Abdul Majid; [Performer]

Alveda songs

Music

Music (MUS)

Music

Puuinyaththa udho Roja dhoro (Wake up early at dawn and fast on, O Muslims) is a Alveda song, performed in the Rohingya camps for the RCMC by Rohingya musician Abdul Majid.

For Rohingya observing muslims fasting in the Arabic month of Ramadan is crucial. There is a strong community culture centering around fasting as everyone from young to elderly is encouraged to fast. Alveda songs are sung an hour or so before the crack of dawn so that the community can eat before fasting for the whole day. The muezzin (the one who calls for prayer at the mosque) or the imam (the one who leads the prayer at the mosque) often sings it using the microphone of the mosque. As it gets hard for muslims to fast without the meal before dawn, Alveda songs are in the fabric of Rohingya muslims’ celebration of Ramadan. Like the parting of the night, Alveda songs are also sung when two friends part for a long time. In fact, the word ‘alveda’ has Urdu origin, meaning ‘goodbye’.