Pasar malam

Last updated

People bargaining in a traditional Indonesian pasar malam in Rawasari, Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Pasar Malam Rawasari 11.JPG
People bargaining in a traditional Indonesian pasar malam in Rawasari, Central Jakarta, Indonesia.

Pasar malam is a Malay word that literally means "night market" (the word pasar comes from bazaar in Persian [1] [2] ). A pasar malam is a street market in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore that opens in the evening, usually in residential neighbourhoods. [3] Pasar malams are culturally very similar to night markets in Asian countries such as China (Nanluoguixiang, Shuang'an Night Markets), Thailand (Chatuchak Market), Taiwan (Shilin Market), Vietnam (Hanoi's Old Quarter), South Korea (Namdaemum Market) and India (Mangal Bazaar). [4]

Contents

The pasar malam may be held in a fixed location or itinerant, offering a variety of products such as street food, snacks, desserts, produce, apparel, accessories, handmade crafts, houseware, gadgets, toys, knick-knacks, and ornaments at cheap or reasonable prices. Counterfeit goods such as fake branded wearables and pirated CDs may also be sold at a pasar malam.

Pasar malam might resemble a night festival or a fairground, where fair games and kiddy rides, like a mini carousel or mini train ride, may also be present. Several quintessential fair snacks like cotton candy, ice cream, hot dogs, and grilled sausages are also popular, next to the offerings of traditional local delicacies. A pasar malam often takes place only one to a few days of the week, as the traders rotate around different neighbourhoods on different days of the week. Haggling over prices is a common practice at such markets.

Etymology

"Pasar Malam" translates to "Night Market" in English. The term is derived from the Malay language, where "pasar" means "market" and "malam" means "night."

History

Pasar Malam in Batavia, Dutch East Indies, period 1900-1940 COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Bezoekers op de Pasar Malam te Batavia TMnr 60022441.jpg
Pasar Malam in Batavia, Dutch East Indies, period 1900–1940

In the Indonesian archipelago, markets are traditionally held on different days with locations rotating among participating villages. This traditional economic custom is known as Hari Pasaran (lit. "market days") in Javanese. After being further developed, the market was established more permanently like it is today. The night market is regarded as the continuation of this non-permanent market culture. Night markets are usually held during special occasions or festivals, such as Sekaten festival in Java, or held on Ramadhan nights, approximately a week before Lebaran.

Among traditional night markets, one of the earliest and biggest was the annual Lunar New Year night market in Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies. [5] [6] Held three days before the Lunar New Year, this night market began in the late 1820s as an initiative of Tan Eng Goan, the 1st Majoor der Chineezen of Batavia, and became a prototype for similar night markets. [5] [6]

After the discovery of electricity and lightbulbs, night markets were held more frequently in colonial Dutch East Indies in the early 20th century. The most notable one is Pasar Gambir, a night market fair held in 1906 and yearly from 1921 until the outbreak of World War II in 1942, in the Koningsplein, Batavia, Dutch East Indies (now Merdeka Square, Jakarta, Indonesia) to celebrate the birthday of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. It has become the predecessor of the annual Jakarta Fair and Den Haag's Tong Tong Fair which are a night market and festival held for several weeks. [7]

Indonesia

Ferris wheel at Pasar Malam in Pamekasan, East Java Bianglala.jpg
Ferris wheel at Pasar Malam in Pamekasan, East Java

In Java, especially in the Javanese royal cities Yogyakarta and Surakarta, the grand week-long pasar malam is usually held annually during the Sekaten festival to celebrate Mawlid, or the birthday of Muhammad. [8] During colonial Dutch East Indies, the annual Pasar Malam was held in Pasar Gambir (today Merdeka Square) and became the predecessor of modern Jakarta's annual Jakarta Fair. Today, several kecamatan (districts) in Jakarta and also other provinces in Indonesia, hold weekly pasar malam, usually every Saturday night in a nearby alun-alun square, open fields, or marketplaces. In Indonesia, pasar malam has become a weekly recreational place for local families. Other than selling a variety of goods and foods, some pasar malam also offer kiddy rides and carnival games, such as mini carousels or mini train rides. [9] In Palembang, a popular pasar malam is located on the front of Kuto Besak Fort on the bank of the Musi River. This pasar malam sells local dishes and snacks such as pempek, lenggang, and tekwan, and also offers souvenirs and handy crafts. [10]

Brunei

Gadong Night Market Bandar Seri Begawan Night Market 1.jpg
Gadong Night Market

In Brunei, night markets have been an integral part of the community for decades, providing an opportunity for local vendors to sell their products and for residents to socialize. The exact origins of the Pasar Malam in Brunei are unclear, but their presence has been noted since the mid-20th century.

