By Rosmalis Anuar
KUALA LUMPUR: Nowruz (also spelled Norouz, Norooz, Navruz, Nauryz and other variants), celebrated this Sunday, is the most cherished of all Persian festivals and an important holiday in Central Asia, the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East and other regions.
Not many are aware that Nowruz is also celebrated in Malaysia by those coming from countries where it is celebrated, albeit a low-key affair due to the miniscule number of community members here.
However, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, foreigners residing in this country once again foresee a quiet Nowruz celebration after observing the festival during the first phase of the movement control order (MCO) last year.
The traditional festival is celebrated on the first day of the spring season or the Vernal Equinox, which usually occurs on March 21, or the previous or following day – depending on where it is observed.
Nafisa Khodjaeva, an Uzbekistani who has been living in Malaysia with her family for eight years, told Bernama that as a medical doctor, she fully understands the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for social gatherings in place to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This Sunday, we celebrate Nowruz with family members on board and welcome friends with strict compliance to SOPs,” said the Head of Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) Exploration, Petronas.
Sharing her excitement for the festival, she said all preparations were underway with hopes that this year will bring good health, wisdom, lasting and meaningful ties, and wonderful memories.
Nafisa, 45, said Nowruz celebration usually starts with phone calls to her parents, siblings and friends, followed with a special breakfast with a traditional dessert called Chak-Chak.
“Pilav is a must, the main dish cooked by my chef-husband and during Nowruz; it carries the notable meaning of unity and peace. I bake traditional Uzbek bread and Samsa with spinach and greens.
“What we all really miss every Nowruz is Sumalyak, the unique dish with unforgettable taste and flavour. Sumalyak is to be cooked in a community as a symbol of cohesiveness, strength and hope,” she added.
The customs and traditions may vary in different countries, as in Kazakhstan, the most important part of the celebration is the preparation of a special dish called Nauryz Kozhe, according to President of Kazakh International Youth Association “QazAlliance” Malaysia, Yelaman Kulmagambetov.
The 25-year-old Global Marketing manager at Malaysian of Helios Photovoltaic said the dish symbolises the beginning of rebirth of the nature with the hope that it will bring better and prosperous times after cold winters, which was a challenge for nomadic ancestors to survive.
“Being heavily dependent on nature, nomads considered themselves as an integrated part of nature and embraced first signs of spring as the rejuvenation of every living being,” he said.
He added that nowadays, Kazakhs still prepare this meal using seven ingredients, which vary in every family, for example dried meat, millet, pearl barley, airan (sour milk product), onion, salt and water.
“According to tradition Nauryz Kozhe is prepared in large quantity and is distributed among relatives, neighbours, friends and invited guests,” he said, adding that the celebration usually lasts for several days.
Iranian artist, art historian and Indologist, Prof Dr Amir Hossein Zekrgoo, said both his sons who live in Melbourne, Australia, could not return home for Nowruz this year due to the travel restrictions.
Nevertheless, the former Professor of Islamic and Oriental Arts at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) said he and his wife will invite some guests to maintain the culture of visiting family, relatives and friends during Nowruz and sharing traditional delicacies.
“We celebrate firstly in our house with the household. That is the tradition. Then usually people start visiting each other and they go to the elders first. The host will offer sweets that is usually cooked or baked for the new year,” said Zekrgoo, 63, who has been living in Malaysia for 20 years.
Zekrgoo went on to explain that Nowruz is traditionally celebrated by spreading a ‘haft-seen’ or a collection of seven items starting with the letter ‘s’ that symbolises a different hope for the new year.
The seven elements are Sabzeh (wheat sprout), Senjed (dried fruit), Sib (apples), Seer (garlic), Samanu (a sweet pudding), Serkeh (vinegar) and Sumac (Persian spice made from crushed sour red berries).
“Each of these elements have their own symbolic significance and this setting happens almost in every single Iranian household with their own aesthetic taste, arrangement and decorations,” he said.
Maqsud, 31, a Tajikistani who works as a teacher at an international school in Kuala Lumpur, will be celebrating the festival with his wife and three children aged six, four and three.
He said last year he celebrated Nowruz at the Tajikistan Embassy with other Tajik citizens before the MCO was implemented.
“This year, we will keep it small and we are going to call our big families in Tajikistan. It would be a virtual celebration and we have prepared some traditional dishes.
“Certainly, we will miss cooking ‘Sumanak’. It’s a traditional sweet that is usually cooked with the whole family and takes approximately more than 24 hours to finish,” he said.
Meanwhile, an Azerbaijani national, Ali Yusifov, 21, who has been studying petroleum engineering in Malaysia for over two years, said he will celebrate Nowruz with his friends and cook some traditional sweets.
“We also have some special dishes for Nowruz such as Shekerbura and Pakhlava. Because of the restriction for social gathering, we don’t do too many things,” said the Universiti Teknologi Petronas student.
The International Day of Nowruz, listed in 2009 in the United Nation’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a cultural tradition observed by more than 300 million people around the world for over 3,000 years. – Bernama
