Eid Mubarak

On Eid we were welcomed into the home of a Pashtun family living in Lahore. The house, though modest, is clean, comfortable and well kempt with its concrete walls, many balconies and old city mentality. After many 'Salams' and 'Eid Mubaraks' (or Eid greetings) we were led (I hopped, grunted and was finally carried) up the narrow steps to the balcony where the slaughtering was to occur. The open air, with sunshine filtering through Lahore's ever-dusty winter sky, made for an almost romantic and rather settling experience. Each member of the family (usually male) who earns money and can afford it is obliged to buy, and slaughter an animal. Although it is becoming more common to hire a slaughterer as it is not necessary to slaughter the animal yourself. The types of male animals that fall under the catagory of Halal, and are suitable to sacrifice include the Goat, the Sheep, the Cow and the Camel. The cow and the camel are usually reserved for extended families as the cow can be divided into seven parts, and the camel into eleven, while the goat and the sheep are divided into three each.

The six animals whose lives were to end that morning to commemorate prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son in the name of Allah were calm as ever, enjoying their last meals, and entertaining the children. Even as the first animal was laid down, prayed over and finally slaughtered, I was surprised to notice that the demeanor of the remaining animals had not changed in the least. One by one, the blood flowed from their severed necks, following the strict Islamic rules concerning halal meat, the animals were skinned, the meat was seperated and finally sent down to the women whose responsibility it was to divide the edible into three equal shares. These shares are distributed among family members, friends and the poor. It was interesting to note that very soon after the slaughtering had begun, doorbells throughout Pakistan began to ring in unison, beggers and the poor expected their rightful share.

As I was given my first morsal of the recently sacrificed goat, I learned an important life lesson: I don't really like goat.

Eid is a three day celebration, and although most animals are slaughtered on the first morning of eid, the smell of death hung heavy in the air throughput Lahore for the remaining days. Even now, I can conjure up this smell from memory. Maybe it will never leave me.

Between the three of us goras we took aroung 150 photos of this morning. I will spare you, your stomachs, and the hole these may burn into your memories and will only post the most "tasteful" of the bunch.

A special thanks goes to Safder and his wonderful family for inviting us into such a personal and special celebration. I know we will never forget this experience.

The little ones, watching.

Sheep. Much happier than I would be at that point...

Did you want some Chai with that death...?

Sheep; 5 minutes later.