Photo Essay: Eid al-Adha, The Muslim Festival Of Sacrifice [GRAPHIC]
Great Eid, as it is also known in Egypt, is arguably Islam’s most important festival. It takes place each year on the tenth day of Dhu al-Hijja (the twelfth month of the lunar Islamic calendar), at the culmination of the pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj.
The festival commemorates the biblical story in which Ibrahim (known to Christians and Jews as Abraham) is willing to sacrifice his son for God, but is given a reprieve at the last second and ends up killing a ram instead.
In honour of this supreme demonstration of loyalty and submission to God, families that can afford to do so will sacrifice an animal for Eid. Usually it’s a sheep, but occasionally a cow, goat or even a camel is killed.
Professional butchers perform many of the sacrifices, but some families kill the animal themselves at their own home. To be truly halal, the animals should be treated with compassion and kindness. They should not see another animal killed, or even the knife that ends their own life. Death should be as swift as possible.
Sadly, in a country such as Egypt, the practicalities of slaughtering tens of thousands of animals in a short space of time mean that these ideal conditions are often not met.
The photos below tell part of a story that is too easily overlooked. Be warned that some of the pictures are quite gruesome. But this is the Feast of the Sacrifice, when the streets really do run with blood.
1.Al-Madbah, Cairo’s main slaughter area, the day before the feast.
2.An old man puffs on his shisha pipe whilst watching over his flock.
3.A knowing stare. Photo: Nadia Maanani
4.Packing the sheep into a truck for delivery.
5.This live sheep has been tied to the top of the taxi, and is being driven to the buyer’s home.
6.A sheep resisting the inevitable.
7.The sheep are sold by weight.
8.Casual onlookers enjoy a Pepsi during a lull in the action.
9.One of the al-Madbah slaughterhouses. No part of the sheep is wasted.
10.A barefoot boy peddling sheep heads in al-Madbah. Photo: Nadia Maanani
11.A farmer shows his cow a little bit of loving.
12.The local butchers get some help dragging the cow to its destiny.
13.A slaughter like this is a community event, commonly filmed by people on their mobile phones.
14.The killing blow should be as swift and clean as possible.
15.Children dip their hands in the congealing blood and try to tag each other.
16.The aftermath. Soon the streets will be cleaned for next year.
What do you think of the festival? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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Amazing photos, Nick (and a nice write up too). There’s nothing quite like a little taste of death to make you appreciate life, is there?
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Wow, this is intense. I thin the most jarring image is the kids with the blood on their hands and giant smiles on their face!
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Amazing, amazing pics, Nick. As I said when I posted it on FB, one of the best photo essays I’ve seen in a while.
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Nick, echoing Christine, one of the best photo essays I’ve seen!
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Many thanks for your comments, everyone. I’ve found it quite difficult to integrate the experience of shooting this photo essay (and some of the more graphic images – not pictured – still come back to me sometimes when I close my eyes), so it’s gratifying to hear that people are taking something from it.
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Wow. I felt like I was watching a car accident. I didn’t want to look, but I couldn’t help it. I’m repulsed and fascinated at the same time.
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Good one, Nick! Evocative and very real!
I find myself hoping the animals had good lives up until Eid! If so, they’re better off than most farm animals in the west.↵ -
Well done, Nick! Excellent photo essay, and great (albeit gruesome) photos.
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true stuff. Thanks Nick. Your contributions are always unique and valuable and this photo essay is exactly the kind of travel content that I love.
The story of Abraham and the sacrificial ram is one that I know well from my Sunday school days. It was a favorite fable of unwavering devotion, much like the story of Job. But more often than not they provoked distrust and uneasiness of the adults preaching.↵ -
This is awesome, I love the one of the kid dragging away the sheep. I suspect this is so viscerally disturbing not because of any inherent cruelty, but more for the fact that hardly any of us are used to watching animals being slaughtered. The orgy of religious bloodlust is slightly bizarre, but this is pretty much how those unfortunate creatures were going to die anyway.
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Wow. I saw a movie that took place in Algeria and there was live footage of a similar event taking place in a small village. It was a spectacle, but nothing in comparison to what you’ve captured here. Very provocative!
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My dang laptop is stuck on photo #13 but, from what I can see you did a great job with the camera and the keyboard !
Cheers,
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Fantastic photo essay Nick! So well done.
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Thanks again, people, for all the great comments!
@ JoAnna – Watching a car accident, being repulsed and fascinated. Yep, I felt like that taking these.
@ Sophie and Ross – You are right, we aren’t used to seeing animals killed in public. What struck me was the offhand way in which some of them were dispatched. They should, in theory, have had a “good” life before they were sacrificed, but who knows…?
@ Josh – thanks man, I appreciate that! About the story of Abraham, do you mean the people preaching it became uneasy, or that the people listening to it did? I could see it going either way, or both. It’s a difficult story to come to terms with, I think.
@ Kate – I actually thought of videoing some of these scenes, but couldn’t bring myself to do it.
@ Mike and Lola – coming from people whose photography I greatly admire, that means a lot. Thanks!
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Nick,although yr pic’s are the reality of a religion however you’ve missed the spirit of it .It is not only sacrificing a sheep for God but also sharing the meat with poor people who have not chance to eat meat very often in their lives .The rule is you have to give away 6 parts of it to others(poors) and you can only keep one part of the animal for yourself.This way lots of poor people accept meat from their wealthy neighbours and feed their families.Just wanted to add this info.
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Awesome photo essay Nick! It tells a good story about an insight into how these people live.
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Wow. These photos really show what Eid is like. I lived in Muslim countries for four years and finally worked up the stomach to see the sacrifice last year. It was so common to see goats all around, tied to the roofs of cars, etc. that I never even thought to take pictures of it! The one I attended was more of a family affair with our landlord’s, so it was seen as a religious event and I didn’t feel comfortable bringing out the camera. My landlady was muttering ‘bismillahs’ that entire time, and half the family couldn’t bear to watch. They actually started skinning the goat when it was still kicking.
The trend up the upper class in Pakistan is to “order” their Eid meat from local stores so they don’t have to deal with all the blood and mess in their car parks. I found the concept interesting, especially because “With your consent, Zenith will distribute the meat among the destitute on its own.”
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i am really very happy that these photos reminded me of this event in my own country. Great Egyptians……..i love you. you do it the way it should be. Keep it up.
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And another thing ………..you Mr. Heather, you are wrong about Pakistanis. Whether its the upper class or the lower class, we all do it the way we have been Ordered. I do not know what fucking country you are talking about. Never try to be Over smart when it comes to anything about PAKISTAN. UNDERSTAND???
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