It began with a normal Thursday schedule. Morning assembly at 7:10am, followed by two classes at 7:30am and 8:10am. But then festivities began.
Morning assembly with the students in their cultural attire instead of their usual school uniforms. Everyone looked sangat cantik (very beautiful)!
With my students
Today SMK Labis celebrated Maulidur Rasul, the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. Preparations began Friday after school. At 3:00pm, Dorine and I returned to the canteen at my school to join the teachers and staff for Rewang, the preparation of food for the celebration. The women and a few men peeled and chopped vegetables, onion, and garlic while the rest of the men hacked and cut the meat. Two cows were slaughtered for the occasion. When we arrived, the cow parts were being hung from the cross bars of the walkway and the meat was being separated from the bone. The older form boys enjoyed helping the teachers and administrative staff in the preparation of the cows. Needless to say, I stayed with the garlic and onions.
Food preparation with the lovely ladies at my school
Meat preparations by the male teachers and staff
With so many hands working diligently, the meat and vegetables, to be served to nearly 400 people, were ready for cooking within three hours. Cooking commenced later in the evening and continued until the morning, with some people spending the night at the school to ensure the food was ready for lunch on Saturday.
As Maulidur Rasul is only celebrated by Muslims, the Indian and Chinese students had their own activities for the day. The Indian students had a motivational guest speaker and the Chinese students had a guest speaker explain the true meaning behind the Chinese festivities and the zodiacal animals. All students were provided with food – breakfast and lunch. Although each function was conducted in the students’ first language, one of the Form 6 Chinese students translated the speech about the zodiacs for me.
Not being attached to any one racial group, I was able to visit all three ceremonies. Breakfast with the Indian students, the first half of the morning with the Malays, the second half with the Chinese, back to the Malays for lunch, and finishing the day with the Indian students. As the day was an Islamic celebration, I will focus on the activities of the Malays.
Serving roti canai, a fluffy bread taken with curry, to the Indian students
The motivational speaker for the Indian students
I entered the Maulidur Rasul ceremony during the reading of the Quran. The students and teachers had already assembled and proceeded to the religious center on our school’s campus. After a few short speeches, several students performed. There was a brief drama pantomime performance narrated by a few students seated off to the side, songs sung by a group of male students with percussion instruments, followed by a chorus of female students with male accompaniment on percussion. Talents I didn’t know my students have because there is no music class at our school.
Male students' musical performance
Female students' choral performance
The guest speaker commenced after the presentations. His talk was about the Prophet Muhammed and birthdays. During the portion I stayed for, he explained how birthdays are no longer celebrated in the proper way. Now, the youths like to go to the clubs and celebrate with members of the other gender. The proper way to celebrate is to show gratitude, ask for prayers and well-being, and show appreciation and humility. He seemed to be a very entertaining speaker as the students were constantly breaking out into fits of laughter.
It was during this speech that I left to attend the Chinese speaker and thus learn about the Chinese zodiacs. As a snake, my prime hours are between 9am-11am. Each of the 12 animals has a special two hours during the day. It is during this time that the animals are most active or perform certain behaviors. Between 9-11am, the snake hunts but does not harm people. It was clear that the speaker was also very entertaining for the students.
Chinese speaker
A Thank You for Coming
At 12:30, the Malay speaker finished and the students and teachers broke for lunch. Lunch was served on large platters with a variety of dishes shared by a group of students. Family style, eaten with the hands, the traditional Malay style of eating. I ate in the teachers’ room with my colleagues. There was biryani rice, mixed vegetables, several meat dishes, each with a different sauce, fruit salad, a variety of juices, and water. Lunch marked the end of the celebration, though the cleaning of the canteen continued for quite some time.
Lunch time!
Cleaning after lunch
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The day’s festivities were not finished this point. Dorine and I had tea with one of our new friends from yoga class and her son. The son is a very intelligent student in Standard Four at the local Chinese school. He has a collection of 50-60 trophies for competitions he has taken part in – Chess, English speaking, and English storytelling competitions, to name a few. He was very curious about the United States and where Dorine and I live, information which we gladly shared with him.
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As for the evening, Dorine and I had been invited to an Indian Coming of Age ceremony. Traditionally, this ceremony is performed when a girl reaches puberty; however, in more modern times, it has become a smaller ceremony for family and close friends and is often held years later. In this case, the girl was 18. Unfortunately, we arrived after the ceremony, though we were able to watch the video recording of the events.
From what I could gather, the girl is seated on the floor while her elders take coconut milk in their palms and pour it on the girl’s head, along with a special type of grass, in a sort of blessing. Once everyone has done so, the girl is taken to the bathroom where, with a cloth over her head, water is poured on her head. Next there is a ceremony involving coconut, platters of food, and blessings. Regretfully, I am not sure of the specific significance of these acts. We were able to greet the family and partake in the dinner before the occasion concluded. Delicious vegetarian Indian food I may add.
This was a lovely day, full of cultural experiences and festivities.
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