Pertandingan Pelita Raya Terengganu

The Pelita Raya Competition or Traditional Lights for Raya competition was recently held between the 4-6 September 2010.

Every year this glittering occasion is held in conjunction with malam 7 likur or the 27th night of Ramadhan with the purpose of creating a festive occasion for the Eid al Fitr. It is hoped with the annual competition the tradition of using pelita (traditional lamp) will  be carried forward  by the younger generation.

The theme of the competition is "Experiance the glittering of 10,000 traditional lights in traditional villages. As such, 5 kampung (villages) were shortlisted to participate in this competition, they were :

Kampung Padang Hangus
Kampung Raja Tepoh
Kampung Tekong
Kampung Pagar Ubi
Kampung Baru Tepoh

En Ismail Sulong the defending champion of the Pelita Raya competition for 9 consecutive years.

It was a joyous affair as the participants used their creativity and made replicas  in various shapes to resemble mosque, coconut trees and famous landmarks. The dark night was lighted up by 10,000 or more pelita creating a festive atmosphere in the villages at night. In the end, En Ismail and his wife (pic above)  won the competition, the grand prize money of RM30,000.

A local villager, En Ismail Sulong explained that the benefits of using  damar raya is, it is natural and cheap as only dry coconut husk are used  to make the pelita. Using damar raya too gives out a better aroma than the usual pelita that uses oil.