As I wrote in my last entry, I had a short break from school for the Eid holiday and had the opportunity to travel with my Sudanese friend Amar to his family’s village in Northern Sudan. Let me start by saying that this trip was one of the most incredible experiences of my life and one that I will never forget. I’ve been trying to think of creative ways to organize these blog entries about the trip but nothing has come to me so I am just going to start writing and see where it goes.
The bus ride itself was quite an experience. The drive from Khartoum to Dongola is about six hours of nothing but desert. At first there were some shrubs but after awhile it was nothing but sand. I’ve never seen desert like that before and it was really quite beautiful. There were some small groups of mud huts along the way and God only knows how the people living there survive. We stopped at a kind of rest area with some tents set up and people selling tea and snacks. I asked Amar if there was a restroom and he laughed and pointed to the desert. So I walked out behind the tent a little ways and I must admit it was pretty cool to look out over the desert while I was peeing. Another exciting event was when the bus broke down. We all got out while the driver and some other men tried to fix it and I was having visions of being stranded out in the middle of the desert. Fortunately the problem was fixed after only 15 minutes or so and we made our way to Dongola. Dongola is a state in Northern Sudan and the capital of the state takes the same name. We then took another van to Mashu, Amar’s village, about an hour north of Dongola. The van was packed to the brim and in true African style a couple of guys rode on the roof. There was a beautiful sunset over the desert and after a painful, bumpy ride (no paved roads outside of the capital) we finally arrived. I think word spread quickly that a khawaje (white person) was in town and many people came to see and say hello. After a traditional Sudanese meal of bread and fuul (a bean dish cooked with oil and spices), I got a call from my family back in the States (it was Thanksgiving), which was nice. After a long day of travelling, I was happy to go to bed early and get some much needed rest.
The next day was the start of Eid and the real festivities. Eid is a celebration of when Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac but God gave him a ram instead. In remembrance of this event, Muslims around the world sacrifice sheep. The holiday lasts for three days and is like an extended Thanksgiving. Many Sudanese people return to their villages and then different households sacrifice sheep for a specific meal so each meal is eaten at a different house. In Sudan, breakfast is served around 11, lunch is around 5, and dinner is around 10. The house at which I was staying was responsible for breakfast on the first day of Eid so after everybody went to the mosque to pray in the morning, it was time for the sacrifice. While three people held the sheep down, the man with the knife said Bismila (In the name of God) and cut the throat. And when I say cut the throat, I mean he sawed through the windpipe and everything. There wasn’t as much blood as I expected but the sounds that the sheep made as the life went out of it were not exactly pleasant. But one sheep wasn’t enough for this meal so while two men started to skin the first sheep, another was brought out into the courtyard. As they brought the second sheep out, two people held up a sheet over the first sheep so the second one wouldn’t see his buddy lying there with his throat cut and freak out. After repeating the process with sheep number two, the serious work of cleaning and cutting the meat began. This was a group project and there were probably ten men working together. It was quite an impressive operation and after about thirty minutes all the meat was cut and ready to go.
While watching sheep get slaughtered was pretty cool, the real treat was the meal itself. Meat obviously doesn’t get any fresher than that and it was the best lamb I have ever had. There were four main lamb dishes: cubed meat that was spiced and grilled, meat on the bone that I’m not sure how they cooked, some kind of lamb stew, and grilled liver, which was surprisingly pretty good. Add some bread and a bowl of fuul and you’ve got yourself an Eid feast. All of this food was brought out on huge metal platters and everyone sat around them on the floor and dug in with their hands. When I say hands I mean hand because you only eat with your right hand. This was a little tricky for me seeing as I’m left handed but I managed okay. Also, my mother and sister will love this, the men and women eat separately. And every meal is followed by a delicious cup of tea. Although some households would add another dish, this same basic meal was served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for three days straight. While I never thought I could get sick of lamb, I have to admit that after about the 6th or 7th meal I was ready for something different. But I certainly wasn’t going to complain.
I think that’s enough for one entry and as I’ve been writing, I think I have formulated a way to organize these blog entries about my trip to Dongola. This entry describes the Eid holiday, then I think I will write one about life in Mashu and the people I met there, and finally a description of my visit to the ancient site of Karma. This could certainly change but it sounds good to me now. So hopefully that’s a good teaser and I will try to write those other posts soon.
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