreparation undertaken two or three days before the celebration (M. S. M. Sharif, Zahari, et al., 2013). This isbecause the Malays certainly enjoy entertaining guests who visited their home, especially during the festive day andin line with the teaching of Islam. A vast variety of food is generally present in this religious festival whichincorporated the Malay culture and family tradition that has been practiced for generations. Traditional foods likeketupat, lemang, rendang, masak lodeh, lontong, and local cookies are usually prepared and served on that particularday (Anon, 1995).2.3. Food practice continuity According to Guthman (2008), food practice is a spiritual portal with depth experience of life through the lens offood. It is about nourishment, pleasure, and their significant pause in your day that brings us back to the fundamentalheart of our lives. Food practice is a way in which we are actively and fully involved with all aspects of food, eatingand gathering place around the table. It is a spiritual approach and independent of denomination or religion. It onlyhonors the bounty we take to feed ourselves, how do we provide this gift and how we share it with others. It isacknowledged that the presence and intentions are essential to the process, and mindful of the choices we makearound food, guide us along the path to a richer life. In the simplest form, this is about the people together, breakbread, connecting with each other, with food, and how we take in nourishment of our bodies, hearts and souls.Cultural practice generally refers to the manifestation of culture or sub- culture, especially in regards to thetraditional practices and customs of the ethnic group or the other culture. In the broadest sense, the term can apply toany person manifesting any aspect of any culture at all times (Kierans & Haeney, 2010). However, in practical usageit usually refers to the traditional practices that are developed in specific ethnic culture, especially the aspects ofculture that has been practiced since ancient times. Cultural practices also are the subject of discussion on thequestion of cultural life. If an ethnic group maintains official ethnic identity but loses its cultural practices orknowledge, resources, or the ability to continue their rise to the question whether the culture is able to truly live atall. Traditional systems frequently see food, medicine, and health as interconnected (Kwik, 2008a) It is worthreiterating that this paper is part of a research to find out about understanding on the process of Malay traditionalHari Raya food knowledge transfer within the three generations Malay women or mothers.3. Methodology
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