I'm back!
I took a vacation from Benin and a simultaneous vacation from this blog, but now that I am back in the country, I will start updating this blog regularly again.
While I was away, I missed one of the biggest local holidays: Tabaski. Even though it is a Muslim holiday, you may very well know the story on which it is based because Islam shares its roots with Christianity and Judaism. In this case, the shared story is about Abraham.
In Islam as in Christianity, the story goes that God asked Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice. As a faithful servant of God, Abraham accepted, but at the last moment, God allowed Abraham to sacrifice an animal instead.
To commemorate this event today, devout Muslims slaughter a sheep or ram on the day of Tabaski. Families with sufficient means slaughter at least one animal, and they share with their neighbors and the less fortunate to demonstrate their charity.
This year, Tabaski fell on October 15. However, the date changes every year because Muslims follow a lunar calendar; last year's Tabaski was later in October.
Since rams and sheep are in such demand for Tabaski, they are very expensive as the holiday approaches. In my village, Muslims with foresight buy their animals well in advance when they are cheaper. My neighbors, for instance, bought two sheep in the spring, when they cost about $30 each. They fattened the animals up over the summer, and by Tabaski they had two fat animals for slaughter. If they had purchased the animals in October instead, they would have cost $100 each.
For the meat lovers out there, maybe you should consider a trip to West Africa next fall. You might just need a strong stomach if you are not used to seeing your supper killed in front of you.
And for the Christians out there, did you have any idea that you shared this story with Muslims? You have a lot more in common than you may realize.
I took a vacation from Benin and a simultaneous vacation from this blog, but now that I am back in the country, I will start updating this blog regularly again.
While I was away, I missed one of the biggest local holidays: Tabaski. Even though it is a Muslim holiday, you may very well know the story on which it is based because Islam shares its roots with Christianity and Judaism. In this case, the shared story is about Abraham.
In Islam as in Christianity, the story goes that God asked Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice. As a faithful servant of God, Abraham accepted, but at the last moment, God allowed Abraham to sacrifice an animal instead.
To commemorate this event today, devout Muslims slaughter a sheep or ram on the day of Tabaski. Families with sufficient means slaughter at least one animal, and they share with their neighbors and the less fortunate to demonstrate their charity.
This year, Tabaski fell on October 15. However, the date changes every year because Muslims follow a lunar calendar; last year's Tabaski was later in October.
Since rams and sheep are in such demand for Tabaski, they are very expensive as the holiday approaches. In my village, Muslims with foresight buy their animals well in advance when they are cheaper. My neighbors, for instance, bought two sheep in the spring, when they cost about $30 each. They fattened the animals up over the summer, and by Tabaski they had two fat animals for slaughter. If they had purchased the animals in October instead, they would have cost $100 each.
For the meat lovers out there, maybe you should consider a trip to West Africa next fall. You might just need a strong stomach if you are not used to seeing your supper killed in front of you.
And for the Christians out there, did you have any idea that you shared this story with Muslims? You have a lot more in common than you may realize.
I would think that even $30 for each of the animals would be quite a sacrifice for people who earn so little. That can't possibly eat all that meat in a short length of time so what happens with the leftovers?
ReplyDeleteJean Ralley
Not everyone can find $30 to buy an animal in advance, though the $30 price usually comes around the time when many people have extra money because they just sold the crops from their fields. Part of the Tabaski celebration is sharing the meat with those who can't afford it, so that must help with the leftovers. You would think there would still be extra meat, especially since there's no refrigeration.
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