Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Selamat hari raya Idul Fitriš In Indonesia itās time for Muslims to celebrate Lebaran, the accomplishment of the month-long fast. For us, it means we mudik (go home to ancestral village), we visit the houses of family and neighbors and friends, we drink so many coffees and eat so many cookies and snacks, we sungkem (kiss the feet of) our parents, and to everybody we may have wronged, (which is everybody), we salim and say, āMohon maaf lahir dan batin.ā
Forgive me body and soul. Even as an (awkward, shy) newcomer, a poignant and humbling exchange that has brought tears to my eyes in the receiving and giving, a days-long flooding of the soul with gratitude. At once to discover and to satisfy a deep longing for reconciliation with oneās own people, the others with whom one belongs. Cleansing us, if for a precious and rarified moment, of the ten thousand niggling obstacles to trust. A mantra of community spoken again and again, a making by saying, threads that will hold us together for another year. Alhamdulillah. Amin.