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Ramadan recollections, Philippine style

Members of 
Maranao, one of the 
17 Muslim tribes in the Philippines and the biggest group working in the UAE, share their Ramadan memories with Lily B. Libo-on.

Twenty years of residing in Al Ain have not dimmed Amerodin P. Umpia’s memory of how Ramadan is celebrated by his community in the Philippines.

Missing the camaraderie ... Amerodin P. Umpia with his family

Umpia, a Muslim from the Marano tribe, an ethnic group living mostly on the Philippine island of Mindanao, still remembers vividly his grandfather’s reaction during a Ramadan when it was time to offer the Salat Al Eid prayers.

“The local people, who belonged to the same clan, would end their Ramadan fast by offering the prayer in our family mosque,” he reminisces. “Once, they forgot to call grandfather for the prayer. When he heard about it, he ran to the mosque, shouting; ‘Who dares say Salat without my knowledge!’

Then people gathered around him and tried to pacify him. The incident shows how important the words of the elders are to the community.”

For Muslims in the Philippines, Ramadan starts with a bath and the community gathers fruits to feed the fasting congregation in the mosque.

The environment here enriches your faith ... Alaoddin Lucman with family. — Supplied photos

Groups of people called the towans or mutawa are appointed to sight the moon, the signal that the holy month is to start. However, the final declaration is made by the Sultan.

The month of fasts also sees a lot of Maranao delicacies served for Iftar. One of the signature dishes is chicken cooked with grated coconut sprinkled with a yellow colour called piyaparan a manok. Then there is bakas, grilled tuna, and a special meat menu.

Despite his two decades in the UAE, Umpia, in his mid-40s, still finds fasting tough here because of the scorching weather. Also, the day is longer than in the Philippines.

“For example, this Ramadan, we have to fast for 15 long hours before we can eat,” he says. “But it is not that long in the Philippines.” The Taraweeh, the prayer offered in the evening throughout the holy month, is also done differently in the Philippines.

Besides, he misses his community though his family is in Al Ain with him: “In the Philippines, we fast with our relatives and friends. Since the whole community is from the same clan and people know each other, you experience give and take: If your neighbour is preparing some special food, as per tradition, you will receive at least some part of it. In response, you will also have to share with them anything you prepare.”

In the UAE, his clan dwindles to just his family since people here are from different nationalities and each of them has his own Ramadan tradition and lifestyles.

“Here, we try to meet and visit every Maranao family and have Iftar with them,” he says.

For Sahron Tamano, a 40-year-old working in Sharjah for nine years, Ramadan last year was especially memorable as his mother visited him in the UAE, bringing with her his eldest daughter. It meant a reunion between mother and son as well as Tamano’s eldest child and youngest one, who was born here. After her return to the Philippines a month later, Tamano’s mother passed away.

So the branch supervisor of Sharjah Cooperative Society regards with gratitude the time he spent with her here before leaving forever.

Tamano was raised by his mother singlehandedly as his father died when he was two. He remembers how protective she used to be: “During Ramadan, most children in our place fasted. But my mother did not allow me to do so till I was 12. The obligatory age for a child to start fasting is said to be 15.” Tamano grew up in his grandparents’ home with uncles, aunts and cousins.

“Every Ramadan was a joyful occasion, living in this extended family,” he says. “Most of my uncles were graduates in Islamic studies from universities in the Middle East. So we were raised in a conservative, Islamic way. Most Ramadan nights, after the Taraweeh prayers, we went to Islamic seminars attended by the entire neighbourhood.”

But things changed when Tamano, after graduating from college, moved to capital city Manila to begin a business in imported goods and got married.

“It was totally different during Ramadan when you are the only one fasting with everyone around carrying on with their normal lives, eating and mingling with one another. There were always temptations. I guess that is the toughest time for you to test your faith, your self-control.

“You have just your watch to determine if it is time to break the fast as the mosque is in a faraway place.”

But Ramadan in the UAE, where he has been living for almost nine years, is also vastly different from the Manila experience.

“Everyone is excited about the advent of Ramadan, both for Muslims and non-Muslims. We are thankful we can fast in a place where everything is done in the right manner and the environment enriches your faith.”

The small Maranao community here has its weekly Iftar, hosted by senior members.

“It is also our way of reaching out to promote camaraderie and unity,” he says.

Alaoddin Lucman’s Ramadan recollections start with his hometown in Lanao del Norte and memories of fasting as a child.

“This is one of the ways you could be a good Muslim and subsequently, enter Paradise,” says the 46-year-old who works as a translator/interpreter at Al Ain’s Zayed House for Islamic Culture.

“In addition to my parents’ instructions, I was affected by the surrounding environment, where everyone was fasting. I continued to fast not only during Ramadan but on some days the rest of the months, like Thursdays and Mondays every week when fasting is recommended.”

Lucman is based in Ajman with his wife and four kids.

A graduate from Al Azhar University in Egypt in 1997, Lucman worked as translator at the Philippine Embassy in the Sultanate of Oman from 1997 to 1998. Then we went back to Egypt and it was from there that he joined his new position. When his eldest who is now studying Petrochemical Engineering at UAE University completes his degree, he will be the first Maranao to earn that degree.

In his hometown, before the start of Ramadan, the imams in every municipality consult community leaders to determine when the holy month is about to start. Once the date is confirmed, they would make an official announcement and people would start getting ready to fast.

“Ramadan is the door to happiness,” he says. “When it comes, people in my village make preparations to welcome the holy month and to offer prayers in the mosques with joy and faith.”

During Ramadan, the Muslim community there, he says, comes very close. People pray together, fast together and break their fast together. They see one another every day and night. They help each other wake up for suhoor — the last meal eaten by Muslims before fasting from dawn to sunset during Ramadan — and they meet during the Taraweeh prayers.

Lucman also mentions the custom of visiting relatives and friends and spend time with them to revive and strengthen kinship and brotherhood in Islam.

When Lucman went to Egypt for higher studies, he noted differences in the way Ramadan is celebrated in the Philippines and in Egypt, where the population is mostly Muslim and well-versed in Islamic traditions.

“When the month of Ramadan comes, Egyptians are very happy and celebrate it throughout the country like the celebration of the new year in non-Muslim countries. They erect tents in different parts of the country for Iftar for Muslims and non-Muslims alike and do many things for charity.”

Lucman was struck by people staying up at night to attend lectures and doing social service; the special Ramadan TV programmes and competitions like memorising the Holy Quran; and finally, going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.

Summing up his own observations and family experiences, Lucman calls Ramadan a month of devotion and sacrifices, a month of brotherhood and kinship: “It teaches us to be patient in everything to fulfil the commandments of God. It is a month of mercy and forgiveness.”

lily@khaleejtimes.com