march of the dead cows

Ah, Eid-ul-Ajah (or however you wanna spell it, everyone's got a different way). Also known as bloody Eid. This is the day that the cows get it. At about 8 a.m., after mass prayers, the family gathers around for some cozy time with a 2000 lb. cow and a knife/axe the size of an ultralite wing. About 6 people (men only) hold the cow and then someone performs the divine rite of hacking the cow's head off. It's a Muslim ritual in memory of the story of Abraham and Isaac . .

. . but BOY did they screw up this story in the Koran. Lemme tell you. They say it was ISHMAEL and not Isaac who Abraham nearly sacrificed on the altar. They also call the guy Ibrahim and not Abraham (guess that's why I'm here teaching English--sheesh). Plus, in the Koran version, Ibrahim actually brings the knife down but at the last second Allah changes Ishmael into a goat instead. Now, I'll give them that one. That's way more exciting than the Bible's version where God merely TELLS Abraham to stop the knife, then Abraham switches out the son for the goat.

But anyway. The slaughter is quite a sight to behold, as one can imagine. And seeing those cow hides, skulls, and occasional entrails laying here and there throughout the day really give it that holiday feel. The great thing is that we get beef curry for just about every meal for at least a week. I'm saying this as a good thing now, but probably at the conclusion of the week I will not be saying this.

Weeks with bronchitis: 8 (BUT finally using some drugs, condition improving)
Weeks with left ear plugged: 4 (If you think it's a pain you are correct.)