10W1D “Thanksgiving” in the Form of Lamb

Warning: Pictures below may be a bit graphic.

The sounds of men and women praying fill every occupyable space in the air like the buzzing of bees in one’s ears at a bee farm, even before the morning light fills the sky. The noise of lamb baa’s and maaa’s get louder as the sun starts to rise counting down the minutes of the sacrifice. It is as if the lamb knows they are about to be sacrificed on this day. Each family has brought a lamb from a farmer at a cost of the equivalent of about 300-400 USD depending on the quality of the lamb.

Lunch at a family's home in Sidibouzid

Little kids run around the uneven dirt street as lamb’s throats are sliced along the lazily paved stone sidewalks in front of each family’s residence. The lamb makes sounds of struggle and seizure like movements as blood seeps out rapidly from its neck. As the movements of the lamb get slower and it takes its last breath, the family prepares knives to skin and cut up the lamb into different parts which are then used to create meals for the rest of the week, such as m’rouzia, which is a stew with raisin s and chestnuts or daouara, which is sausage made of sheep liver and lungs, parsley and mint.

In a suburb in Sidibouzid

Eid al-Kebir takes place 70 days after the end of Ramadan. It is the celebration of the willingness of Abraham to obey God and to sacrifice Isaac. In the end, God tells him to sacrifice a lamb instead.

Adorable boy in Sidibouzid

Not one piece of the lamb is wasted – even the lamb head is eaten (some Tunisians claim this is the best part) and the skin made into a rug. The event is similar to that of a typical American Thanksgiving (but most likely the Turkey has been mechanically “sacrificed”) where there is no work and all the family gathers to cook and spend time together.

Bye bye Aloush (lamb)!

I joined the celebration at a family’s home in a city called Sidi Bou Zid (not to be confused with Sidi Bou Said) far from Tunis in what I call “the middle of nowhere.” We took a louage (shared passenger van) which took about 4 hours to get there. The road was paved most of the way but definitely not up to the paving standards in American so the ride was more like being on a cart of a badly put together roller coaster.

One thing I have found is that family and developing relationships is very important in Tunisian culture. Even though the system and government is flawed and threatens to tear the Tunisian identity apart, the idea of family remains strong and I think this element helps to keep the country together.