Weekend parade: The pilgrims make their way through Lorong Asia. (JP/Khairul Saleh)

Early last Sunday morning, the main road of the Sungai Bayas area in Palembang was blocked as thousands of members of the Ayeb community took to the streets.

This was no riot. Rather, it was a cemetery pilgrimage known as Ziarah Kubro or Ziarah Kubur, a time-honored tradition performed the week before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The pilgrims from the Ayeb community, or people of Arab descent, came not just from Palembang and South Sumatra but also from Jakarta, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara, East Kalimantan and even Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia.

No fewer than 8,000 people took part in this year’s annual ritual, bringing traffic in the area to a standstill.

Like the ritual during Sya’ban (the eighth month of the Muslim calendar), when Muslims go on a pilgrimage to the graveyards of families and ulema, Ziarah Kubro has been handed down by clerics in Palembang as a way to remember the departed as always advised by Prophet Muhammad, as well as to pray for the late ulema and accept blessings of those considered close to the Divine.

Dominated by men dressed in white suits with white turbans or caps, the parade of pilgrims marched to the gravesites of various Muslim figures and Islamic propagators of Arab descent in Palembang.

Dozens of banners, flags and streamers were raised, bearing Arabic words and phrases with religious meanings. A group of youths enlivened the atmosphere with traditional musical instruments.

Fahmi, a 32-year-old resident of Kuto Batu in Palembang, was among the pilgrims.

“Held a week before fasting, this ritual also seeks Allah’s blessing, as well as paying respects to the deceased ulema,” he explained. “This gives us strength and comfort in performing our fasting obligations during the holy month.”

The Ziarah Kubro procession lasted for three days. On the first and second days, Aug. 14 and 15, the pilgrims paid homage to the tombs of ulema such as Al-Habib Ahmad bin Syeikh Shahab in Lorong Gubah and other figures in Telaga Sewidak in the 10-Ulu subdistrict. In both places, they conducted religious ceremonies followed by lectures on the Prophet delivered by clerics.

The ritual peaked on Sunday, with a parade from Lorong Asia in Palembang’s 8-Ilir subdistrict to the tomb of Prince Syarif Ali Syaech Abubakar in Lorong Manggar, some three kilometers away.

At grave of this Islamic propagator of Arab origin, who was also the son-in-law of Palembang’s Sultan Husin Diahuddin, the pilgrims chanted prayers and praise to Allah.

“We should always remember and preserve the teachings and values handed down by our predecessors to make us more introspective in leading our life,” said Abdurrahman Ghasim bin Syahab, an executive of Al Habib Ahmad bin Syahab Foundation.

The parade then proceeded to Kawah Tengkurep, the cemetery of the Palembang kings, including Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin I, who lived from 1724 to 1758. The crowd left this graveyard, which was built in 1728, for the final destination, Kambang Koci, not far from Kawah Tengkurep. In this ulema cemetery, the ritual wound up with Arab-style kebuli rice for lunch.

For Fahmi, Ziarah Kubro is not just a ritual performed from a sense of tradition, but also a way to gather socially with other people of Arab descent. He said he always looks forward to the time because of the social interaction. “Through this activity we can meet with old friends, which often leads to other Ramadan gatherings such as meetings to break the fast and evening prayers.”

Thousands of Muslims taking part in a procession tends to draw attention, making Ziarah Kubro a tourist attraction for Palembang.

For this reason, Sultan Iskandar Mahmud Badarudin III has deemed it appropriate for the pilgrimage
to be included on the city’s tourist calendar.

“It’s a tradition in Palembang and no other event is as lively as this, so of course it should be part of the local government’s program for cultural and spiritual tourism,” said the chairman of the Palembang Darussalam Sultanate Descendants Association.

Nasruddin, who came from Kelantan in Malaysia to take part in the pilgrim, said he was greatly impressed by Ziarah Kubro. The 50-year-old decided to visit Palembang after learning about the pilgrimage from his friends, who had already taken part several times.

“It’s great to know and follow such a tradition. It’s a remarkable experience to witness such togetherness and zeal among Muslims in welcoming the month of Ramadan,” said Nasruddin, a businessman who visited in a group of 25. Malaysian visitors also came from Selangor
and Johor.

The origins of the ritual are not completely clear. According to Palembang historian Djohan Hanafiah, there is no significant historical evidence of the Ziarah Kubro ritual in Palembang. But to his knowledge, this event has been organized as a festive event since 2000.

“Pre-fasting traditions are indeed found everywhere,” Djohan pointed out. “But Ziarah Kubro in Palembang has been this celebratory only in recent years.”

The first Arab community in Palembang already existed in the era of Sriwijaya Kingdom in the 9th and 10th centuries. But at the time, said Djohan, the Arabs from Persia were still relatively few.

“Only during the period of the Palembang Sultanate and Dutch colonization did they arrive in large numbers, mostly merchants from Yemen,” he said. “They were the embryo of the Arab community in Palembang today.”

Saudi Berlian, a Palembang sociologist, said the first contact with Arabs in the Sriwijaya era was connected to the arrival of the priest I Ching to Palembang in 671 AD, who hired the boat of the Arabs. “They could have come from Persia, before settling and or trading in mainland China,” he said.

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