Maras Taun

Maras Taun is a thanksgiving festival carried out by Malay of Belitung Island and its surrounding smaller islands. Maras Taun literally means, cutting the year. Maras in Malay Belitung dialect means cutting and taun means year. The core is when the new season of planting come or after harvesting their fields, people pray and wish for the fine coming-year.

File:A marastaon 05.jpg

People share Lepat, a rice cake wrapped with coconut leave

Maras Taun in Mendanau island

Actually maras taun is a harvest festival of dry-field paddy farmer (padi ladang) or Oryza montana. Dry-field paddy only can be harvested in 9 months so the festival is only held once a year. To the Mendanau islanders, paddy is very important because it’s the main foodstuff. It’s connecting people from island to island by rice trading. Subsequently from time to time, the festival was not only celebrated by farmer, but also by fishermen. If the farmers celebrate their harvest, the fishermen celebrate the success of fish hauling and sea calmness. Both celebrate their good earnings in a year together.

Rites

The festival is opened with farmer dance. They sing maras taun song together to accompany the dance. Then, after dance ends, a village chief (a Muslim leader) appears and leads people saying the pray. Firstly the chief burns a piece of agarwood which could cause a fragrance smell, the he began to spell the pray and blessed two pieces of sacred leaves called daun hati-hati or daun kesalan, a kind of medicinal mint; Asian oregano (Plectranthus amboinicus). The sacred leaves then were given to people. People spread around the leaves into their homes and boats because they believe that the sacred leaves bring luck.

Lepat

As a festival of harvest, people together pounded rice that will be cooked as lepat. Lepat is steamed cake made from red rice, which has filled up with a piece of fish or meat and wrapped with young coconut leaves. Hundreds of lepats will be distributed to the villagers in the end of festival.

Resources

• Translated from Kompas with some edits, Maras Taun Adat Barik Urang Belitong… June 5, 2006, Monday

External links

• http://kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0606/05/Panorama/ (Indonesian)
• http://www.budpar.go.id/filedata/1692_480-1234269Babel.pdf (Indonesian)
• http://www.kangguru.org/magazine/december2003.htm

mabushii 07:11, 2 May 2007 (UTC)