Laugh Loud and Often

aid moubarak said! [loosely translated to "happy holiday"] & happy martin luther king, jr. day!
I realize that Aid Kbir¹ [Big Feast, Slaughter/Sacrifice of the Sheep] is the major religious holiday/event for Muslims; however, the wholesale slaughter of domestic animals is an event that I could neither fully experience, nor participate, with my host-family; however, I can appreciate the importance of the holy-day for Moslims. The neighborhood sheep and goats knew what was going to happen (my host-family bought our sheep a week prior) to them; they were bleating incessantly leading to the morning of January 11, 2006.

Thank goodness I cannot communicate with animals (it's a lie if heard otherwise); if you're a domestic animal, then Aid Kbir is a bad time for you². I have difficulty describing the ritualistic sacrificing of the sheep; the images do a better job than I ever will. I doubt if PETA would ever mount a campaign to end such a traditional activity.

Not sure how, but the caid [local authority] found me early in the week when I had not told anyone where I was going; he found me at the souk [weekly outdoor market]. We walked around and talked for a bit, then he asked me to come see him at his office when I was done browsing; I thought I was in big trouble. On the contrary, he just wanted to know how I was adjusting and to wish me a good Aid Kbir. He says to come see him if I ever have any trouble or need anything; it's nice that he speaks perfect English.

Here's something priceless: When I say I'm from California, I hear most Moroccans exclaim, "Lots of nice B!TCHES there!" After a short conversation, and with some context, I realize they are saying "BEACHES". The last time I misheard this came from a police man welcoming me to the station; I was on my way to meet the caid.

Timeline Snapshot: First Aid Kbir in Morocco, January 11, 2006

5:00AM - Woke up from first of five prayer calls of the day from surrounding mosques, seemingly lasted longer and more emotional than prayer calls of other days
7:00AM - Family woke up; host -dad & -brother (the religious one) went to mosque while host -mom & -sister prepared lftur [breakfast]
8:00AM - Host -mom, -sister, -brother [the non-religious one] and I had lftur
9:00AM - On the way to visit relatives, saw many sheep in the process of being sacrificed; host-family smiles at sight of steaming blood flowing freely in the streets and heavy smell of burning flesh in the air
10:30AM - Returned home; family immediately went to roof to prepare the area: filling huge basin with water, scrubbing and clearing off roof, sharpening ceremonial dagger, lightly brushing sheep, etc
11:00AM - The sacrifice began (was trapped on the roof³) with host-brother putting a handful of salt in sheep's mouth and chanting a prayer; when sheep is dead, whole family took part in skinning and disemboweling sheep; while host-brothers skin/disembowel sheep, host-mom/sister scorched and cleaned the severed head. Host-family disappointed that I did not take an active part in the sacrifice.
1:30PM - Able to go downstairs as skinned sheep was hung up to allow blood to completely drain out; felt nauseous, so took two aspirin and went to bed; family and relatives (not sure when they arrived) had lunch on roof
6:00PM - Woke up to empty house; went for a walk (needed food); streams of blood and smells of burnt flesh, fat and wool linger everywhere.
7:30PM - Only host-mom at home upon returning; guests arrived for tea-time
9:30PM - Had dinner, family offered skewer of grilled liver wrapped in lung (tried one piece)
10:00PM - Felt nauseous (again), so went to bed early; host-family watched TV and continued with dinner
Sometime in the wee hours - Got up to go to the bathroom, saw outline of skinned sheep⁴ in the deep shadows hanging in the kitchen; it was alive 24-hrs earlier in the same spot.

Fellow Peace Corps Volunteers and I had conversation on the experience over text messaging⁵, edited for clarity (actual names have been changed/withheld for obvious reasons, re: safety/security):

Volunteer TT (on eating sheep head/brain): "If you have to eat it, stick to the cheeks. They're safe, I think. They taste like regular meat." & "Our whole town smells like sheep. I think I have a meat hang-over."
Volunteer DM (on thinking like a volunteer): "The brain tastes ok with a lot of bread. Chew fast. And remind yourself it's better then the stomach. I think everything is better than the stomach, even fetus, and that sh!t was beyond nasty." & "I ate an orange and I swear it tasted like meat. I think this holiday permanently messed up not only my taste buds but also sense of smell." & "I think we should develop a perfume called 'Sheep Smoke' or something. People here would buy it. Guaranteed." & "I think you'll have to ask your family to scrub down entire house to get rid of grilled sheep smell. I swear, even our walls smell like cooked meat."
Volunteer VS (on roughing it in the Middle Atlas): "Ate veggies, no meat. Slept at family farm up the mountain. Very cold, no heat. Peed in moonlight. Woke-up early and read Cold Mountain by penlight. Home at noon. Made Salad. Yum!"
Volunteer LK (on being a vegetarian): "Sick of picking bones out of my g.d. carrots!"
Volunteer EH (on making the use of bread): "We had it [sheep brain] for breakfast. Everything goes down with bread."
Volunteer MG (on summing up the experience): "Sheep is dead, blood has been spilt, pictures taken and vegetarianism renewed for me."

TAKE NOTE: IMAGES BELOW MAY BE DISTURBING DUE TO THEIR INTENSIVE, GRAPHICAL NATURE; THEY ARE THUMBNAILED WITH THE INTENTION TO BLUR DETAILS. HOWEVER, CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE FOR FULL EFFECTS.

The sacrificing begins ...


... steaming blood is pushed down the drain to flow in the streets below ...


... scorching & de-horning the head ...


... skinning the carcass ...


... disemboweling the carcass ...


... carcass ready for the feast.




Going for a walk in the country-side, I came upon a flock (or is it colony?) of nesting storks. These birds are huge, and getting too close to the nest ruffled their feathers. After taking a few pictures, I high-tailed it out of the area before the start of the aerial bombardments.


Included in this animal-focused post are the requested photoshopped spiders to compliment the other photoshopped spiders; the task of palette color-shift is not difficult, just time consuming.

ethereal box of randomness contact established i've decided to use the permanent/personal web address www.lamore.net for blogging.

1. According to the faith (Abraham sacrificing sheep instead of son Issac), Muslims are expected to sacrifice a sheep in the name of Allah; however, families sacrifice livestock according to what they can afford, ranging from chickens and rabbits to sheep and goats. The whole event is ritualistic, with blessed dagger, prayer, etc. Aid Kbir (and Ramadan) moves up 13 days every year; thus, operating on the Gregorian calendar puts two Aid Kbir in 2006. Morocco, as with all Moslim countries, uses both the Gregorian and Islamic calendars.
2. Just as if you are a turkey, then you probably do not want to get an invitation to Thanksgiving Dinner in the U.S.A. (unless it's to the Whitehouse).
3. Caught in the "excitement," did not realize the sacrificing of the sheep blocked the door/stairs; threw-up twice. when I was able to get down, I went to bed feeling ill (not sure when I stopped trembling).
4. I sense that many Moroccans have a fetish for Francis Bacon meat imageries.
5. Text messaging via phone is the most efficient way for Peace Corps Volunteers to communicate with each other and with the staff. Unfortunately, not all volunteer sites have mobile reseau [signal]; volunteers at these sites must travel for their telecommunications needs. The cost to text message is reasonable; thus, the only draw back on depending on the government-run telecommunications infrastructure is signal strength.