Ramadan

The Joy Of fasting

 

How the kids celebrate the Eid

There's hundreds of kids at the Arch right now, screaming their heads off and being chased by a man dressed up as a lion. There's hundreds more at LP (the first Ice Cream shop in The Gambia), and along West Field / Kairaba avenue. They've saved up money all through the Ramadan, plus the money they got from relatives today, and now they're out to spend it and have a good time.

Imagine a hundred kids descending on a building which can at most fit about 30 people (and even then it's a tight fit). Imagine hundreds of them milling outside, the odd 20 or so getting in, the rest walking up and down Kairaba Avenue, down one of the busiest highways in the country (add cars to your mental picture - lots of cars), at night, in a dark lit by a few street-lights, and you've about got it right. Just mix in noise and chaos.

The Ramadan is Over

...and that post title does not even begin to convey my happiness.

It's Koriteh (Eid Ul Fitr) today - people are at the mosque right now praying. The women in my house spent the whole night yesterday at the tailor's shop, waiting for their dresses to finish being made.

It's a joyous time (though nowhere as wild as Tobaski, the feast of the slaughter of the rams - I've always wondered why the slaughter of the rams was not done after the Ramadan, when people have been hungry for a month).

Anyways you can now expect more posts, as your humble author will not be constrained by the gnawing pains in his stomach anymore.

The Ramadan is Over

...and that post title does not even begin to convey my happiness.

It's Koriteh (Eid Ul Fitr) today - people are at the mosque right now praying.

The Ramadan is Over

...and that post title does not even begin to convey my happiness.

The Ramadan is Over

...and that post title does not even begin to convey my happiness.

Kulumaa

Yesterday was Laylatul Qadr, the Night of Fate, when the Qur'an was first revealed to the Prophet, and the fates of all men (and women) for the following year are decided. It means there are only three or four days left for the Ramadan to finish, and lunches to come back to The Gambia. It also meant kids going from door to door during the night, in groups of three or four, holding bowls into which adults put sweets and rice and other food they had lying around - like trick-or-treating, but minus the tricks. This is called kulamaa. My mother got a cake, and sliced off a portion for each group of kids who came to my house, until it ran out. Then afterwards most people went and spent the night at the mosque, praying and listening to sermons - whatever you ask for on Laylatul Qadr shall be given to you.

Ramadan

It's Ramadan time in The Gambia - it started on Friday, and the days are slooooowly crawling by, filled with hunger and heat, not the best combination in the world. My cousin told me that the sun evaporates your body juices, and it's the best metaphor I have heard yet to describe what the sun actually does to you during the day, should you dare to venture outside. As usual, there have been some pretty wild/funny (at least to the spectators) street-fights, mainly between drivers of cars in the evening, about an hour before the break of the fast, when tempers are really short, and traffic jams really long. Indiana-Jones-style fist fights are not a rare sight during Ramadan.