IN bygone years Ramadan in Saudi Arabia used to be a different experience altogether. Some of the old-age customs have disappeared and many attempts are presently being made to restore them in the central and southern areas of Jeddah.
Traditions such as having men known as the Al-Musaharati (who are responsible for awakening people late at night for suhur), hanging lanterns in the streets, mayoral meetings, and special Ramadan dishes have all but disappeared.
What made these customs vanish is probably a growth in Jeddah’s population, something which has driven many people living in the old downtown area of Jeddah to move to the more affluent northern parts of the Red Sea port city. The growth in population and the growing economic affluence have played an important role in the disappearance of traditions that were practiced in Ramadan.
Ramadan used to come in the summertime and a single day’s fast would last for up to 15 hours. The fasts of those days were very tough, especially since people used to work in the difficult fishing and trading industries and also in factories, which were located some 20 kilometers away from downtown Jeddah. In order to get to their jobs many people had to walk long distances.
In the present era, Saudis prefer to enjoy the nights of Ramadan in tents, places of entertainment, and five stare hotels. Rather than enjoying the calm light of lanterns, walking through narrow alleyways, listening to tales, and playing traditional games they prefer going to alluring places.
The biggest change in the way Ramadan is celebrated can be seen in the huge amounts of money that is spent on buying food during the holy month. It is not only Saudis who spend lots on food but so do expatriates. People tend to spend millions of riyals on buying things that end up being thrown in the garbage. Whereas in the past people used to buy and prepare meals according to their incomes, and suffice on little.
Many people believe that the responsibility of ensuring safety and security in the Kingdom is the job of the police and the security forces. Therefore most people do not feel they have a need to participate in monitoring the entrances to their districts and keeping a look out for strangers.
“It is a great help when youth stay late at night on the streets, not only in Ramadan but also in other months. They enjoy sitting around talking in the streets. By doing this they help in preventing strangers and criminals from entering these districts,” said a police officer.
He added, “Citizens are number one police officers. The youth should learn from the past and how people used to live peacefully by preserving peace and security and solving all problems when they happen.”
He also said that the government now aims at reactivating district councils and increasing their role. People would thus be able to gather in the district council to discuss their problems and solve them. District mayors play an important role in connecting residents with the council and gathering them on one table to discuss problems rather than wasting time.
Mohammad Hassan, a psychologist, asks for more means of entertainments, which would help attract people to come and stay in public districts. According to him these districts lack places where the youth can gather and enjoy having fun.
“There is also shortage in entertaining places, and there is a general lack of social relations among people. To be able to pull those youth back, the district centers have to play a role in bringing back the traditional values of Ramadan. People living in these districts also have to collaborate with responsible authorities in these districts to establish more places where youth can gather, these places must have modern educational and entertaining equipments so to suite the needs of these youth. These places can also initiate different kinds of competitions,” he said.
Hassan added that the roles of mayors are limited now. In the past mayors used to contribute in combining those people who live in districts. Mayors came from the same districts they worked in. They were carefully selected for their ability and attitude. Their physical condition was also very important because their role included ending fights between people. Mayors were also well known for their efforts in using different festivals to bring people together so to solve problems and to discuss how to improve and develop the district.
Talal Al-Jahdali, the district mayor for the Al-Ruwais district, said that many mayors across Jeddah are now trying to create a friendly atmosphere to help retrieve the old sense of Ramadan. “They are assembling public councils commonly known as Al-Mirkaz. Other attempts include providing old and new games where people of different age can enjoy,” he said.
According to Al-Jahdali, the increasing number of Ramadan tents, which are well equipped with different games, and means of entertainment have taken a lot of youngsters away from the public districts. “New districts lack social relations, therefore I urge all mayors to make plans for Ramadan, and to encourage games which can be presented for youth and old people to compete on,” he said.
Talal Al-Nashiry, head of the Social Service at King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah, discussed the main reasons that drive youth to flee public districts. He said that many Saudis have moved to north of Jeddah, whereas many expatriates have come to live in downtown Jeddah because of the cheap accommodation. “This has negatively affected the social relations and decreased the numbers of visits between neighbors. The mentality of the youth has changed and they are now more ignorant about how to use their time positively. Furthermore, families in new districts are apparently away from each other.”
Al-Nashiry added that children must regularly pay visits to downtown Jeddah to absorb the beauty of old Jeddah; children must also learn how to work together and participate in human activities like charity work. Nonetheless, he said, “We need to benefit from the experiences of the old people and pass their experience to the new generation.”
According to Al-Nashiry the sense of deficiency and discomfort along with the need to enjoy eating different kinds of food available in the market, drive many families to buy huge amounts of foodstuff. The pleasure of this however ends immediately after eating a few morsels during Iftar. Every family has to prepare a list of food needed for this occasion and to concentrate on nutritious food.
Saudi families tend to spend lavishly on food during Ramadan; according to many people the vast majority of this food is thrown into the garbage.
According to a field study carried on 350 huge food stores in the Kingdom, SR40 billions are spent yearly on food, 15 percent of this money is spent on Ramadan expenses. In Jeddah more than one billion riyals are spent on foodstuffs, most of these goods are; soups, pastries, flour, juices, sweets, and rice.
Food stores tend to make discounts although discounts may not exceed some Halalas, these stores also provide special offers, and families are also getting familiar with the habits of having huge Iftar meals. All of these factors have increased the number of foodstuffs bought during Ramadan.
Khaled Saleh, who lives in the Al-Ruwaise district of Jeddah, said that they used to know about the starting day of Ramadan through the radio. He added that when they heard about it they would start preparing for it by buying food, however he added they never overspent on food and each family would buy exactly what they needed. Saleh also said that they used to gather in the first day of Ramadan to prepare food for those who live in their districts and cannot afford Ramadan expenses.
“We used to gather with the mayor in the evening to talk about fishing since it was the job of the majority of people in Jeddah. We would go fishing from dawn until Iftar time,” he added.
Abdullah mentioned some dishes prepared during Ramadan. Al-Sgdana, Kabab Miru, Al-Fani and Al-Khashaf are meals that can easily be cooked without the need for great amounts of meat, which was rare during those days. The main meal at Sahur was however rice with fish or with yogurt.
In addition to Ramadan being very much associated with lanterns, some of the Ramadan games such as Al-Asfur used to be very popular. In Al-Asfur youngsters would half bury a friend in a hole in the ground and keep him until he assures that he is to be with one group rather than another. Other games include Kabsh, which is played with bones of sheep.
The month would end with songs sung by youth while walking on the alleyways of their districts; such songs include favorites such as “Bye, Bye Ramadan.”
Since we are living in a very dynamic world, and since our world is apparently moving into becoming a small global village, the values of Ramadan are going to change too.
According to a survey conducted by the Social Service department at King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah, 40 percent of youth said that they spend 70 percent of Ramadan nights in places of entertainment, coffee shops, and Ramadan tents, because these places are full of entertainment that attracts them. The rest of the time however is spent in front of the TV watching the latest Ramadan shows. 40 percent of youth however prefer to spend their time in malls; they start their tours after Esha prayer and stay until late at night. Only 25 percent of youth tend to stay in public districts, in an attempt from mayors to revive the interest in the old customs and traditions of Ramadan, including different games and humanly tales.
