The Ramadhan spirit

Brunei residents gear up for Ramadhan, preparing for a month of deepening faith and community ties

On a blisteringly hot afternoon, the parking area of Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium teems with life as food vendors eagerly set up their stalls for the annual Gerai Ramadhan.

With Ramadhan here, one of the most anticipated and sacred months in Islam, the Sultanate comes alive, with residents gearing up for a month of deepening faith, enhancing health, and nurturing prosperity and community ties.

The stadium, a key highlight among the Sultanate’s Gerai Ramadhan, buzzed with anticipation days before the official moon sighting. And as tents and tables stand arranged in readiness, come first day of Ramadhan, the air is filled with the enticing aromas of local street foods.

It’s an atmosphere most of us are familiar with, whether at the stadium or the Gadong night market, there is a different vibe at food markets during Ramadhan. In spite of the hunger, spirits are high with vendors happily calling out their offerings as colourful images of their culinary delights dance in the breeze.

Business as usual

Dinah, a vendor offering fruit and sugar cane juices – a Ramadhan staple – shared her hopes for a bustling market this year, noting how the usual crowd numbers have plateaued recently.

“It’s our fifth year at the Gerai Ramadhan, so setting up is pretty straightforward for us. We’re all about fresh fruit juice, so there’s not much to do besides getting our stall ready,” said the 31-year-old.

Norza and Osman, a senior couple in their 60s selling drinks and flavoured ice slushies, have been vendors at the annual food market for eight years. They too have noticed the crowd numbers stabilising, albeit with a slight increase.

Norza attributed this slight uptick to the growing diversity of food and vendors participating in the market, with more newcomers offering modern or international street food.

“We’ve seen a slight increase in profits over the years, and we’re hoping this year will be the same, but only time will tell,” said Osman.            

Meanwhile, for home-based baker Farah Aqilah Shamad, who has been in operation since 2008, her Ramadhan preparations began in early March.

Usually, she specialises in customised and decorated icing cookies for birthdays and other events. However, for Ramadhan, she closed her normal orders to focus solely on Raya biscuits, which she will be making throughout the holy month.

“As much as I am used to this, I do feel a bit of pressure, especially knowing that I will be stepping into late nights and extra work, just like every other Ramadhan in previous years. “This time, I hope that we will be able to finish our orders, if not on time, hopefully earlier than scheduled,” shared the 30-year-old.

Heartfelt traditions

Ramadhan in Brunei brings a season of bonding for many. Whether it’s praying Sunnat Tarawih with family and friends, gathering for a simple iftar, or donating food necessities to the less fortunate, this holy month is a time for giving and building community.

Hajah Limah binti Haji Abdul Aji, in her 60s, shared how her family gathers for iftar on the first day of every Ramadhan and with 18 children, it’s always an event she looks forward to.

She added how the host for the iftar get-together may change from year to year, but most often than not, it is held at their family home at Kampong Pandai Besi in the Kampong Ayer.

“Alhamdulillah, even in my old age, I’m still capable of fasting for a full month during Ramadhan,” continued the Tamu Kianggeh vendor.

Another vendor, Dijah, shared memories of spending her childhood Ramadhan making traditional cakes and biscuits for Hari Raya Aidilfitri with her late mother.

Inheriting the same stall in Tamu Kianggeh that her mother operated, the 53-year-old admitted to no longer taking Hari Raya orders for customers.

However, she has started making ketupat sleeves – containers made of young Nipah palm leaves for rice – which she shared are very popular during the days leading up to Hari Raya. Ketupat is also a staple Malay food, often served during Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

A new beginning

As residents across Brunei prepare for another year of Ramadhan, Md Aldey Yusran bin Abdullah Adnan will be experiencing his first since converting to Islam in November of last year.

He is one of the latest of three siblings to have embraced Islam, yet he still lives at home with his parents, who have not. Despite this, things are calm and as normal as they can be.

“My younger siblings embraced Islam earlier than I did, so some of my knowledge on Islam was taught by them,” said the 23-year-old, who works as an assistant technical instructor at His Majesty the Sultan’s Flight Hangar.

Having grown up among Malay Muslims, the ways and practices of Islam are not foreign to him. He noted some previous interactions regarding Ramadhan, accompanying some colleagues as they went for sahur. These experiences dictate his approach during fasting, practicing sahur with either dates or bread. He admitted to having no expectations for his first Ramadhan, only to be able to fulfil it and hopefully, along the way, show his other family members the beauty of Islam. – Wardi Wasil