Jakarta, IO – Every evening in the month of Ramadan, children and adults often carry out various activities such as looking for takjil snacks, taking evening strolls or reading the Koran until the sound of call to prayer (maghrib) is heard. This atmosphere is closely associated with the term ngabuburit, the kind of activities of Muslims during the dusk while waiting for the time to break their fast.
Padjadjaran University lecturer in Sundanese Literature Gugun Gunardi explained that ngabuburit comes from the phrase “ngalantung ngadagan burit” which means relaxing while waiting for the afternoon, Kompas quoted him as saying, Friday (24/3).
Ngabuburit also comes from the Sundanese word ‘burit’ which means evening. In this case, the prefix “nga” is added as a verb, and “bu” as repetition in Sundanese. This term has been included in the Standard Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI).
According to Gugun , the term ngabuburit had appeared before the 1960s. Not much different than now, it began with the activities of children and youth who spent time at the mosque studying and reading the Koran together.
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“It is hoped that before Eid al-Fitr, the children will have finished reading the Koran,” he said.
Although there is no official record of when this tradition began, now ngabuburit has been practiced widely in the community, even by the non-Sundanese. (bp)