Selaymat Hari Rayya

When I arrived in Malaysia for the class I already knew that I would be there during the end of Ramadan. Ramadan is, of course, the time of fasting and penitence in the Islamic faith. Over 60% of Malaysia is made up of practicing Muslims but the religion has an ethnic dimension that isn't present in the middle east. Malays are, by definition, Muslim and the Malay populace is exceptionally pious due to the ethnic dimension of religion in the country. This meant that the ongoing celebrations were a primarily Malay affair, but that said there was still a major presence of the holiday everywhere, Hari Rayya lights were strung across the doorways of the dorm we were staying in, and many restaurants weren't open at all until after sunset. Perhaps one of the funniest moments, which we got to experience every night, was the furtive glances between restaurant patrons waiting to see who was going to be the first to eat. At the last sundown of Ramadan we all went out to a restaurant which served Arabian food, and smoked hookah. The restaurant was directly under to Petronas twin towers and after sundown the fireworks started, leaving us to eat and watch as they went off. One of the members of Sisters in Islam, a group that two of our students had interned for joined us for supper and we had a lively discussion about UMNO, the primary ruling party, and the Bumiputra laws. I ate some lamb and then after dinner wandered around to watch the fireworks from the street stalls, selling sweets and gifts for the holiday season, but if that sounds dull, it wasn't for long. Our guest invited us all to take her car and see the fireworks from the top of Lookout hill, a small mountain which overlooked downtown. Everyone else was much too tired to go out and elected to return to the dorms and listen to music while preparing for classes the next day, but I wasn't tired and wanted to experience my last night in Kuala Lumpur to its fullest. She drove me out past the tool roads and onto a side street heading out of town, at every toll booth we stopped she wished the worker a "Selayamat Hari Rayya" to celebrate the start of the Holiday season which follows Ramadan. We bought a few sodas and a small pack of the local tobacco, I don't normally smoke but today was a special occasion. When we reached the top of the Hill there were people from all walks of life, a Malaysian biker club, families with children, couples, but as far as I could see no foreigners but myself. We turned on the radio and let it play out the open car window. We tried to chat a little, but the fireworks began in earnest around midnight and it felt like we were both locked in a trance. The neon of Kuala Lumpur below mixed with the lights exploding and sparkling above the city. Cheers rang out from the city and sometimes I could make out a word or two in Malay. I finished my soda around 1 AM and sat on the siderail of the mountain. The lights of the city began to go out but the fireworks continued long into the night, within a few minutes most of the city was dark except for the fireworks. I will never forget that moment as long as I live, it was the highlight of the year for me.