Ruwahan is an actually Javanese tradition that has Islamic soul. Ruwahan is a tradition to greet fasting month or Ramadhan. People gather to pray for The God and send the prayer to the ancestors. People usually share food. Ruwahan can be done in the day or night.
There is also Sholawat performance with traditional musical instruments. In the middle of the ceremony, there is an Islamic scholar who delivers Islamic values and teaching.
Children like to gather in the ceremony but they do not like to listen to the speech. They prefer to buy some snacks on the counters. There were many food sellers in the area because there are a lot of people in the event.
The ceremony starts at 7:00 p.m and finished at 11:00 p.m. Old people like to sit on the prepared areas. Kids like to stand up and walk around. It is a kind of people's party. Everyone has fun because they get free food, and see Islamic art shows on the stage.
To hold this event, The committee had prepared two month before. They collected fund from residents. The fund is used to rent the stage, tent and provide food for visitors.
People wear traditional clothes. They wear sarong, a cap, and a shirt. The leaders of the community will give opening speech before the event is started.
To hold a big event like this, the commitee needs to spend more than IDR 20,000,000 or around USD $1,500. It is a big money but all the residents give their donation.
In the coming week, Islamic calender will be fasting month. Ruwahan is a means to make people meet and greet. They will make closer friendship with the meeting. Ruwahan is actually a local tradition in Indonesia mainly in Java Island. It is not tradition of Arabs and middle east countries that follow Islam as the major religion. That is why Islam in Indonesia is unique because it is mixed with the local tradition.
