For the past week traffic has been backed up all over Rabat because somewhere there is always a group of two or three men struggling to get a very disgruntled looking sheep into the back of someones car or into a cart. The sheep are stubborn and refuse to move, they pull at their leads and mumble angrily as men grab at their hind legs, forcing them to wheelbarrow down the street. Flags have been going up around the city. There are huge platters of cookies being sold and there is an air of excitement everywhere I go. Eid is approaching.
Eid-al-Adha is a Muslim holiday in which a sheep is slaughtered to commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael because God asked him to, however God allowed him to sacrifice a sheep instead once he was sure of Abraham's faith. The meat is supposed to be divided into three parts: one portion for the family, one for relatives and neighbors and one for the poor or homeless. This exhibits one of my favorite aspects of Islam which is the element of charity. An important part of Islam is giving to those less fortunate than yourself. I see this on a daily basis watching random people on the street who almost always give money to beggars. It is heartening to see a group of people who are sincerely trying to help one another in anyway they can. Donating the meat from Eid is just another example of this.
I came home a few days ago to find a terrified sheep tethered outside our front door. He was leaning against the wall, motionless, as if hoping I couldn't see him. Unfortunately for him, his muddy coat did not do much in terms of camouflage against the bright blue walls of the Kasbah. Since that day we have acquired three more sheep. Emilie forbade me from naming them.
Lately when I walk through the mdina I've been seeing men sharpening knives on whetting stones every few feet. People are selling large steak knives and barbeque skewers all over the place. I did not connect any of these things with the approaching holiday until today. Suddenly walking through the mdina seems much more ominous, or rather it should, but the excitement is so overwhelming that I can't focus for too long on the fact that we are all preparing to kill a bunch of innocent sheep.
My host uncle asked if I was afraid of the ritual, and I am not. My mother always tells me that when we were living in Bulgaria when I was a child I came home from my nanny's village one night babbling about how I had watched a pig being slaughtered and was apparently very excited about the whole affair. So if I could do it at the age of three, I can do it now. It's not so much fear as a feeling of sadness on behalf of the animal. But I can't think that way because I have never been a vegetarian and don't plan on being one so if I'm going to continue to eat meat I have to accept the fact that cute animals have to die. And I'm okay with that. But watching it happen is an entirely different situation. I think it will be good for me and put things into perspective a little bit.
I have the feeling the sheep suspect something though.
On that note I will go to sleep because the slaughtering starts early tomorrow. Eid Sa'eed!(Happy Eid) !
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