Late at night in a low-income district of Amman, Zeid Abu Mushref walks with an assured step as he pounds his drum, masking his status as a novice musaharati.
“Hey, you who are asleep, recite a prayer to Allah,” he chants, his voice ringing out slowly between beats.
But the steps of the 19-year-old are swift, as is his drumming.
Mr Abu Mushref operates in Nuzha, a hilly district of the Jordanian capital that he needs to cover on foot before the crack of dawn. This is so people wake up in time to have suhoor before the day-long Ramadan fast.
He grew up in the busy Jabal Hussein neighbourhood of Amman, which has a large Palestinian refugee camp. His father died when he was a child.
Mr Abu Mushref learnt how to be a musaharati from a friend who showed him how during the holy month last year.
“He was popular in Nuzha. He died after last Ramadan, and I took over,” Mr Abu Mushref says.
Mr Abu Mushref gives part of his earnings to the family of his late friend, who worked for almost a decade as a musaharati.
The job is spiritual and material. It date back to times when there were no alarm clocks or technology to keep track of the hours.
“We do this to gain reward from God, and for our livelihoods,” Mr Abu Mushref says.
Although most people wake up on their own, many still like to have a musaharati in their neighbourhood. It is a boon for children, who love to ask the musaharati for a go on his drum.
Jordan has been in recession since last year and unemployment is officially at a high of 24 per cent. The authorities relaxed Covid-19 rules last month but a curfew remains in place from 7pm to 6am.
Many people do not obey the rules, but there is still less traffic on the streets.
Mr Abu Mushref said that with the coronavirus restrictions, fewer children have been taking to the streets this Ramadan to intercept the musaharati.
“Before it was difficult to get back home because of so many kids. Now people are afraid to let their children out,” he said.
“Still, I give the drum to any child who wants to beat it,” he added. “Whoever puts a smile on someone’s face, God will put happiness in his heart.”
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Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
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