Nasi Ambeng Festival successfully held at Banghuris Homestay, Sepang

April 20, 2015

Nasi Ambeng Festival successfully held at Banghuris Homestay, Sepang

Nasi Ambeng is a platter filled with rice accompanied by side dishes meant to be shared among four or five persons. The way of eating the meal from the same tray shared among several persons originated from the practices of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions, believed to strengthen bond and camaraderie among the diners.

The name Banghuris is an acronym derived from the name of three different villages that participate in the homestay programme: Kampung Bukit Bangkong, Hulu Chuchoh and Hulu Teris. Banghuris homestay is well known among exchange students from various countries like Korea, Japan and Switzerland. It also attracts travellers who seek to escape city life and live among its residents and become part of their families.

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Besides highlighting Nasi Ambeng dish during the festival, The Department of Culture and Arts of Malaysia also promoted other traditional dishes such as tumtuman (banana steamed with flour), lemik (tapioca steamed) and sambal hijau (green savory gravy).

Cooking up a side dish for Nasi Ambeng, kampung style

Various activities and items were showcased during the festival: classic motorcycle competition, fishing competition and traditional games, including homemade food and crafts sold by FAMA, MARDI, Department of Agriculture and small industries. The Nasi Ambeng festival also incorporated traditional Malay games like galah panjang and the opportunity to stay together with one of the families that participate in the homestay programme.

The festival also saw the presentation of cempuling performance conducted by the residents of Banghuris. Cempuling is a traditional show originated from Java. The name comes from the combination of the word cem – the truncation of the word “macam-macam” (variety) – together with the word pul from the word “berkumpul” (gathering) and ling, which means “ingat-mengingati” (to remind each other). In short, cempuling stands for a variety of performances for a huge crowd that includes everybody from all walks of life.

The highlight of this festival was the closing ceremony of the Nasi Ambeng Festival by Dr Junaida Lee Abdullah, the Deputy Secretary General (Management & Monitoring) for the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, who declared the closing of the event. It was that followed by performances by popular local artistes such as Noraniza Idris, Black Mentor and Raftah Bachik while the public members were enjoying Nasi Ambeng. The public were also treated to the Javanese traditional dance called Tarian Soblang Sari, performed by children from Tunas Seri Cemerlang kindergarten.