Today Muslims around the world have been celebrating the annual sacrificial feast of Islam. Moroccans call it "The Great Feast," which is "Eid Kbir." It is meant to memorialize how God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his son. Jewish and Christian believers think that Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac. Muslims believe that God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his other son, Ishmael. Therefore, Eid Kbir is celebrated from the point-of-view that Abraham was ordered to sacrifice his son Ishmael. (All three faiths believe that after God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his son, Abraham was about to do so. Under all three faiths, God then told Abraham not to sacrifice him, because God had only told Abraham to sacrifice his son to test Abraham's devotion to God. Instead of sacrificing his son, Abraham sacrificed an animal.)
Every family is to have its own sheep on Eid Kbir. Those who cannot afford a sheep buy a less expensive animal, such as a goat. In Morocco, families are not to kill their sheep until the King has slain his sheep. Today I watched the King kill two sheep on TV. After the King has killed his sheep, then the head of each household kills the sheep for that family, then the sheep is cooked bit by bit. Earlier today, I ate various sheep parts, including sheep liver.
It is customary to purify oneself for Eid Kbir. One is expected to make oneself as clean as possible. Accordingly, this morning my host brother, his visiting nephew and I visited the local hammam, which is essentially a Moroccan bath house. Each of us brought a kis (Darija, or Moroccan Arabic for "exfoliating glove") and we scrubbed ourselves, removing much dirt from our bodies. We scrubbed each others' backs, too. Men and boys also get haircuts in preparation for Eid Kbir.
Community members also pray more than usual during Eid Kbir. Also, it is customary, as always, to give alms to impoverished persons. People also give some of the cooked sheep parts to poor people as well. Since it is also customary to visit family and friends during Eid Kbir, I accompanied my host brother and his visiting nephew when they visited some of their relatives here in town this morning.
I certainly feel that I am learning about the culture of Morocco by experiencing Eid Kbir.
Every family is to have its own sheep on Eid Kbir. Those who cannot afford a sheep buy a less expensive animal, such as a goat. In Morocco, families are not to kill their sheep until the King has slain his sheep. Today I watched the King kill two sheep on TV. After the King has killed his sheep, then the head of each household kills the sheep for that family, then the sheep is cooked bit by bit. Earlier today, I ate various sheep parts, including sheep liver.
It is customary to purify oneself for Eid Kbir. One is expected to make oneself as clean as possible. Accordingly, this morning my host brother, his visiting nephew and I visited the local hammam, which is essentially a Moroccan bath house. Each of us brought a kis (Darija, or Moroccan Arabic for "exfoliating glove") and we scrubbed ourselves, removing much dirt from our bodies. We scrubbed each others' backs, too. Men and boys also get haircuts in preparation for Eid Kbir.
Community members also pray more than usual during Eid Kbir. Also, it is customary, as always, to give alms to impoverished persons. People also give some of the cooked sheep parts to poor people as well. Since it is also customary to visit family and friends during Eid Kbir, I accompanied my host brother and his visiting nephew when they visited some of their relatives here in town this morning.
I certainly feel that I am learning about the culture of Morocco by experiencing Eid Kbir.
Your post reads like an ancient journal entry (except for the television part...!). Are you allowed to photograph at all?
ReplyDeleteGosh, I didn't realize that it read like that! I did take a picture of my host brother removing one of the horns off of the sheep with a hatchet...
ReplyDelete