Tahlilan, Indonesian Tradition When Someone Dies

Really, this article is not about the dialectics between NU and Muhammadiyah, Salafi and Ahlusssunnah. But merely about tahlilan and the story of a friend (just call him Muhallil), which in my opinion deserves to be positioned as an expert on tahlilan. Anyway, in the field of tahlilan, the level is the level of professors. Hehehe.

Muhallil (literally "a person who has a hero") is a retired soldier, with the last rank of Sergeant Major, and has served in an elite unit. The disposition is fluid and sociable, easy to get along with other people.

The story begins when Muhallil enters the retirement preparation period. He racked his brain to look for types of activities that could also be a source of alacadic snacks after retiring. After fiddling with so many alternatives, he concluded and finally chose to become a professional tahlil reader. A unique choice.

The basic capital is already there, the guide book tahlil. But Muhallil later realized that apparently reading tahlilan in Indonesia was not uniform. There are some additional readings (insertions), which vary from one region to another. Then, in certain parts, the rhythm of tahlilan also turned out not to be the same.

According to him (to be honest, I also do not really understand), tahlilan there are many variations:

Tahlilan ala Betawian, which is said to also differ between Jakarta Betawi and Betawi who live in rural areas, such as Tangerang, Bekasi, Depok.

Tahlilan with the Southern Sundanese rhythm (Garut, Tasik, Sukabumi to Ciamis) and Sundanese Pantura (Cirebonan and Indramayu), and Banten style.

Tahlilan Central Java also differs between Banyumasan, Semarangan Pantura (including Pekalongan, Batang, Kendal, Democracy, Holy to Rembang) as well as Yogya-Solo, which is said to have a Javanese touch.

The Javanese Tahlilan of the southern part of East Timor is also slightly different from the East Javanese tahlilan of the North Coast to Madura.

On Andalas Island, the Malay tahlilan in North Sumatra is different from the Aceh tahlilan and the Malay tahlilan (which includes Jambi, Riau, parts of Padang to Lampung and Bengkulu).

Then there are the Banjar (Kalimantan) tahlilan, North Maluku, South Sulawesi, West Sulawesi and the Gorontoalo rhythm.

But, according to him again, for people who do not understand about tahlilan, the difference between the reading of the inserts is not very visible, but can be distinguished from the rhythm, or when reading la ilaha illallah (), while shaking his head (right-left-right-left) .

Muhallil had demonstrated the head shake with different movements, or emphasis on reading certain parts of the zikir la ilaha illallah (). Unfortunately, I am not able to describe the difference in rhythm through writing.

With such a level of expertise, it is natural that every time there is a celebration at the place of domicile, the neighboring residents are no longer bothered: the point is, about tahlilan, leave it to Muhallil.

If someone comes to ask to read tahlilan, Muhallil will usually ask first: "Which ethnic origin and ethnicity are you from?" | "I'm from Cilacap" | "Good, means we read tahlilan with the rhythm of Banyumasan".

In essence, Muhallil will follow the tastes of consumers about the beat of tahlilan. That way, Kalimantan Banjar people, for example, domiciled in Jakarta, will remember the rhythm of the tahlilan in their village, when Muhallil started reading the tahlilan with the rhythm of the Banjar.

So Muhallil became increasingly well-known as a skilled tahlil reader in his domicile. Roaming popularity even crossed to the residents of neighboring villages.

After walking for about a year, Muhallil realized and discovered a new fact: that if you monopolize as tahlil readers in just five urban villages in Jakarta, that would be enough to ensure that every night there is an invitation to read tahlilan. Sometimes even two to three times a night.

When I ask, "May I tell the unique side of a tahlil reader?" Muhallil replied, "The envelope is not large, but because every night, after a while feels too, Alhamdulillah".

"What makes me happy and worried, because over time, people also start calling me a cleric. But I have not dared to speak", he continued with a rather serious expression.

For Muhallil, the doa tahlil reader profession is more positioned as a venue for friendship, filling retirement time, and of course there are basics (tahlil readers usually get two baskets). So Muhallid's house was never empty of various types of snacks filled with baskets, and I enjoyed it when I visited his house.


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