Pasar Malam can be found in various locations throughout Brunei. Some of the most notable ones include:

Pasar Malam plays a significant role in the local economy of Brunei. They provide a platform for small businesses and local entrepreneurs to reach a wider audience. Many vendors rely on these night markets as a primary source of income. Additionally, Pasar Malam fosters a sense of community by bringing people together in a shared space, promoting social interaction and cultural exchange.

Malaysia

Pasar malam during the day at Jurong East, Singapore; the crowds usually appear during the night PasarMalam.JPG
Pasar malam during the day at Jurong East, Singapore; the crowds usually appear during the night
Pasar malam in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia Pasar Malam Seri Kembangan (230403) 02.jpg
Pasar malam in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia

In Malaysia, Pasar Malam is normally set as a temporarily closed street for vehicles and open for pedestrians from evening until late night weekly. At certain locations due to frequency or a few times a week, narrow and busy streets also safety reasons, Pasar Malam will open at Tapak Pasar Malam at nighttime which describes an allocation space that converts a parking space during the daytime.

Due to the hot Malaysian weather during the daytime, the Pasar Malam has become a nightlife activity that attracts the local community after working time and the tourist crowd to shop with moderate night temperatures looking for cheap hot foods, clothing, groceries, etc. The vendor licences are obtained from local authorities under the local council area.

The majority of the local vendors sell plenty types of drinks, hot foods, and local delicacies from Malay, Malaysian Chinese, and Indian backgrounds which are famous and also difficult to find, fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh fish and seafood, fresh meat and poultry, toys, family range of clothes and accessories. Some local vendors also sell live pets or even phone accessories.

Singapore

In Singapore, the pasar malams of old were phased out in 1978 due to regulation but were fractionally revived in housing estates in 1991 [13] as a cultural selling point. [14] Notable pasar malams of old included the Woodlands Pasar Malam which attracted crowds from Johor Bahru and the People's Park Pasar Malam in Chinatown. [14] Present-day pasar malams are organised at specific locations on a temporary lease, usually before festive occasions such as Lunar New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, and Deepavali. [15] The organisers are required to submit a tender bid to the People's Association for the right to host the Pasar Malam. [16] Food hawkers are licensed by the NEA and required to pass a food hygiene course. [13] Pasar malams are reported to face sustainability challenges due to rising rental costs. [16]

The Netherlands

Music performance in Pasar Malam Besar 2006, The Hague PasarMalamBesar2006.jpg
Music performance in Pasar Malam Besar 2006, The Hague

In the Netherlands, a yearly Indo-Eurasian festival is held in The Hague under the name Tong Tong Fair , formerly known as the Pasar Malam Besar (besar meaning "big"). [17] Due to the high number of Indo-Eurasians and the successive success of this event since 1959, dozens of pasar malam are held each year in the Netherlands. [18] Recently the Indonesian embassy has started sponsoring a yearly Pasar Malam Indonesia, mainly to promote Indonesian business and enhance Dutch-Indonesian relations. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satay</span> Indonesian dish of spicy seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce

Satay, or sate in Indonesian spelling, is a Indonesian form of kebab made from seasoned, skewered and barbecued meat, served with a sauce.

<i>Kopi tiam</i> Traditional coffee shop found in Southeast Asia

A kopitiam or kopi tiam is a type of coffee shop mostly found in parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand patronised for meals and beverages, and traditionally operated by the Chinese community of these countries. The word kopi is an Indonesian and Malay term for coffee and tiam is the Hokkien/Hakka term for shop. Traditional kopitiam menus typically feature simple offerings: a variety of foods based on egg, toast, kaya, plus coffee, tea, Horlicks and Milo. Modern kopitiams typically feature multiple food stalls that offer a wider range of foods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nasi uduk</span> Indonesian traditional coconut rice

Nasi uduk is an Indonesian-style steamed rice cooked in coconut milk dish, especially popular in Betawi cuisine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Night market</span> Street markets operating primarily at night

Night markets or night bazaars are street markets which operate at night and are generally dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than more businesslike day markets. The culture of night markets originates from China and have spread globally with overseas Chinese populations. They are typically open-air markets popular in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Chinatowns in several other regions of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curry puff</span> Pastry with curry filling

