Burmese Muslim Jago Wake up teams in Ramzan Fasting Month

The Burmese Muslims have a lovely unique tradition during the Ramzan or Random Fasting month’s early mornings. In the small towns and big villages with the significant Muslim population, Muslim youths usually organize the singing teams (usually without any musical instruments) called Jago in Urdu and Hindi meanings “Wakeup”.

They took the tunes of popular Hundi movie songs and replaced with Burmese lyrics and words about Fasting, do and don’ts in Islam and about the benefits of Namaz or Salaat. They go around the known Muslim houses at the early hours of the morning, about 3 or 4 AM to sing various songs to wake up the fellow Muslims for Sehree or Sahur (pre-dawn meal) before fasting.

While I was young, my father U Aung Min was the chairman of Kalaw Muslim Youths. Although he had not participated, he supported his youth group to form a Jago Wakeup team. Not only the children but the adults like to listen to them or sometimes went out of the house to look at them. Some, including my parents invited them for food. Sometimes those Jago group went around visiting the Muslim houses on the Eid day. Many people welcome them, treat with foods and donate for the team with Eidi or Duit Raya.

I small villages and towns with few Muslims, neighbours wake up each other or sometimes paid someone to go round waking up the Muslims. (e.g. Mogoke  Panthay tan.)

One of that Jago Wake up group from Chan Aye Thar Zan (East, Mid and West quarters) started in 1947 grow bigger to become a big organization for Welfare, Neikban Zaw.I have scan and publish about this Jago Wake up team’s history.

Following is another story of Wake up calls in our fellow Muslim country.

Morning Drummer in Ramadhanin egypt

Before dawn, the Musaharti starts his job. The Musaharati is the person who wakes people up to have their Sahur (pre-dawn meal). Walking in the streets drumming on a small drum, sometimes singing and sometimes shouting, he ensures everybody wakes up for Sahur.

 

 

 

Ride and shine for sahur

Indonesian Air Force to fly jet fighters to wake people for ‘sahur’

JAKARTA (ANN): The Indonesian Air Force has announced that it will participate in the country’s tradition of waking people up during the fasting month of Ramadan for sahur (predawn meal).

Through its Twitter account @_TNIAU, the Air Force said jet fighter training would be conducted in several cities on Java Island, namely Surabaya in East Java, Surakarta, Klaten and Sragen in Central Java and Yogyakarta.

“God willing, we will carry out the tradition to wake people up for sahur using fighter aircraft,” the tweet reads.

Separately, Air Force spokesperson Col. Sus M. Yuris said the mission was not merely for maintaining tradition, but to make sure that Air Force personnel do not train during Ramadan.

“Fighter pilots are not recommended to operate aircraft when they are in the state of having low blood sugar levels,” Sus said as quoted by kompas.com.

He added that it was a “combined mission” to wake people up for sahur during training time.

During sahur, low-flying fighter aircraft will soar the skies and pilots will be required to use afterburners, which generate noise.

A training program at dawn was initiated by the Air Force several years ago. Two kinds of aircraft were mainly used: the F-16 and the T50i. – The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network