Gibril our guide is a very open and correct muslim man. My french over 10 hours driving with Sheila sometimes asleep in the back stumbles and feels baby like with the bigger concepts let alone jokes. However we get by and discuss the Tabaski feast of the morrow. As we motor along we witness the mass exodus of mouton ontop beside and beneath everywhere resigned tied mutton faces stare out. They will be sacrificed in a reenactment of the Abraham and Isaac story. Gibril whose namesake arch angel actually stayed Abraham's hand is anxious because he has not enough to buy a lamb for feasting on. When one considers the average price is close to a months rent and negotiations start at the absolutely last minute due to the lack of refrigeration the whole scene becomes impossible. Huge temporary markets filled with hungry looking sheep have been on most corners for the last month and when one considers the whole muslim world is forced to do the same everywhere it is no wonder the live sheep trade is so profitable to australians.. Simply the way 1000,s os animals are so badly treated while alive and then mass bbq'd by amateur butchers makes me know why I support Humane international each payday.
Most households will be killing a sheep tomorrow in the morning after prayers. Knives are displayed through the windows in increasing numbers as we wade through Pikine a suburb of a million to the north. Gibril invites us to his home for a vegetarian lunch with his wife and 7 kids. Their two room place is starkly lacking in furniture and Gibril's wife is not invited to eat with us despite preparing everything early after a telephone call.
We eat from a communal plate off the plastic sheet on the floor and I'm so glad our host explained to eat with right hand only. Coke is poured and I make the mistake of attempting to include Gibril's wife without any real success. The way that the world work's here is different and I pull in my head. Nice bloke with some understanding of Australia from the movies Gibril but I reckon he'd last 2 seconds with that kind of attitude.
Anyway the 7 kids are sad to see us go. We give him a present as we say goodbye and hope that it will not be spent on Tabaski slaughter.
Home to wash and sleep in our calm suburb nestled between the mamellles.
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