Thousands of people gathered in a coastal town in western Indonesia on Sunday to watch ornate mythical dolls smashed together before being thrown into the sea in a centuries-old ritual born out of a holy Shiite day of mourning.
Dozens of men dragged two winged horse statues through the town of Pariaman on the island of Sumatra, bringing traffic in the city centre to a halt as a festival known as Tabik began.
The 12-metre-tall dolls were transported to a nearby beach, shaken around and deliberately rammed into each other before being thrown into the waves to the sound of traditional music.
The festival has its roots in Ashura, the Islamic holy day when Shiites mourn the death of Imam Hussein, but visitor Rico Putra, 38, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, found Tabik’s festival “inspiring”.
“From what I saw on the beach, it was a kind of victory euphoria,” Rico told AFP.
The festival dates back to the 19th century, when it was brought to western Indonesia by Shiite Muslim soldiers from British India.
The ritual was an abstract dramatization of the contemporary Battle of Karbala in Iraq, where Imam Hussein and his followers were killed by a large army.
The statues are in the form of Buraq, a winged, horse-like creature often depicted with a human head who is said to have picked up Hussein’s body and carried it to heaven after a battle in the 7th century.
The Tabik festival was once a traditional Shiite tradition but protests from the predominantly Sunni Muslim local population prompted organisers to adapt the festival to suit local customs, procession organiser Zulbakri, known by another name, told AFP.
“In the past, there were rituals similar to Shiite prayers. That’s why it was transformed into a procession,” he said.
“The form of tabuik was completely changed because it did not suit the habits and philosophy of the people.”
The festival’s main event – the parade of dolls and the throwing of them into the sea – used to take place on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, coinciding with Ashura, a holy day that has different meanings for Shiites and Sunnis.
But like the celebrations themselves, the dates have been changed and the festival now takes place on a weekend during the month, which Zurbakhri said has also helped attract tourists.
Shiites and Sunnis share the same fundamental beliefs, but a centuries-old rift over who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad has divided the two sects.
Shiite Islam is not one of Indonesia’s six official religions but is home to about one million followers in the country, and although attacks on the community are rare, they face persecution.
Tabik has shed its distinctly Shiite roots and is now one of the city’s main tourist attractions, drawing tourists from across Indonesia and abroad.
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