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This property was reserved by ediper I'm 19 years old, from Illinois, USA. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| THe Kurban Celebration | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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��������� GREATER BAIRAM � One of the greatest traditions in my country, Turkey, is the celebration of the "Greater Bairam" which is the sacrificing of animals for God (Allah). Animal Sacrifice should be done by every Muslim who is performing Pilgrimage (Haj-Arabic meaning) at Holy city, Mecca (Saudi Arabia) or those who are non-Haji (non-pilgrimages) capable of financing the animal. In every Muslim society, people always look forward to this celebration because in this, besides animal sacrificing, people who can afford going to pilgrimage are excited about visiting the holly city Mecca where the Prophet Muhammad was born and where it is the epicenter of Islam. But most important of all I think donation of the meat for poor and the family gatherings are the most sentimental values and taste of life which I am sure that I wouldn�t find anywhere on the world. In the first point of view to non-Muslims, the animal sacrifice in Islam could be considered cruel, however if we take a look at the history of this situation we can see that how this is important to the Muslims. According to an article obtained from the Internet on 2/8/1999 (http://andhratoday.com/festival/eid.htm), thousands of years ago, Prophet Ibrahim and his wife couldn�t have a child of their own so his wife suggested him to marry another women in order to have a child. When Prophet Ibrahim, at the age of eighty, had his first child, Ismail, from his second wife, he was very happy and delightful. Then several years after, his first wife also gave birth to another child, Isaac. While Ismail was in his early age, Prophet Ibrahim saw a dream. In his dream, God was asking him to sacrifice the dearest and the most beloved to him. First he sacrificed 100 camels but the dream kept appearing until he found out that the most beloved for him was his first son, Ismail. Although he loved both of his sons very much, because Ismail being the first, he knew that the dearest to him was his first, son Ismail. Prophet Ibrahim didn�t have any choice, but to do what God requested of him. When he was about to slaughter his son (with his son�s agreement) God was pleased with him and he exchanged his son with a lamb. "As you can see, the whole thing is symbolical", as indicated by the article. Furthermore, it continues by stating that God does not require or desire flesh and blood of animals, which I strongly believe and agree. God only wants us to be good believers who can give up their whole beings one day if required. Consequently, God doesn�t ask us to slaughter our children, so he obliges that all Muslims should sacrifice animals until the Day of Judgment. This celebration, Bairam, takes place, every year during a certain time based on the Islamic Calendar, which is moon-based. But when it is converted into sun based calendar the date of this celebration occurs eleven days or so before the previous year. Bairam lasts for three days and in every Muslim society and country all around the world these days are defined as holidays. People can sacrifice their animals anytime during these days but most of all sacrifices are done in the first day. In this celebration, we sacrifice animals such as sheep, a cow and sometimes in the Middle Eastern countries camels. However in my country, people prefer sheep and cows because not only is it difficult to find a camel, it is much more expensive. The sacrifice of the animal can be done in places like in the back yard of houses, or certain places, where the city municipality has designated or on the private ranches. The butcher, could either be a professsional butcher or any ordinary person who knows how to butcher the sacrifiee. Before the sacrifice begins the butcher says some prayers in order to bless the animal, then when he finishes his words, he asks the owner of the sacrifiee if he is giving him right to sacrifice the animal, when the owner gives permission to butcher by saying "Yes, I do", the butcher starts the process. After killing the animal from it�s throat he leaves the sacrifiee for several minutes in order to drain out blood because in Islam, the meat could not be eaten if there is still blood. The butcher will then shaves the animal�s skin off . Finally , the meat is brought to the homes in big bowls to be cleaned, cut and seperated in order to distribute to the poor. One of the crucial factors in sacrificing these animals is not to eat all the meat but to donate one third of it to the poor people of the town or city where you are living, or to the neighbors who couldn�t afford a sacrifice an animal. This doesn�t mean that a person "should" give all of the one third of the meat to the neighbors, one can either separate the portion to smaller pieces and share with various neighbors or donate the whole portion to the poor. In my family the cutting and cleaning process of the meat can be a humorous event because everyone are filled with joy and happiness of the celebration. No body is neither arguing nor shouting with each other because every family member knows what to do and how to do. My father helps my mother in the cutting and separating the meat into pieces, which is not so difficult. All you need are very sharp and quality knives otherwise processing the meat can be very laborious. We cut the meat into small sizes in order to fit into the refrigerator. My sister makes up the special salad called "The Shepherd�s Salad", that includes ample tomatoes cut in to small pieces, onion and parsley chopped and mixed with olive oil. While my mother, father and my sister are busy with their work, I prepare the table for the Bairam Meal. The set-up needn�t be an elaborate one because the only food that is supposed to be eaten is the fresh meat of the animal and maybe rice. While all these preparations are going on, my brother hands away the meat to the poor, which has already been arranged before the Bairam Day. This is the part which I like the best; cooking, which my mother who is really an expert in. Additionally, I must state that she is one of the best cooks I have ever seen in my life because I have never regretted any food I have eaten that is cooked by her, ever since I was born. The traditional meal of the Bairam is meat cut into small chunks, which we call it "Kushbashi", that means bird�s head, as a result, the meat is cut in to small pieces like a bird�s head. In the first day the tradition is just to eat this meat which is roasted, in the pan with little bit of butter. This gives a juicy taste and a buttery smell that makes it smell even much better. After cooking one pan of meat for an hour we serve it either with salad or bulgur, which is boiled pounded wheat. When all this is done we finally get to eat the deliciously cooked meat with a great hunger. Joy and fun is on the mountain�s peak, which we share them in our hearts. Furthermore we also don�t forget to talk about our day and the past Bairams with excitement. After the meal, we eat the special desert called Baklava, which is also a tradition to cook and serve in Bairams. The crunchy top and the juicy syrup makes you feel so good that you don�t want or desire to eat anything else after the taste which baklava leaves on your tongue. During Bairams it is also important for family members to convene in one place which is usually the grandparents� or parents� house as a matter of respect to them. If members of the family live in different regions of the country or, they gather in these days and enjoy the enthusiasm of the Bairam altogether. Fore those who can�t make it to the family gatherings, it is common to call or send greetings to his/her relatives. In summary, the first day of Bairam is spent with the traditional meal and the gatherings of the family members. That day usually ends with a little tiredness but definitely a full stomach. The second and the third day are the days where people go and visit each other. Because every host is expecting visitors to come so the houses are cleaned several days prior to Bairam, which we call it the "Bairam cleaning up". Generally, the few days before Bairams first day, you can hear women saying that they are doing Bairam cleaning up, which usually cause quite a stir among house wives. I believe that in every traditional event in Turkey there is an important event that we celebrate and act as a reminder to some significant part of life. To me, it is the Bairam Day. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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