Tabasky is the one remaining holiday that I was excited for. I have seen Ramadan, Noël, Easter, Birthdays, Weddings, and Funerals in West Africa. I have seen all the Burkina-centric holidays including Burkina Independence Day. I have even participated in several world days including International Women’s Day and Earth Day (which I brought to Tenkodogo).
But not Tabasky. Last year Tabasky fell on Thanksgiving during a time in which I was unfortunately a Peace Corps Volunteer with no village. I was able to see people in Ouagadougou celebrate, but having no real connection to Ouaga made Tabasky unimportant for me last year. So this was my chance, my one and only chance, to celebrate Tabasky with my friends in Tenkodogo.
And how did I celebrate it? By catching a minor flu and staying in bed until 4PM. Never have I been so disappointed. But I rush ahead of myself. What is Tabasky and why was I so disappointed to have spent the day sick in bed?
Tabasky is a Muslim holiday locally known as the day of sheep meat. It is essentially, in Burkina, the equivalent of Thanksgiving, a day spent with family and food, lots and lots of food. Though a Muslim holiday, Christians are invited and encouraged to eat with their Muslim friends and family. It is a day of happiness and sharing, and lots of sheep meat. If you read the Bradt Travel Guide about Burkina Faso, you will read that in Tenkodogo, the streets are flowing with sheep meat in reference to how much sheep is slaughtered and then roasted and eaten on Tabasky in Tenkodogo. I must admit, however, that I don’t quite understand why Tenkodogo is selected as the place to be when I am fairly certain that Tabasky is big all across Burkina Faso.
Though I am rough on my history, Tabasky, or L’Aid El Kébir, comes from the day God gave Abraham the choice to sacrifice his child to prove his love in the Old Testament. When Abraham agreed, God told Abraham that he could instead sacrifice a sheep. If I am wrong, please forgive me, but I am only going off of what I understand.
In Burkina, Muslim men buy new Boubous (traditional robes often made from Malian Bezin) and Muslim women by new dresses made from the same fabric; families theme their clothes so that they are made with the same patterns and designs-seeing all the little children wearing the same clothing is adorable! The practice is common here for all holidays with Tabasky and Ramadan being the days when Bezin is the fabric of choice. After 10AM prayer, families return to start the cooking: sheep is number one, but chickens, goats, cows, and turkeys, are not spared. Plates are accompanied by couscous and various sauces, and drinks including hibiscus juice (Bissap) and baobab juice (Tédo) are consumed. Around 2PM families, including Christians, hit the town being sure to greet all their family and friends, and eating at every stop on the way. Kids will often ask for candy or small amounts of money-it’s Burkina style Halloween. I personally prefer to give candy away since I don’t like giving coins.
So as you can see, I was frustrated. I missed seeing the morning prayer, I missed the fresh grilled sheep meat, and I missed the door to door greetings! 4PM was enough; I was not going to miss this whole day. So I rolled out of bed with my 100 degree fever, put on my Boubou, and hit the town. It may have been too late to get my eat on, but I can at least greet and wish good tiding to all my Muslim friends and their families right?
Silly me, the party doesn’t stop, and there is definitely no shortage of food. First stop was to my friend Aboubacar’s house, probably the person to convince me to leave my bed in the first place. He insisted that if I found the energy I needed to stop at his house. He saved some chicken and tô, though I confess I was not very hungry due to being sick, for me to eat. We took fantastic photos of him with his bright blue boubou, his daughter, wife, and me with my blue and brown.
Aboubacar, his daughter, and me
Second stop was to my tailor’s house. He was unfortunately not home, but his kids were, so I gave them each a piece of candy and headed off. I tried calling him but our French-Mooré conversations never go to far. After that I rolled on over to my proviseur’s (principal) house where I was served some sheep meat and a lovely coke. (Coincidentally, as I later found out, due to Tabasky all cokes and fantas in Tenkodogo are out, we await our next shipments). Last stop was to my friend Tarnagda’s house, a fellow teacher of mine who has helped me out a lot since coming to Tenko. He was finished for the day, but I made him put on his brown boubou for a photo shoot. I was served a plate of couscous and beef, and then was on my way.
Me standing with my proviseur
With the Tarnagda family
It was 9PM, and my body could not take it anymore. So I went back to the house, and slept. It ended up being a wonderful evening and I am very happy that I went out. So while I am disappointed that I missed all the morning fun, I am happy that I went out later. In truth I wanted none of the food that I was served due again to being sick, which is unfortunate because it was the best food I have been served since arriving in Burkina, but none of my friends would take no for an answer; they absolutely insisted that I at least try to eat. And eat I did.
Bonne fête à toute la monde! Happy Tabasky everyone!
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