BENGKULU MARKS ISLAMIC NEW YEAR WITH 'TABOT' FESTIVAL

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 11 (Antara) - The Islamic New Year 1440 Hegira, which, based on the Islamic calendar falls on Tuesday (Sept 11), is not merely a new year for Bengkulu province in Sumatra.          Islamic New Year for Bengkulu bears a very significant historic value which is linked not only to the new year itself but also to an event when one of the grandsons of Prophet Muhammad was murdered at the Karbala desert in Iraq.          On every Islamic New Year, Bengkulu, therefore, organizes various rituals to observe the saddest event. While it has religious and historic values, the rituals include certain festivals that are now becoming interesting events. Hence, the rituals carried out through the festival also serve as a means of attracting tourism.          The local government has even organized the rituals, also known as 'Tabot Festival,' as an annual event in its tourism development program. Literally, tabot means a wooden box. This might refer to the coffin of Prophet Muhmmad's grandson Imam Hussein, who was slain in Karbala desert.           This year, Tabot Festival 2018 will last from Sept 11 to Sept 20. Bengkulu Acting Governor Rohidin Mersyah stated in Bengkulu on Tuesday that the festival is one of the Wonderful Indonesia events of the Ministry of Tourism.

BENGKULU OBSERVES ISLAMIC NEW YEAR WITH 'TABOT' FESTIVAL

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 14 (Antara) - The Sumatran province of Bengkulu is celebrating the arrival of the Islamic New Year 1437 Hegira on the first day of the Islamic month of Muharram on Wednesday with a ten day religious ritual and cultural festival.          Bengkulu governor Junaidi Hamsyah, who opened the annual Tabot Festival 2015 on Tuesday night, said he expected it to attract more tourists, including foreign visitors, to the province.          "The Tabot festival has become a tradition and an identity symbol of Bengkulu province," the governor said.          The festival, starting from Wednesday, 1st Muharram or the first month of the Islamic calendar, will last for ten days. It  has a strong religious nuance, linked to the murder of a grandchild of Prophet Muhammad in the Karbala desert in Iraq.          The infamous tragedy of Karbala is remembered by all Muslims on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharram as the saddest day in the history of Islam.          The Karbala massacre is notoriously known for being one of the darkest and saddest days in Islamic history.          On the tenth day of the sacred Islamic month of Muharram, in the year 61 A.H., approximately 50 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad, his grandson Imam Hussein was martyred along with all the members of his family, including women and children.