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Published: January 14th 2006
Thanksgiving...Moroccan style.
This Wednesday was l3id kbir in the Muslim world, and what a l3id it was. The streets of Ouaouizarht, and every other town, ran red with blood as each and every family celebrated by slaughtering its own sheep. The tradition comes from the story in the Koran (and in the Bible and Torah) of when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Issac, and, seeing that Abraham consented, God sent him a ram to kill instead. The point of the story is, of course, those who practice absolute obediance to the will of God will be favored. Although the sheep population pays a heavy price, the upshot of the whole thing is that all the humans get to party and eat barbecue for almost a whole week. By the way, fresh liver wrapped in intestine and then grilled over an open fire is quite tasty 😊
The past few days have involved endless visits to and by neighboring households of family and friends. The best part of this is that I am finally starting to feel like a real member of the family. Although my host family has welcomed me with open arms, it's the initiation into the EXTENDED family that really solidifies relationships here. My extended family is, naturally, quite large, with aunts, uncles, cousins, step-cousins, grandmothers, grandfathers, step-grandmothers, cousins 3-times removed, plus the occasional friend that spends so much time with the family that they may as well share the same blood (and probably do from some distant past). I even made a kinship chart with the help of my language tutor, Hakima, who is also my aunt!
Next up: my father's side!
In other news, Tim, the previous volunteer in Ouaouizarth, just showed up to join in the festivities. He'll be working for the next 6 months doing more development work in Morocco. As it turns out a lot of former Peace Corps volunteers end up staying here, getting either Fullbright scholarships or other jobs in the NGO community. But I'm not promising to be here that long so if you want to come visit the calender is ticking! 😊
Hope you're all doing well in the New Year!
Go Pats!!!
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Juliette
non-member comment
Greetings
Wow Rich, it sounds like you are having a crazy amazing experience. And the places you're seeing!-WOW. It sounds like quite a journey. I hope you had a great Christmas and New Years. Keep up the great updates on your travelblog! ~Furbs (only you!)