Friday, October 18, 2013

Fete de Tabaski

Earlier this week we celebrated the Fete de Tabaski, which was a day of utter relief from the stress of school and political uncertainty. Tabaski (Eid al Adha) is an annual holiday celebrated by Muslims. In Guinea, people celebrate by going to the big community prayer outdoors, eating a lot, sacrificing a sheep or goat, and relaxing with the family. I celebrated with my friend Alexis and my host family. In the morning Alexis and I got dressed up in our nicest Guinean complets and adorned some head wraps borrowed from my host mom. We headed to the big field behind the village mosque, laid our prayer mat down in the dirt under a palm tree, and greeted all the women and girls from my village.It never ceases to amaze me to see all the people from my community in one place. 

After the prayer, we headed home. My family did not have a goat or sheep to sacrifice, so thankfully we got to skip the killing and butchering and went straight to eating rice! I paid for the ingredients of Riz Gras - the most delicious (and expensive!) rice dish in Guinea. The rest of the day was spent relaxing with the family and digesting the massive amount of food that we ate. 
 Riz gras with Abou
M'mawa and her son Bouba dressed up for the fete

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