Tabaski - La Fete du Mouton

Thursday December 20th was the Tabaski (festival of the sheep) holiday in Cameroon (and I'm sure much of the Islamic world, though it may be celebrated differently in other places). Tabaski is the day that Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son but ended up sacrificing a sheep instead. In Cameroon they re-create this sacrifice.

The few days leading up to the holiday are always busy. Everyone is going to the tailor's shop to get their new clothes made; people buy all the sheep at the market and if they can't afford one they can sacrifice a goat or chicken which are much cheaper; the bakery is crowded with busy shoppers; and the women are busy getting their hair braided and henna on their hands and feet. I got henna'd the day before the party!












Thieves are also busy before the holiday, looking for anything they can get their hands on, including sheep. Issa's family bought three sheep weeks ahead of time and tied them up at the house under a tree. The second week we were here one of them got out of the compound and was wandering around the village. We looked for it for days and couldn't find it. Some of the kids in the neighborhood told Issa they saw it at a guys house tied up; his plan was to take it to Garoua and sell it. A couple days went by and Issa's Dad visited his traditional/spiritual healer (marabou) and asked him to do something. He put a "spell" on the house and compound to prevent anything from being stolen. Sure enough, two days before the holiday the sheep was found. Apparently the theif had indeed taken it to Garoua and half way down the road he turned around and came back to Djalingo. Abdou and Issa found it wandering in the market place that afternoon. Whether it was the "spell" or not, something made him turn around and bring it back. We found out who it was and Issa is unsure if he will press charges. He said humilation is enough punishment for him since the guy has not been abole to show his face in public since then because everyone knows it was him.

The day of the festival - first thing in the morning, all the men go to the mosque to pray. The Imam is there and after morning prayers he gives a sermon, then the chief gives him a sheep to make the first sacrifice of the day. After that, everyone goes home and sacrifices a sheep of their own. The women stay at home to pray when the men get back from the mosque. Here's a picture of the women in the family praying at home. Here's the poor sheep that got the first sacrifice at the mosque.


At our house we sacrificed two sheep on Thursday and the other one on Friday; good thing too because they were getting a little annoying in the mornings with their baabling right in front of our door. At noon they were ready to eat and Issa invited some of his friends over to celebrate.

A picture of the men at the mosque after the ceremony. Issa in the middle with the red scarf and his dad two over to the left with the scarf over his head.

That night we went to Garoua to the Alliance Francaise for a concert titled the Voice of the Sahel - la voix du Sahel. There were 20 musicians from all over west and central Africa playing traditional instruments and singing in local languages (fulfuldé, hausa). It was awesome!