'Tahlil Kubur' @my Kampung

Every Eid, as far back as my memory can recall, there's this occasion of 'Tahlil Kubur'. Every 2nd day of Eid, rain or shine :D The tradition has been passed on from generation to generation. As the name goes, it is held in the graveyard area. Tahlil as sedekah to our loved ones that have left us. And sedekah duit for the kids. Though on rare occasion there's also budak yang ada misai oredi pun sama-sama tadah tangan :D :D

The crowd seen here is basically are all my relatives - some way or another. Both my parents are from this kampung. I used to have both grandparents here in this kampung. Uncles, aunties, cousins, second cousins, atuk sedara, nenek sedara - here. Now that I am grown up (and sadly to mention, grown apart) - I hardly see them except this time of the year. Where fimiliar strangers smile and pat you on the back. You smile back but can't recall who's who.

The 'council', or tribe leader hihi. Old relatives whom you must nod at and lower your back when passing in front of them. They led the ceremony. The one standing in blue is my uncle by marriage. He's married to my mother half sister. Used to be Penghulu Kampung. Jangan main-main tau.. he reminded us not to burn the suratkabar (yang buat alas duduk) as to save our Mother Earth. Just let them rot on the ground.

Yang berdiri tu are those entrusted with coins and notes to be passed to the children (seated in rows). I remember when I was seating down with my friends (whom are also relatives!) waiting for coins many many many years ago, we hardly got even RM2.00 or ($2.00 at that time, before they change it to RM). There were not so many shops around. We just spent few coins buying gula-gula, cekedis and whatnots. The balance shall be duit belanja sekolah in days to come. That day this year, each of my children collected almost RM10 each.

Iman! He loves making faces whenever I try to shoot photos. Looking at how we bentang the suratkhabar and later leisurely sit down while waiting for ceremony to begin, he asked why we were having a picnic there on the graveyard and where were the food..

As for the children, maybe what matter most is the amount of money collected. (speaking from experience anyway!). To us the adults, after the ceremony adjourned until next year 2nd day of Eid, we go and visit graves of loved ones, sedekahkan al-Fatihah. It reminds me of how time really flies and now that I am nearing 40. When I was small, I used to visit the graves along with my uncles and grandparents but now I am visiting theirs along with my children...