Pasar Malam

Pasar malam is a Malay and Indonesian word that literally means "night market" (a common belief is that the word comes from "bazaar" in Persian, however, this etymology is not supported by linguists). A pasar malam is a street market in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore that opens in the evening, usually in residential neighbourhoods.

It brings together a collection of stalls that usually sell goods such as fruits, vegetables, snacks, toys, clothes, shoes, alarm clocks, and ornaments at cheap or at least reasonable prices. Pirated DVDs, CDs and computer software are often sold at a pasar malam. A pasar malam often takes place only one to a few days of the week, as the traders rotate around different neighbourhoods on different days of the week. Haggling over prices is a common practice at such markets.

Pasar Malam are often differentiated by ethnicity. A Malay pasar malam will often contain stalls selling Islamic books, kopiah hats, sarongs and other Malay specialty items. Chinese pasar malam may sell Mah Jong sets, incense, joss sticks, joss paper and various Chinese prayer supplies. Indian pasar malam may contain Hindu prayer supplies.

In Java, especially in Javanese royal cities Yogyakarta and Surakarta, the grand week-long pasar malam is usually held annually during the Sekaten festival to celebrate Mawlid or the birthday of prophet Muhammad. During colonial Dutch East Indies the annual Pasar Malam was held in Pasar Gambir (today Merdeka square) and become the predecessor of modern Jakarta's annual Jakarta Fair.

In the Netherlands, a yearly Indo Eurasian festival is held in The Hague under the name Tong Tong Fair, formerly known as the Pasar Malam Besar (besar = big). Due to the high number of Indo Eurasians and the successive success of this event since 1959, dozens of pasar malam are held each year in the Netherlands. Recently the Indonesian embassy has started sponsoring a yearly pasar malam Indonesia, mainly to promote Indonesian business and enhance Dutch-Indonesian relations.