Ratib in Atjeh — the Atjehnese practice of the ratib (Arabic rātib, “regular recitation”, a sequence of pious formulas praising Allah) — is the Atjehnese form of the dhikr recitation that takes place in mid-Ramadan, when the Quran is supposed to have been completely recited. The practice is named in Prof. Dr. Kernkamp’s chapter De invloed van den Islam in Wat Indië Ontving en Schonk (1946): “in Atjeh one knows, around the middle of the month, when the Quran is supposed to have been completely recited, a ratib (recitation of praises of Allah) that is extraordinarily loud and gives rise to all sorts of excesses.”
The mid-Ramadan ratib
Kernkamp’s account places the Atjeh mid-Ramadan ratib within the wider Indonesian practice of Quran-recitation during Ramadan. The recitation of the entire Quran during the fasting month is, in Atjeh as elsewhere in the Muslim world, the central devotional practice of Ramadan; the mid-month point — at which the recitation is supposed to be complete — is marked in Atjeh by the ratib, a communal recitation of praises of Allah. What distinguishes the Atjeh case, in Kernkamp’s account, is the loudness of the recitation (“buitengewoon luidruchtig”) and the “all sorts of excesses” (allerlei excessen) to which it gives rise. Kernkamp does not specify the nature of these excesses; the formulation suggests ritual practices that exceed the bounds of orthodox Islamic worship, and that are characteristic of the Atjeh style of communal devotion.
Context in the Ramadan cycle
The mid-Ramadan ratib is one of several Atjeh-specific practices that Kernkamp records for the fasting month. He notes that “the last five odd nights (21–29) are considered very holy; one of them is the Kadar-night, in which the Quran would have descended from Heaven, of which even now creation is still under the impression. One should pass them in vigil with pious works. On Java, the notables then give so-called maleman’s, evening meals, to a large number of invited guests. There, preference is for the 21st of the month; in Atjeh, however, for the 27th.” The Atjeh preference for the 27th (rather than the 21st) night as Lailat al-Qadar is documented in the Kadar night entry.
Significance
For the Atjeh-focused reader, the mid-Ramadan ratib is significant as one of the most distinctive Atjeh forms of communal devotion. The loud, often excessive, recitation of praises of Allah at the mid-point of Ramadan marks the Atjeh style of Quran-recitation as a more visceral, more embodied practice than the Javanese equivalent — a difference that fits the wider pattern, in Kernkamp’s chapter, of Atjeh Islam being presented as more vigorous, more literal, and more given to communal excess than the Javanese variant.
Dutch terms used in this article
- Wat Indië Ontving en Schonk — What the Indies Received and Gave
- Wereldbibliotheek N.V. — World Library Ltd.
- invloed van den Islam — influence of Islam
- Teungku — religious teacher (Atjeh form)
- Meunasah — village prayer-house
- ratib — sequence of pious formulas praising Allah
- Lailat al-Qadar — Night of Power
- maleman — evening meal
- Atjeh — Aceh
- Acheh — Aceh
- Java — Java
- Prof. Dr. — Professor Doctor
- Dr. — Doctor
See Also
- Kadar night
- Pitrah
- Djakat
- Meunasah
- Teungku
- Acheh
- C. Snouck Hurgronje
- J. Kreemer
- Wat Indië Ontving en Schonk
- W. J. A. Kernkamp
Source
Wat Indië Ontving en Schonk, onder leiding van Dr. C. W. Wormser (Amsterdam: Wereldbibliotheek N.V., 1946), p. 90 (chapter De invloed van den Islam door Prof. Dr. W. J. A. Kernkamp).