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Festivals of light to mark end of fasting month

Fire keeper: A young boy holds a torch during the opening of the Tumbilotohe oil lamp festival in Kota Timur district, Gorontalo municipality, on Monday

Syamsul Huda M. Suhari (The Jakarta Post)
Gorontalo/Bengkalis, Riau
Wed, July 15, 2015

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Festivals of light to mark end of fasting month Fire keeper: A young boy holds a torch during the opening of the Tumbilotohe oil lamp festival in Kota Timur district, Gorontalo municipality, on Monday. The three-day festival is held annually in Gorontalo province to celebrate the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadhan.(JP/Syamsul Huda M. Suhari) (JP/Syamsul Huda M. Suhari)

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span class="inline inline-center">Fire keeper: A young boy holds a torch during the opening of the Tumbilotohe oil lamp festival in Kota Timur district, Gorontalo municipality, on Monday. The three-day festival is held annually in Gorontalo province to celebrate the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadhan.(JP/Syamsul Huda M. Suhari)

With only a few days remaining until the completion of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadhan, residents in Gorontalo province and Bengkalis regency, Riau, are celebrating by staging unique lamp festivals.

On Monday evening, residents in Gorontalo'€™s six regions officially kicked off the three-day Tumbilotohe festival by lighting oil lamps everywhere, including on sidewalks, in rice fields and in the yards of mosques and houses.

Tumbilotohe, which means '€œlamp-lighting nights'€ in the local language, is held annually during the last three nights of Ramadhan to mark the 27th day of Ramadhan, or Lailatul Qadar, which is believed by Muslims as a time when one'€™s prayers and good deeds are considered more valuable than 1,000 months of good deeds.

In Gorontalo municipality, the province'€™s capital city, Gorontalo Mayor Marthen Thaha said the Gorontalo provincial administration had distributed 300,000 liters of kerosene for free to local residents to light their oil lamps throughout this year'€™s festival.

'€œCompared to last year, this year'€™s Tumbilotohe seems to be more festive. This [festival], however, is not only just a ceremonial event but also full of religious values, particularly Islamic [values],'€ Marthen said on Monday.

Local Muslim preacher Shafwan S. Ali said the Tumbilotohe festival had been initially held to express Gorontalo people'€™s farewell to the holy month of Ramadhan and to become a reminder for each other to keep doing good deeds.

'€œIn the past, people put oil lamps in the roads heading to local mosques during the festival to urge friends and neighbors to go to the mosque and get closer to God, particularly during the last few days of Ramadhan,'€ he said.

Local people, according to Shafwan, also used to illuminate graveyards with lamps during the festival in an effort to remind each other to do good deeds before they passed away.

'€œIn recent years, however, the festival has been considered merely as a celebration. Many local mosques often end up being deserted during the festival,'€ he said.

A group of local residents under the so-called Green City Forum, meanwhile, is using this year'€™s festival to promote the use of alternative fuel by organizing the Green Tumbilotohe competition in Gorontalo city.

Participants in the competition are required to use alternative fuel, like used cooking oil and gum rosin, to light their oil lamps.

'€œIn the past, Gorontalo people did not use kerosene as fuel [for lamps]. Instead, they used natural products that are environmentally friendly. We want to dig up and promote such local wisdom for the public,'€ event organizer Rahman Dako said.

Islamic teachings require every adult Muslim to fast during Ramadhan. During the month, Muslims are not permitted to eat or drink from dawn until dusk.

This year'€™s Ramadhan began on June 18 and will last until Thursday.

Meanwhile in Riau, thousands of residents flocked to Simpang Ayam subdistrict, Bengkalis regency, on Monday evening to attend the opening of the annual Lampu Colok (oil lamp) Festival, which is also being held to celebrate the end of Ramadhan.

'€œThe oil lamp culture is a part of our Malay identity, which recognizes the values of togetherness, solidarity and mutual help,'€ Bengkalis Deputy Regent Suayatno said in his opening remarks, as quoted by Antara news agency.

Festival coordinator Dahari said the local administration had built four oil-lamp minarets for this year'€™s event. '€œEach minaret is fitted with an average of 5,000 oil lamps. It takes a barrel and a half of kerosene [to light the oil lamps] in each minaret,'€ Dahari said.

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