A curry puff is a snack of Southeast Asian origin. It is a small pie consisting of curry with chicken and potatoes in a deep-fried or baked pastry shell. The consistency of the curry is quite thick to prevent it from oozing out of the snack. Pap or puff reflects the Fujian Chinese dialect 泡 ('pop'), which means 'bubble, blister, puffed'. It is a truly Southeast Asian snack as it has Indian, Chinese or Malay elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cendol</span> Asian cold sweet dessert

Cendol is an iced sweet dessert that contains droplets of pandan-flavoured green rice flour jelly, coconut milk and palm sugar syrup. It is commonly found in Southeast Asia and is popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, and Myanmar. Next to the green jelly, additional toppings might be added, including diced jackfruit, sweetened red azuki beans, or durian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kue</span> Indonesian bite-sized snack or dessert

Kue is an Indonesian bite-sized snack or dessert food. Kue is a fairly broad term in Indonesian to describe a wide variety of snacks including cakes, cookies, fritters, pies, scones, and patisserie. Kue are made from a variety of ingredients in various forms; some are steamed, fried or baked. They are popular snacks in Indonesia, which has the largest variety of kue. Because of the countries' historical colonial ties, Koeé (kue) is also popular in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pasar pagi</span>

Pasar pagi is a type of traditional market found in Indonesia and Malaysia, sometimes classified as a wet market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senen</span> Subdistrict in Central Jakarta Administrative City, Indonesia

Senen is a long-established urban district of Central Jakarta, Indonesia that has kept many tourist attractions such as two museums, the National Library of Indonesia, Gelanggang Remaja Senen, and narrow alleys with old Chinese and similar style shops and restaurants. It was first developed in the 18th century as Pasar Senen when Governor Daendels established the bovenstad as the new center of government of the fledgling city. Its core remains in what is now the lower-division Senen Ditrict, Kwitang, Kenari, Paseban, Kramat, and Bungur. Senen is bounded by a railway line to the east, Ciliwung River to the west, Pramuka Street to the south, and Abdul Rahman Saleh-Kwini II-Senen Raya IV Street to the north. The name is derived from Pasar Senen,.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tong Tong Fair</span> Cultural festival and fair in the Netherlands

The Tong Tong Fair is the largest festival in the world for Indo (European-Indonesian) culture, held annually in the Netherlands. In 2009 it was renamed to 'Tong Tong Fair'. Established in 1959 it is one of the oldest festivals and the fourth largest grand fair in the Netherlands. It is also the annual event with the highest number of paying visitors of the Dutch city of The Hague, having consistently attracted more than 100,000 visitors since 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marketplace</span> Space in which a market operates

A marketplace, market place, or just market, or mart is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a souk, bazaar, a fixed mercado (Spanish), itinerant tianguis (Mexico), or palengke (Philippines). Some markets operate daily and are said to be permanent markets while others are held once a week or on less frequent specified days such as festival days and are said to be periodic markets. The form that a market adopts depends on its locality's population, culture, ambient, and geographic conditions. The term market covers many types of trading, as market squares, market halls, food halls, and their different varieties. Thus marketplaces can be both outdoors and indoors, and in the modern world, online marketplaces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banana fritter</span> Deep-fried battered banana or plantain

A banana fritter is a fritter made by deep frying battered banana or plantain in hot cooking oil. It is a common dish across Southeast Asia and South India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gadong, Brunei</span> Commercial area in Bandar Seri Begawan

Gadong is a commercial area in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei. It is a popular shopping and dining area in the city as well as in Brunei, with several shops, restaurants and cafes establishing their presence in the area. Notably, the area was formerly a rubber estate and was called Gadong Estate or Gadong Rubber Estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakarta Fair</span> Annual trade fair in Indonesia

Jakarta Fair is a fair held annually in Jakarta International Expo Kemayoran, Jakarta, Indonesia, in June and July. It features exhibitions, trade promotions, shopping, music performances, various shows, amusement rides and a food festival. Jakarta Fair is part of a series of events to held to celebrate the capital's anniversary, which falls on June 22. The Jakarta Fair sees exhibitors from across the country display a whole range of goods and products ranging from specialty food items to traditional handmade arts and crafts. In addition to the many exhibitors, there is also live entertainment including music, dance and cultural performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gambir Fair</span>

The Gambir Fair was a fair held in 1906 and yearly from 1921 until 1942 in the Koningsplein, Batavia, Dutch East Indies to celebrate the birthday of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. After the Japanese occupied the Indies, the fair was no longer held. However, after a failed attempt in 1952, in 1968 it was reinstated as the Jakarta Fair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taman Suropati</span>

