Pasar Malam, A Little Piece Of History And Culture
Pasar malam is literally means "night market" or "bazaar". This is no longer an activity of selling and buying things, but it already becomes a part of culture. A pasar malam is a street market in Indonesia(or even in Southeast Asia) that opens in the evening, usually in residential neighborhoods.
It brings together a collection of stalls that usually sell goods such as fruits, vegetables, snacks, toys, clothes, shoes, and ornaments at cheap or at least reasonable prices. A pasar malam often takes place only one to a few days of the week, as the traders rotate around different neighborhoods on different days of the week. Haggling over prices is a common practice at such markets.
Pasar Malam are often differentiated by ethnicity and occasion. During Ramadhan, there will be Pasar Malam that sell everything related on Islamic books, kopiah hats, sarongs or foods for breaking the fasting. During Chinese New Year, it may sell everything related to ang pao, incense, joss sticks, joss paper and various Chinese prayer supplies; during Indonesia's independence day will also be different.
In Java, especially in Javanese royal cities Yogyakarta and Surakarta, the grand week-long pasar malam is usually held annually during the Sekaten festival to celebrate Mawlid or the birthday of prophet Muhammad. During colonial Dutch East Indies the annual Pasar Malam was held in Pasar Gambir (today Merdeka square) and becomes the predecessor of modern Jakarta's annual Jakarta Fair nowadays.
In the Netherlands, a yearly Indo Eurasian festival is held in The Hague under the name Tong Tong Fair, formerly known as the Pasar Malam Besar (besar = big). Due to the high number of Indo Eurasians and the successive success of this event since 1959, dozens of pasar malam are held each year in the Netherlands. Recently the Indonesian embassy has started sponsoring a yearly pasar malam Indonesia, mainly to promote Indonesian business and enhance Dutch-Indonesian relations.
