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Goats herald the coming of Eid in Hyderbad
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The refrain begins nearly three days prior to the big day: "Bakrai ka hai?" or "Where are the goats?”
As you drive through the crowded streets of Hyderabad, India, you strain for the sight of goats huddled and bleating placidly on the side of the roads. Then the word spreads through the streets: "Bakrai dik gaiya!" or "Goats have been seen!"
To be sure, goat sighting is serious business here. When they gather the true fun (and work) of Eid ul Adha begins.
The coming of the goats is but one of many signs that Eid ul Adha is approaching in Hyderabad, located in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. Though India is a predominately Hindu country, Hyderabad enjoys a unique perspective from its nearly equal Muslim and Hindu population. Thus Eid ul Adha gets special treatment in this city, where the sacrifice of the goat/lamb/cow is done right at home amidst familial faith, excitement and enjoyment.
Last week I spent my first Eid outside the United States, and Hyderabad was my city of choice (my husband and I have family here). Unlike Eids in the United States, which are often rushed affairs, Eid is an entirely different story here in Hyderabad, and a lot of it has to do with two things: the annual Numaish (shopping festival) and the sacrifice of the goats that is done right at home.
The Numaish is mainly ladies' territory, with hundreds of small stalls offering the latest in IndoPak fashions, home furnishings, costume jewelry and other sundries. People come out in droves to shop and bargain for deals.
Ladies often do their Eid shopping at the Numaish, buying beautiful stitched and unstitched Kashmiri, Handloom or Lucknow suits to wear on Eid ul Adha. The fun comes in the choosing and the bargaining. Shopkeepers call out to you as you pass buy: "Madam! What can I show you?" And at each evening's close, they beckon you with promises of unheard of deals, whispering slashed prices so that store owners in the back can't hear. It's a shopper's (and bargainer's) dream come true.
The second factor in boostering Eid ul Adha's enjoyment scale in Hyderabad is the sacrifice. Of course it is a hard, dirty, smelly and at times rather disgusting job as well. But there's a larger picture to be seen: The fun of going into town and buying goats. One main street in Hyderabad is clogged with thousands of goats grouped by their dealers. Cars and Autos (Hyderabad's three-wheel taxi) line up on the roadside while men choose their goats. They then gently load them up (sometimes eight to ten in one Auto) and quickly transport them to their homes.
What a comical sight to see cars and Autos beeping on the streets filled with quiet goats mustering as much dignity as they can. I tagged along with my husband and father-in-law to see them buy our goats -- five in all -- which were quickly transported back to our home. At home they were penned up and given plenty of grass to pass the night.
In many homes where children are present, a unique friendship can emerge between child and animal, which makes for a harder sacrifice the next day. My husband, who lived with his large joint family growing up, recalls all the cousins naming the goats and playing with them, only realize the tragicomic folly the next day of such a friendship.
That problem was moot at our home, with my two-and-a-half-year-old son being the only little one around; and he had little use for the goats. In fact on the day of Eid, he calmly sat on the veranda eating his eggs and bread with his back to the chaos while his grandfather and father did their duties.
On the morning of Eid the men went off to an early prayer at the masjid, and then rounded up some butchers on their way home. Then, after reciting the correct prayer and giving the goats water, they quickly performed the sacrifice. After that it was up to the butchers. All the work is done right at home -- cleaning, cutting, and the dividing up of the meat into three equal portions for your own family, your relatives and friends and the needy.
It is a rather disgusting and tiresome business for all, especially the women to whom the job of supervising of the butchering and divvying up of the meat is left. Perhaps since the responsibility wasn't solely mine (and since it was my first time seeing everything up close), I got a lot more fun out of it. There's such a content feeling in making the packets of meat yourself to give to relatives. Often you get back as much as you give.
But the real joy is in giving the needy their portion. In Hyderabad, those in need come right to your doorstep. Back in America I would help my parents bundle up the meat, which they would take to a local masjid that in turn would give to the needy. Here you put it right in their hands. It's worth the hard work to be able to give away all the meat directly in one morning's time. I can't describe the feeling of peace that comes from doing that. Perhaps the feeling was amplified for me by this being my first time, but my mother-in-law assured me the good feeling is there every year.
The work of the sacrifice can go on for the three days of Eid, but we wrapped it up in one day. We spent the rest of the day (and next two days) in feasting and meeting our family and friends. Everywhere we went, my relatives eagerly asked how I enjoyed my first Eid in Hyderabad. Was I grossed out? No. It was truly a blessed occasion -- religiously fulfilling and entertaining as well.
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