Gurban
need to say that one of the photos is from Yemen, not Azerbaijan. Not sure how to remove the photo of the men wearing the Yemeni knives at their waists. It belongs to the Yemen group.
There are many elements of this culture that I envy and admire and I particularly admire the spiritual homogeneity. January 21 was Gurban, the holiday when Muslims celebrate the sacrifice that Abraham intended with his son Isaac, and the salvation of Isaac by the lamb appearing in the nearby brush. Every Muslim family that is able, buys a lamb, or cow in some cases, and slaughters the lamb. They eat the lamb and give portions to the poor. I was actually leaving Azerbaijan on that day and I imagined that I could hear from the airplane the collective bleating of hundreds of thousands of sacrificial sheep. So, I did not get to experience this sacred holiday in person but I did see a video of the celebration made by my host family in Baku. Brothers and aunts and uncles and cousins congregated and watched the lamb become sacrifice gurban. One man took blood from the lamb and made a mark on the children’s foreheads; this will help them to not be fearful of the threatening things in life.
I think one of the reasons the society can be so openly passionate is that, for the most part, they share the same religion. In the last letter I described Gurban. If a person does not celebrate Gurban, they must still accept the celebration because the manifestations can not be avoided. I spent the eve of Gurban in Baku. When I am in Baku, I rent an apartment that happens to be across the street from the British Embassy. Tethered in this street, near the heart of the downtown, was a sheep that bleated all night. This sheep was awaiting its role of sacrifice on January 21st. Now, if I had been home in Lawrence and I heard a sheep crying all night, I would call the police. I would not think, “Oh, Gurban is so important I must tolerate this sheep crying all night.” On the tail of this holiday, is Maharamlik, the holiday that memorializes the death of Ali, the grandson of Mohammed. The Azeri Shia Islamic world memorializes his death every year for 50 days. There is the 40 day standard period of mourning, then 10 more days for a purpose I don’t quite understand. Also, no weddings are held during this time so now that it is over, there are weddings every day. A happy time. I find it interesting that a 40 day time period occurs in so many religious ceremonies.
I will sign off now. It is possible that this will be my last letter home. I may be home a bit earlier than anticipated…maybe early June, or mid June. I have applied for another location with this program for next year. IF I am rehired, I may go to another former Soviet Republic or the Near East, Inshallah. I hope you have enjoyed the letters.
There are many elements of this culture that I envy and admire and I particularly admire the spiritual homogeneity. January 21 was Gurban, the holiday when Muslims celebrate the sacrifice that Abraham intended with his son Isaac, and the salvation of Isaac by the lamb appearing in the nearby brush. Every Muslim family that is able, buys a lamb, or cow in some cases, and slaughters the lamb. They eat the lamb and give portions to the poor. I was actually leaving Azerbaijan on that day and I imagined that I could hear from the airplane the collective bleating of hundreds of thousands of sacrificial sheep. So, I did not get to experience this sacred holiday in person but I did see a video of the celebration made by my host family in Baku. Brothers and aunts and uncles and cousins congregated and watched the lamb become sacrifice gurban. One man took blood from the lamb and made a mark on the children’s foreheads; this will help them to not be fearful of the threatening things in life.
I think one of the reasons the society can be so openly passionate is that, for the most part, they share the same religion. In the last letter I described Gurban. If a person does not celebrate Gurban, they must still accept the celebration because the manifestations can not be avoided. I spent the eve of Gurban in Baku. When I am in Baku, I rent an apartment that happens to be across the street from the British Embassy. Tethered in this street, near the heart of the downtown, was a sheep that bleated all night. This sheep was awaiting its role of sacrifice on January 21st. Now, if I had been home in Lawrence and I heard a sheep crying all night, I would call the police. I would not think, “Oh, Gurban is so important I must tolerate this sheep crying all night.” On the tail of this holiday, is Maharamlik, the holiday that memorializes the death of Ali, the grandson of Mohammed. The Azeri Shia Islamic world memorializes his death every year for 50 days. There is the 40 day standard period of mourning, then 10 more days for a purpose I don’t quite understand. Also, no weddings are held during this time so now that it is over, there are weddings every day. A happy time. I find it interesting that a 40 day time period occurs in so many religious ceremonies.
I will sign off now. It is possible that this will be my last letter home. I may be home a bit earlier than anticipated…maybe early June, or mid June. I have applied for another location with this program for next year. IF I am rehired, I may go to another former Soviet Republic or the Near East, Inshallah. I hope you have enjoyed the letters.
posted by janet adams | 2:56 PM
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