Feast of Sheep

Us with our landlord Saeid and his wife Najete

     What a cultural experience this turned out to be! After eating the liver, lung, and heart kabobs cased in intestine fat...we had a short opportunity to relax at home before getting called to a 9:00 p.m. dinner. Najete invited us into her kitchen where she showed off the couscous that she had made from scratch! The right shoulder of each sheep was cut off for the first official dinner of the Eid al Adha (which consisted of two full courses). Half of the sheep shoulders were used to make a delicious stew for the first course: couscous. The other half were used to make a tasty lamb and prune tagine.

     Najete also showed us another stew that was brewing for their "breakfast" the next morning. This traditional breakfast meal was a stew made entirely out of sheep hooves and chick peas. Thankfully, we were not invited to eat this meal with them in the morning; however, they did bring some up later for us to try.

      What took us both by surprise is that the women and men continued to separate for meal times during the Eid Al Adha. It was explained to Nicole that it is culturally improper for men and women to eat together. For dinner, David went with the men to one house and Nicole had to go to an entirely different house with the women. The men ate the prepared meals first, while the women waited an additional hour for the men to pass their leftovers over to the women to eat. What made this cultural difference the most difficult was the communication barrier. David can communicate rather fluently because of his French. Nicole, on the other hand, speaks no French and her understanding of the language is very limited. We do well with cultural interactions when we are together because David can interpret conversations and translate so that Nicole remains engaged in what is going on. Since we were forced to separate, Nicole had no means by which she could engage in conversations.
     The experience was also an eye-opener to one of the biggest cultural differences in Morocco: That women are valued differently than men. Women are not allowed to go to the mosques and they are not allowed in most cafes. To add that women also cannot enter the area in which the men were eating during this time was sad. A couple that we know once told us that Moroccan men and women do not know how to interact with one another, and so they often separate to avoid interactions altogether. This experience brought some truth to that perspective.

      Half way through dinner, a large crowd of masked young men crowded around our neighborhood banging drums, chanting, and dancing. The largest of the men was clothed entirely in bloody sheep skins. Apparently, this is a typical tradition during Eid Al Adha. The men dance and chant loudly throughout the entire neighborhood, hoping to earn some money for their entertainment. It was quite interesting...

      Nicole was presented with the boiled head of one of the sheep during dinner. From what she understood, this head is going to be cut open so that the brains and tongue can be prepared into another meal later on. Thanks to other weekend obligations, we're hoping that we can avoid this meal.

 

     After the hoof and chickpea breakfast was brought to us (on the second day), we were invited to a lunch with only our landlord and his immediate family. Because this lunch seemed to be more informal, we were not separated. The lunch (grilled lamb kabobs) was also wicked good! We were sent home with a bag full of lamb meat that we can cook at our own leisure. We've set it aside for our maid, so that she can cook something with it on Thursday.

     There are plenty more delicious meals being prepared with the sheep meat; however, we're not certain we will be able to join in on anymore formally with Saeid's family. Perhaps they'll bring us some and perhaps not, but either way we felt like we had enough pictures and stories to be able to summarize our experience.

     We were disappointed to observe that, throughout this entire experience, we didn't hear any conversations or comments made about why they were celebrating Eid Al Adha. We expected there to be at least some sort of prayer thanking Allah for providing a sacrifice... but instead the attention seemed to be focused on pro-wrestling, T.V. soap operas, or pointless conversational topics such as talking in ones sleep. This caused us to reflect on some of the major American holidays. Unfortunately, I think that a foreigner would likely say the same things to an American family celebrating Christmas or Easter. We seem to be loosing sight, all over the world, of why we do what we do. Rather, we get caught up in silly traditions that may or may not have any true significance.

-David & Nicole

No More Sheep

     Our landlord invited us to celebrate the Eid Al Adha with his entire family (in-laws included). We just couldn't pass up such a unique cultural experience, in spite of how grotesque it may seem. With such a large family, they slaughtered a total of five sheep. They were so proud of how large their sheep were.

     The killing and cleaning process alone lasted about three hours. The third sheep (pictured below) was so powerful that it jumped up after its neck was slit and began to charge everyone. We all screamed, ran away, and watched as the sheep eventually slowed down and dropped to its death. 

 

 

    After the sheep finally stops twitching and the blood has drained sufficiently, the men insert a hose into the rear leg of the sheep and, with a bicycle pump, blow air into the sheep. This helps to loosen the skin so that the skinning process can be hastened.

     Next, the men cut off the rear feet and skin the leg up to the knee. They pull the Achilles tendon away from the bone so that they can hang the sheep in the air. The head is then cut off completely and the skinning and gutting process begins. The skin is preserved to make rugs, and none of the organs go to waste. Every part of the sheep, including the head, is set aside to be prepared as part of the gourmet feast which will span over several days.

