Today I shall not
post any pictures but I would like to forewarn you that this post
will run a bit to the gross side. Prepare yourselves. Or don't read
it because it's 3id Kbir-Al-Adha time in Morocco, which means,
Moroccan Christmas time, a.k.a., 'let's kill the sheep!'
This holiday
season I have decided to spend some quality time in my friend
Rachel's town. She has dubbed her town 'Christmas Village,' in an
order to provide a little anonymity. Anyways, Rachel asked me to
accompany her during this 3id (Arabic for Holiday) because like me,
she was a vegetarian in America. Neither she nor I relish the thought
of seeing sheep being slaughtered ritually. But let's recap what this
holiday is about.
Recall the story of the prophet Abraham's attempt to sacrifice his son Isaac found in Genesis 22. I'll quickly paraphrase the story: God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son but at the last moment, He intervened and stopped Abraham's hand. Abraham then noticed a ram caught in the bushes nearby and slaughtered it in sacrifice to God.
Muslim's
commemorate this miracle in two ways. The holiday not only signifies
the end of the Hajj (or the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca made by
Muslims) but it also is celebrated by ritually sacrificing a sheep.
If you'd like to know more, click
here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/islam/eid_haj.shtml
So Aly, you might
be thinking, 'I was reading your title of this post and it occurred
to me that wouldn't it be odd that a sheep would come early since
it's not the Holiday yet?" (The holiday is November 7th this
year). Why yes, dear reader! You are correct! I was not expecting to
see a dead sheep yesterday, but see it I did. Here's the story:
Rachel and I wanted to get some neat looking Berber Henna (think
interesting geometrical lines traced in dark brown color on the hands
and feet). Rachel had previously arranged with a family to find a
woman to give us henna. At noon yesterday we went to the house,
expecting to find the henna artist waiting for us. Instead we found a
sheep carcass freshly killed, waiting for us in the entryway of the
house. Rachel and I were both a bit surprised because we thought the
holiday wasn't until Monday. In any event, we entered the house and
waited patiently for a few hours before it became apparent that
henna wasn't coming but lunch was. Rachel and I have both done 3id
kbir before and have explained to both our communities our feelings
about meat (i.e. we don't eat it). So the family, wanting to please
us, gathered some eggs and boiled them and asked if they could give
us chicken. We agreed (I mean...you have to eat some meat here....it
would be too offensive not to). They then served us a plate, which
they called 'chicken,' but in reality was actually goat meat with
boiled eggs around it.
Retelling this
story just makes me want to put my face in my hands. Anyways, we
left back to our house and spent the evening drawing a mural on
Rachel's wall. I'll post pictures of it soon.
Happy 3id
everybody! 3id Mubarak!
