...eat a live cow if I want to. Some like cake, others prefer live livestock, and no, there is no redundancy in that phrase. Yesterday was the the celebration of the Prophet Mohamed's birthday, known as Eid-al-Mawlid. And other than being a day off work, it's a rather important time for families to get together, eat special food, sing, dance, pray . . . and eat a living cow. Now, I wouldn't want you to get the wrong impression. This practice is not characteristic of Islam as practiced by most Moroccans, but rather a Sufi tradition that is honored in celebration of the Prophet's birthday. So each year (this year it fell on March 9th) Sufis gather in a particular city here in Morocco, Meknes, which lies particularly close to where I live, Ifrane, and therefor gave me a particularly good reason to travel to Meknes and check out the festivities. Now, I have to admit that my interests were beyond pure cultural intrigue. No, I was ready to see some action, blood, and all the calamity this celebration is notorious for. In fact, what sparked my interest, was the experience of a colleague of mine the previous year. Here's how his story goes:
- French colleague goes to Meknes with his Moroccan wife.
- Couple takes all cultural precautions by not wearing black, red, or green, the forbidden colors on this particular day.
- Couple goes to Sufi procession to witness their wild dance, self-torture, and of course, rhythmic drumming.
- Tranced, whirling Sufis mistake French colleague's navy blue jacket for black and pounce on him.
- About half a dozen Sufis tear off his clothes, exposing his chest, biting and scratching, eating his black wallet, and ripping the hair off his frantic wife's scull. Maybe they mistook him for the cow.
- Moroccan bystanders break up the fight while the police watch.
- Couple leaves Meknes immediately.
- French colleague shows war wounds to me at work on Monday.
So, you can see why I was interested. But in all fairness, and for PC disclaimer purposes, this experience cannot be applied to all sects of Sufism.
Anyway, so my friend and I went to this same celebration, witnessed the same trancing, dancing, and drumming, but to our dismay, no livestock feasting. What we did see, however, were groups of 30-40 Sufis, whirling around each other in a circle, when suddenly a fight breaks out between two women. One woman actually rips out a clump of hair and throws it into the riled crowd. Then, as if on cue, the entire group stops their drumming, halts their dancing, and makes a sprinting dash towards the mosque entrance. Even men older than my grandmother were running like gazelles towards the arched doors. Later on, we discovered the reason for this hurried procession. They were simply hungry. The live cow that was to be eaten was inside the mosque, and if anyone can empathize with the severity of hunger pangs, it's me. So, next time you're planning your birthday, try to think outside the conventional box of ice-cream cakes and candles, and consider a more carnivorous concoction.
