The History of Panjut and the Panjut Competition in Padang Rengas Since 2014
Panjut is not a new thing in our society, the Malay community. It is often presented to the public from the end of Ramadan until the month of Syawal.
For those who do not know what panjut means, it is an oil lamp that uses kerosene, creatively and beautifully arranged on bamboo, poles, and so on, to illuminate house compounds or any location, making it look attractive. Certainly, these neatly arranged lamps will be lit at night to illuminate and brighten the atmosphere of the 'malam tujuh likur' (the 27th night of Ramadan) in preparation for the upcoming Aidilfitri celebration. As we all know, there are also opinions that the installation of panjut is a hereditary practice of Hindu heritage and it is claimed that installing these lamps is shirk because it expects something good from the practice carried out.
image credit ig @sr_blacz
The tradition and culture of lighting panjut oil lamps, which has been carried out for decades by our ancestors, is now increasingly losing its place in the hearts of our own Malay community. The golden age of panjut culture is now increasingly threatened, and you can see for yourself that the number of panjut installed in houses is generally non-existent, and furthermore, it is difficult to find a supply of kerosene in this day and age.
image credit ig @wankilmore
For your information, loyal readers of orangperak.com, we are pleased to inform you that there are still many in our community who are very concerned about this fading Malay culture and deserve praise for their efforts in reviving the glory of the panjut exhibition, and they have been carrying out the ceremony repeatedly for the past few years. Heartiest congratulations to all the residents in the Padang Rengas parliamentary constituency because they have all worked together to make the panjut competition and exhibition a success every year since 2014.
The panjut competition and exhibition in Padang Rengas in 2017 attracted the attention of the public due to everyone's creativity in building attractive and beautiful panjut designs! The competition was organized by SRCC in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia and the Padang Rengas Parliamentary Community Service Center. A total cash prize of RM15,000 was provided to those who participated in the event.
image credit ig @amybaharin
This matter regarding the art of panjut arrangement is truly interesting and indirectly, it has contributed and become one of the products for the tourism sector in the state of Perak. We from the orangperak.com team are fortunate to have had the opportunity to see for ourselves the beauty and creativity of the panjut designs built by all 39 villages involved in the panjut competition in Padang Rengas in 2017.
image credit ig @maisarah_humaira
For your knowledge, loyal readers of orangperak.com, there are also those who associate this panjut culture with the arrival of the night of a thousand months, better known as Lailatulqadar. Although some consider it a bid'ah (innovation) practice, for most of our community, the panjut or small lamps installed on the 27th night of Ramadan actually have their own value from a cultural perspective and are not just to celebrate the arrival of the month of Syawal, but have their own history in the social development of the Malay community. We at orangperak.com feel called to explain the true story regarding the panjut culture which is often misunderstood by our society today. For your information, the culture of installing panjut carried out by our Malay community since long ago was to illuminate those who wanted to perform tahajjud at the mosque during the last 10 nights of Ramadan. As everyone knows, in the old days, there were no electric lights shining from high poles.
image credit ig @1romy
The role of Panjut at that time clearly functioned as a light to illuminate those who wanted to go to the mosque to obtain the blessings of the night of a thousand months, better known as Lailatulqadar. Its function is very clear and useful, and it provides benefits indirectly; it has no connection with practices associated with Hinduism. This is actually the effort of our ancestors in the past. In fact, it is contained in the story regarding these panjut-like lamps in the Sejarah Melayu text, which tells of the Malacca Bendahara, Tun Perak, executing a strategy to counter the Siamese attempt to capture Malacca by ordering his soldiers to tie torches to tree trunks along the coast of Malacca. The Siamese army that arrived at night was shocked to see so many torches burning waiting for them on the beach, causing them to turn back to Siam, thinking that there were just as many soldiers waiting.
image credit ig @shazlinjalil
The practice and culture of installing panjut can still be found, but it is not as lively as in the old days, and that is what is valuable and makes it unique. In the end, once again, we from the orangperak.com team express our millions of congratulations to those involved in making the panjut exhibition and competition program a success, which can indirectly contribute to reviving the Malay community's culture that is increasingly being drowned out by time.
