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'€˜Meugang'€™: Aceh'€™s way of welcoming Ramadhan

Custom: A woman buys beef at a stall for meugang, one day before the start of the Ramadhan fasting month

A. Kurniawan Ulung (The Jakarta Post)
Banda Aceh
Thu, June 25, 2015

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'€˜Meugang'€™: Aceh'€™s way of welcoming Ramadhan

Custom: A woman buys beef at a stall for meugang, one day before the start of the Ramadhan fasting month.

For Acehnese people, beef is the most sought-after meat a day before the holy month of Ramadhan kicks off.

On Wednesday morning, more than 12 butchers were busy serving shoppers at their booths in the coffee shop- and food stall-lined area along Jl. T. Nyak Arief in Kuta Alam district, Banda Aceh.

The food stalls and coffee shops, which mostly operate 24 hours, were closed that day.

Big hunks of fresh beef lying on wooden tables and hung on metal hooks under tarps attracted passersby to visit. They continued to flock to the shops for meat throughout the day.

'€œToday [June 17], we are celebrating meugang,'€ said butcher Usman Amin.

Meugang
is a tradition that remains in Aceh, which is home to more than 4.8 million people.

In this tradition, people stay at home, cooking beef and enjoying it with family members to welcome the holy month in the 58,376-square-kilometer province, located at the north-western tip of Sumatra.

Beef can be replaced with buffalo or goat meat. '€œChicken is not allowed,'€ Usman said about meugang, which is also held a day before Idul Fitri and Idul Adha.

Chop: Butchers prepare cuts of beef in makeshift shops at roadsides during meugang.
Chop: Butchers prepare cuts of beef in makeshift shops at roadsides during meugang.

According to the Koran and Sunnah, Ramadhan is good news for Muslims because God will multiply rewards for those who worship Him. Therefore, it is a special month for people in Aceh, the only sharia-based province in the world'€™s largest Muslim-majority nation.

For the occasion, Usman slaughtered five cows in a slaughterhouse at Peunayong traditional market, which is around 7 kilometers from Jl. T. Nyak Arief. He did not remember how many cows were slaughtered at the house, but he said that there could be hundreds.

Meugang
is the event Usman has been waiting for because rising demand of beef makes the price higher than usual.

For the occasion, one kilogram of beef was sold at Rp 150,000 (US$11), up 50 percent from Rp 100,000 on previous days.

Usman said that such prices were also applied at other spots in the city, such as Peuniti market in Baiturrahman district and Lamnyong market in Syiah Kuala district.

Early meat: Butchers tend to their shops, which open as early as 5 a.m.
Early meat: Butchers tend to their shops, which open as early as 5 a.m.

Usman served 12 buyers as of 9 a.m., four hours after he and other butchers set up the booths.

The price did not stop local people from shopping for beef. '€œIt [the rising price] is not a problem because meugang has been our tradition for a long time,'€ said housewife Fatimah.

Fatimah is just like other local people, who believe that the tradition has existed since Sultan Iskandar Muda led Aceh Darussalam Sultanate from 1607 to 1636. He slaughtered cattle and distributed them to the poor to thank God for the prosperity.

At home, Fatimah usually serves beef in a number of popular local dishes that could last several days, such as curry, smoked beef, rendang (beef stewed in coconut milk) and dendeng (dried beef jerky).

She said she cooked the dishes in bulk and shared them with her neighbors to tighten friendships and fraternity.

Like Fatimah, North Aceh-based Malikussaleh University lecturer Al Chaidar said he enjoyed the experience of meugang.

Chaidar has been performing the tradition since he was little in his hometown of Lhokseumawe, southeast of Banda Aceh.

Roadside: Many butchers open shops on roadsides during meugang, allowing the people of Aceh to buy meat for their families.
Roadside: Many butchers open shops on roadsides during meugang, allowing the people of Aceh to buy meat for their families.

Meugang
was not merely a tradition for welcoming important Islamic holidays, Acehnese people also used the holiday to measure masculinity, according to Chaidar.

'€œIn the tradition, a married man who cannot buy beef for his family members will be a subject of ridicule in society. People will mock his manhood,'€ he said.

Chaidar said that in Aceh, a man, as the head of the family, was responsible for providing healthy food for his family. Beef could represent this due to its high protein content.

If the man cannot buy beef, people will think that he had failed to support his family members, he said.

'€œDuring meugang, a married man has to bring at least one kilogram of beef home. It is shameful if he cannot afford it. Neighbors will say, '€˜He has let his wife and children get pale without protein'€™,'€ he said.

Chaidar also witnessed a case where a widower was met with challenges when trying to marry his sweetheart because her parents thought that he would be incapable of supporting their daughter'€™s life after he was found incapable of affording beef for the occasion.

The more beef a man buys, the more kudos he gets. Moreover, people will speak admiringly of him, said Chaidar.

Nothing is more important than shopping for beef and cooking it at home during meugang. Therefore, many shops are closed, said Chaidar.

Prime cut: A butcher cuts beef at his stall in Banda Aceh as part of the meugang tradition.
Prime cut: A butcher cuts beef at his stall in Banda Aceh as part of the meugang tradition.

If a shop remained open, neighbors would suspect that its owner was incapable of buying beef and it could be a hot topic for gossip, he added.

Chaidar said a married man who had left Aceh had to go home for the event. If he did not return, neighbors would question his existence and gossip about him.

The neighbors would suspect that the man was trying to escape from his responsibility of providing beef. '€œIf we do not go home, we will be seen as an ostrich that is trying to hide its head, but its body is visible,'€ he said.

Chaidar said he experienced such scorn because he often skipped meugang. His job often forced him to travel to other cities and countries for research, making it difficult for him to visit his family.

He knew that this year, his neighbors had gossiped about him again he said. He could not go to Lhokseumawe because he had to finish his PhD dissertation at the University of Indonesia in Depok, West Java.

'€œIt is so shameful. But I have been accustomed to it,'€ he said, laughing.

At first, Chaidar opposed the tradition because he thought that it was a burden on the life of poor people. However, as time passed, he began to accept and understand it.

'€œAcehnese people do not like complaining about life. Regardless of their financial conditions, they will do their best to buy at least one kilogram of beef for meugang,'€ he said.

'€” Photos by A. Kurniawan Ulung

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