     Through this experience, we learned several interesting traditions. Firstly, when the neck is slit the very first cup of blood that flows out of the sheep is preserved in a bowl. This blood can later be used to cure the illnesses of some of the youngest children. It was explained to us that if you burn the blood and breathe in the smoke that it gives off, it will cure the chicken pox.

    Secondly, a shawl of fat is cut out from around the intestines. This "shawl" is placed over the shoulders of the eldest daughter as a tradition which supposedly enhances fertility. The fat is then cleaned and used as the casing for liver, lung, and heart kabobs (which we later ate with the family).

    The men and women are separated for the first eating portion of Eid Al Adha. Strangely, the men gathered to watch  professional wrestling on T.V. during their meal (Similar to how the men congregate in front of the football games for American Thanksgiving). The women conversed outside while they ate.

    The festivities are still not over. We have only eaten the liver, lungs, and heart. Tongue, brains, stomach, feet, and the rest of the sheep meat are still being prepared into various, traditional dishes to celebrate Eid Al Adha. More (less gruesome) pictures to come as we continue to celebrate over the next few days.

-David & Nicole

Sheep Sheep

     Eid Al Adha is one of the most important religious holidays celebrated by Muslims worldwide. It is a 2-3 day feast of sacrifice which concludes the pilgrimage to Mecca. The purpose of this religious holiday is to celebrate the faith and obedience of Abraham, as well as to celebrate the provision and mercy of God.
     To test his faith, Abraham was called by God to sacrifice his son. Muslims believe that the son called to be sacrificed was Ishmael rather than Isaac (as the story is told in the Old Testament). Regardless, both the Q'ran and the Bible agree that Abraham willingly stepped up to sacrifice his son, and that God mercifully provided a goat or a lamb at the last moment to be sacrificed instead.

     This year, Eid Al Adha begins on October 26. Muslims prepare in the weeks leading up to the Eid by buying a sheep so that they may slaughter it in remembrance of God's mercy. Sheep are literally everywhere!

photo credit: CR

     There are also hundreds of temporary markets set up where you can buy hay to feed your sheep; as well as charcoal, grills, and tagine pots in order to prepare for the slaughtering day. Sheep are piled into cars, carried on mopeds, or stuffed into carts so that they can be transported to a safe place leading up to the slaughtering day. Some families who don't have a yard in which to keep their sheep opt to keep their sheep on their balconies or roof terrace. Landlords with vacant apartments will sometimes charge fees to "rent" their apartment to families who need an area to store their sheep. When the slaughtering day finally arrives, the streets of Casablanca will be lined with sheep heads waiting to be cleaned up.

     While the traditional symbolism behind Eid Al Adha is honorable to both Muslims and Christians alike, the holiday has largely become commercialized around the world (Much like Christmas is to American Christians). This is an excellent article which outlines exactly what Eid Al Adha looks like today in Morocco.
    Because Morocco is such an "honor vs. shame" culture, so many Muslims feel that it would be shameful to be caught without a sheep to slaughter for the Eid Al Adha. Many families will spend more than a months wages on a good sheep simply to maintain their "honor" amongst their family and friends. Or, they take out a loan that they typically cannot afford to pay back simply to buy their sheep.

    This year, we chose to help several Muslim families financially so that they would not be so burdened by the extreme expense of a sheep. We hope that this financial peace will allow them to focus on the holiday's significant and true symbolism: That God provided a sacrifice.

-David & Nicole

Is Vacation Here Yet?

    We recently received confirmation that Nicole’s dad and step-mom are coming to visit us in April. We are so excited about planning for this vacation! There are so many good options for where we might go and what we might do while they are here. :)
     And speaking of vacations (since April isn’t our only one), we are also in the process of either contemplating or planning some other adventures such as: 

• October: a trip to Oualadia (This one is actually already planned…for next weekend!)  
• November: a trip to the Sahara desert to participate in a camel trek   
• December: perhaps a trip to Europe…   
• February: a trip to a Berber village outside of Marrakesh   
• July: a Mediterranean cruise to the Greek islands 

     In the meantime, since we are currently not enjoying one of those vacations, we have been overworking ourselves with an abundance of responsibilities/commitments that extend far beyond our regular 7:30-4:30 workdays. 

     Nicole has committed herself to a semi-weekly workout group, three days and four hours worth of after-school tutoring sessions, a weekly Moroccan cooking class, a monthly women’s bible study, and an ongoing responsibility to fulfill her role in the school’s character committee. 

     David has committed himself to a weekly after school soccer club, two days and three hours worth of after school tutoring, a weekly Arabic class, and organizing two staff soccer games a week. David was also just relocated to a new office in the finance department and; therefore, his job responsibilities are beginning to change. 

-David & Nicole