Brief History of Eid Homecoming Tradition Known as 'Mudik'

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Ahead of the Eid al-Fitr celebration that will be held at the end of this weekend, a large number of people are either traveling or have arrived in their hometowns, which is a tradition known as the Eid homecoming – a mass exodus of people from urban to rural areas known as ‘mudik.’

What are the origins of this tradition with thousands of households gathering to celebrate the Muslim holiday?

The History of Mudik

Citing a journal entitled Mudik in a Cultural and Religious Perspective (Realistic Study of Human Resource Behavior), the term homecoming or mudik originates from the word udik, derived from the Malay language which means upstream or ends. In the past, the Malay community who lived upstream of a river often traveled to the lower reaches of the river for a number of activities using boats or big dippers, which they would return to upstream in the afternoon.

An alternative version suggests that homecoming was originally a primordial tradition of the Javanese farming community. Its existence was long before the kingdom of Majapahit. 

Initially, this activity was used to clean cemeteries or ancestral graves, accompanied by joint prayers to the gods in Khayangan. This tradition aims to ensure that nomads are blessed with safety in seeking sustenance and that families left behind are not shrowded in problems. 

As the influence of Islamic teachings entered Java island, this tradition gradually eroded, as it goes against religious values, especially for those who glorified the dead.

The term homecoming was already widely known in the 1970s, during the pre-democratic ‘new order’ government when widespread developments were carried and developed the society in major cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Medan. 

The development of these major cities has made many people move to cities to settle down and look for work.

During major holidays such as Eid al-Fitr, Chinese New Year, or Christmas, many people who migrated to urban areas return to their hometowns to gather with family members, which is the simple definition of Eid homecoming or mudik.

FANI RAMADHANI| UGM.AC.ID | CORE.AC.UK 

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