Local Market in Jakarta
by Abu Maha

If there is any advice I can give you, it is to act like the locals in negotiating the best prices at Pasar Minggu.

I always find a big crowd at Pasar Minggu. There are several shops and locals, and people like me come here from wide Jakarta for purchasing or selling their products.

The market is always crowded with carts and motorcycles, I have never in my life seen motorcycles carrying vegetables like this, except in Indonesia. One man carries a lot of vegetables on his motorcycle. There are big sacks on either side of his motorcycle – different kinds of vegetables I have never seen before.

Sometimes it becomes difficult even to walk especially at morning, it seems all the population of the country is on the road. There is great hustle and bustle. There is not a single store where a large crowd cannot be seen.

Everyone seems calm, I didn’t see people who are calm like they are here. Whenever I visit Pasar Minggu I find the hawkers. The wonderful thing for me is that they did not shout loudly to sell their goods. In Sudan, in the local markets, they use loudspeakers to sell their goods, they shout the loudest sound. They face hard competition because there are several hawkers selling the same article.

I'm usually going there to buy my weekly food – banana, potato, egg, onion, rice, tomato, and beans. Sometimes, if I have enough money I buy fruit and chicken, and they have more interesting food here.

This time, I decide to buy a different kind of fruit and vegetables. My eyes went to this kind of fruit but I do not know the names of some vegetables and fruits in Indonesian. I try to ask in English but she doesn't understand what I'm saying. I said ‘ibu’ and told her I just want this fruit I took but I don't know what kind of fruit this is. When I went home, I wanted to eat it. I am trying to open it; I bring a knife and I got two slides. When I open it inside it's a smell actually but when I taste it it was so good. But it was very smelly. The smell you can't hide; one you can smell from far. I can smell durian, its smells like old cheese, tastes like sweeter flavors, inside yellow soft colour creamy fruit.  When I asked friends, they told me that one of the best fruits in Indonesia is durian. It was a unique experience for me.

I love negotiating the best prices because I don't have enough money to buy everything. The hawkers, as well as the buyers, like to bargain. I watch these people who feel greatly satisfied after purchasing a thing at a minimum price from the hawkers, and I hear songs in Indonesian languages. But in all cases, the seller reaps good profits, even if the customer obtains the commodity at the price he desires.

Sellers frequently sing and they smile and look at me. I hope I can understand what they want from me. Some of the people in market look at me and I was thinking they will do something to me. I was a little scared, I'm new in Indonesian, but I was wrong. It is friendly.

I asked the woman I buy vegetables from, by my broken Indonesian and low voice, I said Ibu why do they look at me like that? She said don't worry they are very happy to see you buy from the local market. I felt so comfortable they are so friendly but I do not understand the Indonesian language well.

On my counter, our local markets are not quite different from the Indonesia local market. Our local markets have a lot of women working and people sell vegetables and put it on the ground. It is a crowded place as well. And it is a rural glimpse. When I go to the local Indonesian market, it fills me with a feeling that I belong to this place, it is really very pleasant to move and buy from local Indonesian markets. 

Abu Maha is a writer from Darfur, Sudan. He is the winner of the archipelago's 2021 Writing Competition. Abu studies creative writing, English and Bahasa Indonesia. He has lived at a child refugee shelter in Jakarta for four years since he came to Indonesia. His writing focuses on his life story.