National Heritage Board Celebrates Hari Raya With Online And On-Site Activities For The Whole Family To Enjoy!

This Hari Raya, you and your family can look forward to join in the festivities with an array of physical and digital programmes across the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) and Malay Heritage Centre (MHC) put together by the National Heritage Board (NHB).

Malay Heritage Centre

• #KasiOnRayaFest: A Ramadan & Raya Fest

Photo Credit: Malay Heritage Centre

Venue: Online and On-site at the Malay Heritage Centre
Date: Ongoing till 13 Jun 2021

#KasiOnRayaFest is a hybrid festival that highlights and celebrates the months of Ramadan and Syawal. Join the Malay Heritage Centre (MHC) both online and on-site and be treated to a variety of activities this festive season!

#KasiOnRayaFest follows from last year’s #OnxOnRayaFest. Read as “On Tak On”, it is a spin on the Malay language catchphrase which is used to ask someone if an event or activity can proceed or happen. This was apt given the uncertain COVID-19 situation last year. This year “Kasi On” rallies everyone with a resounding “Let’s make it happen”!

From 4 May to 13 June 2021, MHC’s opening hours have also been specially extended to welcome more visitors – the centre’s compound will be open till 10pm every day, while the galleries’ opening hours will be extended till 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

• Lap Lip 2021: An Iconic Landmark Installation

Photo Credit: Malay Heritage Centre

Venue: On-site at the Malay Heritage Centre
Date: Ongoing till 13 Jun 2021

The Lap Lip installation is an MHC platform where artists are invited to reimagine how the traditional Hari Raya light decorations can be. For this year’s installation, MHC has worked with Tina Fung of Space Objekt to bring an immersive and engaging space that draws inspiration from the past and future. The structure is inspired by the architectural landscape of Kampong Gelam, with patterns inspired by Malay motifs designed by local artist Reza Hasni. In the centre of the installation is a space for reflection, with soundscapes that transport visitors to the vibrant bazaars of past Ramadans. Playing on lights and colours, the installation is worthy of social media postings in the day as well as night.

• Kasi On! TikTok Dance Challenge

Venue: Challenge to be released on MHC’s TikTok
Date: From 10 May 2021 onwards

Dance along to NADI Singapura’s dance moves in this Kasi On! Dance Challenge. Have fun!

• Hari Raya Craft Activities

Photo Credit: Malay Heritage Centre

Venue: MHC’s Courtyard
Date: 5 & 6 Jun 2021
Time: 10am to 11am, 12pm to 1pm, 3pm to 4pm & 4pm to 5pm | Register here

Try your hand at making ketupat, hand puppets, and batik money packets as well as learn how to write in Jawi with your family and friends.

• Gallery Alive: Drums & Percussions of the Nusantara

Photo Credit: Malay Heritage Centre

Venue: MHC’s Auditorium
Date: 29 May, 5 Jun & 12 Jun 2021
Time: 3pm to 4pm & 5pm to 6pm | Register here
Fee: Free (refundable deposit of $5 required)

Join NADI Singapura as they introduce you to the first ever sample pack featuring drums and percussion beats from the Nusantara. It contains 122 sound files which feature recordings of drums from the Malay Archipelago such as rebana, kompang, hadrah, marwas and jidur. Single hits/sounds as well as drum loops are available in the sample pack too.

Through this, NADI Singapura hopes to inspire musicians and practioners here, and in the region, to create a series of original works, as well as introduce the sounds of the Malayan drums to the international music and song-writing community.

As part of #KasiOnRayaFest, NADI Singapura will be conducting a few sharing sessions in MHC’s auditorium, where they will introduce the sample pack and demo how it can be used for composing.

Beats from the sample pack can also be heard in the #KasiOnRayaFest theme song.

• Concert: Project Altoration

Venue: Concert will premiere on MHC’s Facebook and YouTube
Date: 5 Jun 2021
Time: 8.30pm 

AltoAura presents Project Altoration! Explore their signature sounds blending Malay traditional folk music with urban and contemporary genres in this special performance. This project re-introduces the works of local composers like Aidil Akmal, Reyza Hamizan, Rico, Hyrul Anuar and tujuh band.

• Urang Banjar: Heritage and Culture of the Banjar in Singapore

Date: Ongoing

Urang Banjar: Heritage and Culture of the Banjar in Singapore is the fifth instalment in the MHC’s 'Se-Nusantara' series of community co-curated exhibition and programmes on the ethnic cultural and diversity of the Malay community in Singapore.

This year, the exhibition focuses on the Banjarese community, or 'urang Banjar', who are arguably the smallest group that make up the Malay community in Singapore. Many of them are able to trace the journeys of their ancestors from South Kalimantan in Singapore from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries, but also share a common ancestral language, material culture as well as a distinctive set of cultural norms and practices. The exhibition introduces the urang Banjar as well as their culture and identity through ethnographic objects, community stories and treasured family belongings, which showcase their strong sense of kinship, industry and history.

Asian Civilisations Museum

• ACM Celebrates – Hari Raya Puasa

Photo Credit: Asian Civilisations Museum

Venue: Online and On-site
Date: 13 May 2021
Time: All day
Fee: Free with museum admission

Learn about Hari Raya Puasa through a curated, self-guided trail of the galleries. Create your own Raya celebrations at home with a recipe to make sayur lodeh, a traditional vegetable dish, and download a template to make a paper craft inspired by ketupat, a rice cake packed in a woven container usually served during Hari Raya. Continue the celebration on ACM’s Facebook with a lively welcome dance – Tarian Selamat Datang. Selamat Hari Raya Puasa!

For more information, and the full list of programmes, please visit the NHB website.