Eid in Salalah

If you know the beat to the song 'Feeling Hot Hot Hot', then sing along with me:
My stomach's on fire ...
Ma'ajeen is my desire ...
Eating Meat Meat Meat ...
Eating Meat Meat Meat ..
Party people ... all around Salalah .. Eating Meat Meat Meat ...
Throw your hands in the air!
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How are you all? I'm in a wacky mood today, but I promised you my Eid post, so here goes..
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The days before Eid were absolute hell. I thought Eid Al-Adha is about celebrating life's small blessings like food and shelter. Why it is that we're so obsessed with shopping before Eid? Buy buy buy. Why? Do we really need to replace the majlis furniture for Eid? Must I buy ten new dresses for Eid? Do we really need to show off that much? We're supposed to 'give'. I bought three bright 'cotton' thobe bothails (Father Of the Tail dresses) for Eid. Thank goodness my family don't like the fancy crap that other people must go through for Eid like having to get heavily embroidered silky shiny expensive thobes to show off. I did not get henna done nor did I dye my hair bright yellow. I did not buy new blue contact lenses or bukhoor. I don't feel the need for all that. For me Eid is about seeing family and spending extra time learning about what's going on in their lives.

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However, Dhofaris seemed to have other plans. I could not even get near the centre of town during Eid. I tried FIVE TIMES to buy Halwa at my favourite Halwa shop but I couldn't get near it! It was so crowded! Women on thobe street شارع عطية were busy buying clothes and blocking all traffic. I couldn't enter any supermarket because it was crowded with people buying the exact-same-items. More like Ramadan shopping! I decided not to go out. I paid my cousin a fee to go and buy Halwa for our house. He was pleased and keeps on offering his services. Perhaps he sees a potential source of income. (he's 17).
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On the morning of Eid, I woke up at dawn for prayers. Believe it or not, there was like 20 seconds of rain but then it stopped. I then dozed off again knowing that I'd wake up to the sound of the Imam's voice and Eid prayers soon enough. I woke up again to the sound of 'Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar!' (God is Great), and just like a child I jumped out of bed excited for Eid. It's was 7 a.m. I know some of you are thinking 'Why wake up so early? No one wakes up early except children'. Well, to you pessmists, Eid is a celebration and I choose to celebrate. I put on a new bright green Father of the Tail, applied bright red lipstick, adjusted my poof (pompom, kammasha, qamboo3a, etc) and joined my family for a hearty breakfast. The men had already left for prayers so it was just my mother and aunt and sisters.
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After breakfast we got to work preparing the Majlis for guests. We knew that by 8:30 the kids would be on the streets in their new clothes. Sure enough, by 8:25 the doorbell rang and it was the first batch of kids who came in giggling and sat down to introduce themselves and eat sweets. I gave them Eidia (Eid Money for kids) and they asked me 'Is it true that you drive a car?'. Umm.. yes? They were fascinated. Poor things. Off they went and the next batch arrived and it continued like that until 1:00.
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Meanwhile, after Eid prayers the men went off to the 'garbeeb' (our plain near the mountains) to slaughter a cow. They came home bloody and tired bearing lots and lots of meat. Off they went to get ready for visiting, and my aunt busied herself with the task of making Eid ma'ajeen, which is basically small pieces of beef cooked in fat and salted and then if kept in a sealed container, can last for months. It's really tasty. I helped her cut up the meat even though I hate the sight of it.

.A 3:00 the 'adult' visiting started. . . and it contined for then next six days NON-STOP. I spent my entire Eid holidays either visiting people or receiving people. I must have seen at least 300 relatives and neighbors during Eid week. The same scenario exactly:
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'Hello! Eid Mubarak! How are you? How is your father? How is your mother? How is your brother? How is his wife? Any baby? How is your health? Are you married yet?'.

.Every single majlis had the exact same food items. The big dish of ma'ajeen, Omani coffee, Omani Halwa, Danish cookies, nuts, Halwa bread, and then Vimto and mango-flavored water. I'm not complaining. I'm merely wondering why Dhofaris can't be more creative food-wise. At every single house you were FORCED to eat at least three or four pieces of Ma'ajeen. If you're visiting ten houses a day.... 10*4 = 40 pieces of Ma'ajeen a day. 40*6 days = 240 pieces of ma'ajeen in six days. Beef. Eating meat meat meat .. imagine the cholestrol and blood pressure problems in Dhofar after Eid. Eek!

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Another thing that surprises me is that during Eid, it's suddenly fine to receive men and entertain male cousins, etc, whereas during the rest of the year it's 3aib عيب .. weird. I met so many male relatives, and I can't even remember half their names.

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Most families visit each house individually, but some families have gotten smarter and they now announce for example that on the fourth day of Eid the entire family will get together in the mountains for a huge picnic involving lots of meat.

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Anyway, all in all Eid is about seeing people, getting to know what they're up to, exchanging news, being happy and cheerful, talking your head off, eating your head off, and opening your house to your neighbors/family/friends. It's a time to get away from your stupid computer, let go of your boring routine, and enjoy spending time with PEOPLE.

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I love Eid. I was sad when it was over even though I was grateful that I didn't have any more visiting to do AND NO MORE MEAT HAD TO BE STUFFED DOWN MY THROAT. And here I am back at work and they're still celebrating Eid! On the first day back at work, all my male colleagues had their new turbans on, the women had new abayas, everyone was exchanging news. Many employees brought halwa, sweets, Omani coffee, and even ma'ajeen. The air was festive and everyone was in a good mood. We're still exchanging sweets and halwa even though it's already Tuesday.

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How did you celebrate your Eid? Are you meated out too?