Today is the start of Eid Al Adha an important Muslim holiday that many of our Moroccan friends compare to Christmas in terms of how 'big' or important the holiday is for the people. It celebrates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael to show his devotion to Allah. Today, to remember that near-sacrifice, most families sacrifice a sheep (or goat or other animal) and use the animal for their holiday meal. Families gather (with many people traveling back to their hometowns) to be together and there is A LOT of food, and celebration.
Some of our observations in Morocco...
-Over the last two weeks more and more fat furry sheep have been seen riding in the backs of trucks, in carts behind mopeds, and a large make-shift sheep market city has been built north of our house with sheep milling about in clusters and people walking around making purchasing plans.
-Friday when I went to teach, campus was a ghost town! There were only about 15 people here and there. Lots of students on the side of the road waiting with a bag to be picked up. My classroom was locked and no students came, so Happy Eid and see you next week!
-We've seen many people filling the trunks of their cars with suitcases, bags of food, and packages of bottled drinks.
-Today we've seen people dressed to the nines! Women in abayas made with fancier material with a lot of shimmer to it. Hijabs with sparkles and rhinestones. Men wearing the traditional Moroccan cloak but in a sleek, shiny black material with detailing in silver. One woman had on an incredible deep purple abaya with neon hot pink tights that matched the lining of her pockets and bright yellow pointed Moroccan slippers. FANCY!
-The people who double park to hit up the amazing bakery near us are coming in droves and children are all dressed up in slacks and dresses with their hair combed with gel. They run up and down the sidewalk with excitement while their parents buy baked goodies.
-People seem really happy and there is a lot of cheer and 'Bon Fete' type exchanges in French and Arabic. Everyone is excited for this annual holiday.
My colleague said the meal is very meat-centered what with the sacrifice of the sheep and all...and he mentioned they use everything, starting with the innards, with barbecuing being the main mode of preparation.
Today when I looked out the window over the kitchen sink I saw a sheep being ushered through the gate to a neighbor's backyard. A woman had a handful of hay to entice it and the men were making sure it didn't dart off into traffic.
One of my biggest lived hypocrisies is that I enjoy eating meat, but I don't want to see the animal from which the meat comes get killed. I know about the Omnivore's Dilemma and all...this is an area where I knowingly and purposely turn a blind eye to the reality...and this is something I should probably think through more. As Americans, we rarely have to see where our meat comes from, or how it got to us in its tidy little clean form. I can now eat a whole fish with head and skin served on a dinner plate, but I don't know if I could grab some live chickens or a sheep and get it from field to table like most people here can!
I just can't imagine it if most Americans killed their own Thanksgiving turkey, or procured their own Christmas ham by slaughtering a pig in their backyard. Eid Al-Adha has me thinking about a lot indeed!