Taman Suropati or Suropati Park is a public park located in Menteng, Jakarta, Indonesia. The park is located in the center of Menteng and is the meeting point of three streets: Teuku Umar Street, Diponegoro Street, and Imam Bonjol Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wajik</span> Southeast Asian glutinous sweet

Wajik or wajid, also known as pulut manis, is a traditional glutinous sweet made with rice, sugar and coconut milk. It is an Indonesian kue, and a kuih of Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kue cucur</span> Indonesian traditional snack

Kue cucur (Indonesian) or kuih cucur (Malay), known in Thai as khanom fak bua or khanom chuchun, is a traditional snack from Indonesia, and popular in parts of Southeast Asia, includes Indonesia, Malaysia, southern Thailand and Singapore. In Indonesia, kue cucur can be found throughout traditional marketplaces in the country; the popular version, however, is the Betawi version from Jakarta. In Brunei and Malaysia, the term cucur is generally used to refer to any type of fritters. A popular type of cucur in Brunei and Malaysia is Jemput-jemput and Pinjaram. In Southern Thailand, it is often featured in wedding ceremonies and festivals.

<i>Dodol</i> Indonesian sweet toffee

Dodol is a sweet toffee-like sugar palm-based confection commonly found in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Originating from the culinary traditions of Indonesia, it is also popular in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Southern India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Burma, where it is called mont kalama. It is made from coconut milk, jaggery, and rice flour, and is sticky, thick, and sweet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Street food of Indonesia</span> Street food found in Indonesia

Indonesian street food is a collection of ready-to-eat meals, snacks, fruits and drinks sold by hawkers or vendors at warung food stalls or food carts. Street food in Indonesia is a diverse mix of local Indonesian, Chinese, and Dutch influences. Indonesian street food are usually cheap, offer a great variety of food of different tastes, and can be found on every corner of the city.

References

  1. ↑ Russell, Jones (2008). Loan-words in Indonesian and Malay. KITLV-Jakarta. ISBN   978-9794617014 . Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  2. ↑ Nigel Phillips; Khaidir Anwar, eds. (1981). Papers on Indonesian languages and literatures. Vol. 13 of Cahier d'Archipel. Indonesian Etymological Project, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1981. p. 63. ISBN   978-0950747408 . Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  3. ↑ malaysiasite.nl
  4. ↑ Wolsey, Barbara (11 May 2022). "The 9 Best Night Markets Around the World". Thrillist. Vox Media Network.
  5. 1 2 Berdoeri, Tjamboek (1928). "Pasar Malem – Djaman Dahoeloe Batavia/Djakarta".
  6. 1 2 Tempo, Koran (6 February 2012). "Pada Sebuah Pesta Rakyat – Metro – koran.tempo.co". Tempo (in Indonesian). Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "Jakarta Fair Dari Masa Ke Masa". kabarbumn.com (in Indonesian). 14 June 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  8. ↑ Wicaksono, Pribadi (18 September 2022). "Pasar Malam ala Sekaten Yogyakarta Digelar, Daya Tariknya Bukan Hanya Wahana dan Kuliner". Tempo. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  9. ↑ Priyombodo (5 February 2023). "Sepotong Bahagia di Pasar Malam". kompas.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  10. ↑ "Pasar Malam Sungai Musi, Representasi Kearifan Lokal Palembang". Indonesia Kaya (in Indonesian).
  11. ↑ "Street Food", Brunei Tourism, retrieved 9 June 2024
  12. ↑ "A feast of local flavours at Yayasan Food Street festival", The Bruneian, retrieved 9 June 2024
  13. 1 2 "Pasar Malam". NLB Singapore. 2 March 2015.
  14. 1 2 Jie, Pan (23 May 2019). "What Hawker Culture Can Learn From The Pasar Malam's History". Rice Media.
  15. ↑ L, Andrew. "List of Pasar Malam in Singapore". Ahboy.
  16. 1 2 Zalizan, Taufiq (24 April 2023). "The Big Read: The million-dollar pasar malam industry and Singaporeans' love affair with it". Channel News Asia. MediaCorp.
  17. ↑ "Tong Tong Fair". Tong Tong Fair. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  18. ↑ "Pasar Malam Istimewa". In Dordrecht. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  19. ↑ ""Pasar malam", world's biggest promotion of Indonesia potentials". Antara News. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.