It's now months later, but I still think about all the things we did and experienced in Morocco regularly (especially with this never-ending-incredibly-depressing-autumn we have here, my mind frequently wanders off to more exotic places). One of the things that left me impressed was the Feast of the Sacrifice. While we were in Morocco, the whole country celebrated four days of Eid el-Adha (=Feast of the Sacrifice). It's in honour of Abraham who willingly wanted to sacrifice his firstborn to Allah. Fortunately, Allah told him to sacrifice a lamb instead. And so, on Eid el-Adha, muslim families 'sacrifice' the best animals they can afford. You keep part of the meat to yourself, and if you can afford to, you share the rest with relatives, friends and the poor. In general, people make sure the poor and needy aren't without food during Eid el-Adha.
So the days before the actual sacrifice, men are usually busy with picking the right animals to sacrifice. Two days before Eid el-Adha we were on our way from Marrakesh to Aït Ben Haddou, and we pulled over for a quick stop at a sheep market. Very interesting to see. A lotttt of men negotiating and a lotttt of sheep being pulled and pushed. If we weren't with a travel group and a Moroccan guide, I wouldn't feel comfortable being here (well okay, I didn't exactly feel particularly comfortable being there with the group either, haha). It was obviously not a women's occasion, that market. I felt so out of place. And yeah okay, from their point of view - I can imagine it being very annoying when you just want to get on with your business and suddenly this group of tourists show up to take pictures of you doing something seemingly normal. Yeah I probably wouldn't be smiling and putting out a welcoming vibe as well. (I managed to get some sneaky pictures by just letting my camera hang around my neck and just click randomly, so I wouldn't be too intrusive hehe).
So the days before the actual sacrifice, men are usually busy with picking the right animals to sacrifice. Two days before Eid el-Adha we were on our way from Marrakesh to Aït Ben Haddou, and we pulled over for a quick stop at a sheep market. Very interesting to see. A lotttt of men negotiating and a lotttt of sheep being pulled and pushed. If we weren't with a travel group and a Moroccan guide, I wouldn't feel comfortable being here (well okay, I didn't exactly feel particularly comfortable being there with the group either, haha). It was obviously not a women's occasion, that market. I felt so out of place. And yeah okay, from their point of view - I can imagine it being very annoying when you just want to get on with your business and suddenly this group of tourists show up to take pictures of you doing something seemingly normal. Yeah I probably wouldn't be smiling and putting out a welcoming vibe as well. (I managed to get some sneaky pictures by just letting my camera hang around my neck and just click randomly, so I wouldn't be too intrusive hehe).
Men busy putting three live sheep in the back of a car
The day of the sacrifice itself, we were on our way to the Sahara. From the car we could already see sheep hanging everywhere next to the road. When we stopped somewhere for lunch, around the corner of the restaurant men and some boys were busy slaughtering sheep. I exchanged some Eid mubarak's (blessed feast) with the boys standing there watching, and one of the people in our travel group asked the men if we could take pictures. We could. And so we did.
So now I have a couple of pictures on my computer of sheep being slaughtered and skinned and their insides being pulled out. I have no idea why I took them really, because they're not exactly the nicest photos to show here. And not the nicest photos to remember your holiday by either, haha. I mean, blood everywhere, insides everywhere... Also, those photos just remind me of the smell of it all, this horrible, gag inducing smell.
So now I have a couple of pictures on my computer of sheep being slaughtered and skinned and their insides being pulled out. I have no idea why I took them really, because they're not exactly the nicest photos to show here. And not the nicest photos to remember your holiday by either, haha. I mean, blood everywhere, insides everywhere... Also, those photos just remind me of the smell of it all, this horrible, gag inducing smell.
I get a bit sad every time I look at this picture above. I think they knew what was coming to them. I think the black sheep tried to comfort the white sheep, who was pulling his rope frantically.
It surprised me how long it took before the sheep were actually dead. And how much they move as the blood pours out.
I mean, it wasn't the greatest thing to witness, but in a way I do think it was good to see something like this. If you eat meat, you should at least see *where it comes from*, right? As moronic as that may sound. It's just that meat comes in neat little packages that are nicely stocked in the supermarket. You don't have to think about it - you barely realise that the meat you're eating was once a living animal.
Also, whenever I'm on holiday I always try to learn more about local history and culture, so I thought it was very interesting and somewhat special to experience Eid el-Adha from up close with locals!
It surprised me how long it took before the sheep were actually dead. And how much they move as the blood pours out.
I mean, it wasn't the greatest thing to witness, but in a way I do think it was good to see something like this. If you eat meat, you should at least see *where it comes from*, right? As moronic as that may sound. It's just that meat comes in neat little packages that are nicely stocked in the supermarket. You don't have to think about it - you barely realise that the meat you're eating was once a living animal.
Also, whenever I'm on holiday I always try to learn more about local history and culture, so I thought it was very interesting and somewhat special to experience Eid el-Adha from up close with locals!