It has to do with the story of Ibrahim being told by God to sacrifice his son Ishmael, and Ibrahim, being ever obedient, agrees. At the last second, God sends a ram for him to slaughter instead, his faithfulness having been proven. Recently I have been quizzed about Eid Kbir's roots. When I explain the story, people are impressed I know it, but when I tell them it's because we have a nearly identical story in the Bible with Abraham's son Isaac instead, they don't seem to hear me. (We can talk some other time at the cultural differences in "listening" here).
If you want to know more about the general Eid Kbir, here's the wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha
How is Eid Kbir celebrated in Morocco?
With a slaughter, of course! Here are the rules: (I have no idea what of this is attributed to Islam,and what is just cultural traditions. I don't have the ability to make a distinction)
- The ideal slaughter is a ram.
- If you can't afford a ram, a sheep or pretty much anything in that family will do.
- Every household must slaughter one, so if a son and his wife travel to visit his mother for the Eid, they need to slaughter two rams. Frequently, a cow can be substituted for big families, and then they only have to slaughter that one animal. If it's a big family all those rams add up to even more than a cow would cost.
The morning of the Eid the healthy ram is taken outside (out of site of any other animals! This is a must!) and the head of the family, or at least a man (women aren't allowed) stands behind the animal, and says "Bismillah" (In the name of God) and, hopefully in just one strike, slice the throat of the ram. Then the ram grotesquely rolls onto its side and kicks as blood squirts violently from the severed artery in his neck. It makes gurgling noises as every bit of blood is squeezed out. It's over in a few minutes. For the meat to be halal (like Kosher, but in Islam) all the blood has to be drained.
Then it's skinned and gutted and the women get to work cleaning out the organs. Before you know it there is a late breakfast of liver shish kabobs.
No More gorey details for now! These are all memories from last year's Eid Kbir with my host family. I plan on taking a video of the slaughter this year and I will post it here.
Meanwhile-- I spotted the rams a few days ago minding their own business on the road. I knew then that the Eid was getting close. (I was trying to be sneaky sticking the camera out my kitchen window without the shepherds seeing.)
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