Tabaski Time

A quiet Saturday morning after a crazy week. I sluggishly get out of bed to make my Saturday bacon allowance, a weekly treat. It adds new meaning to "living for the weekend". As I make our bacon in our hot kitchen, I hear people singing, sheep bleating, and babies crying. The smell of smoked meat fills the air. It is Tabaski time in Dissassgho.
Tabaski is one of the major Muslim holidays celebrated in Burkina. It is the "Festival of Sacrifice" in which they remember Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Ishmael. All of the Muslim families buy a sheep to sacrifice. The price of sheep becomes astronomically high this week. Usually, a sheep may cost between 10,000 to 20,000 CFA ($20 to $40) in the market. However, this week the going rate is up to 40,000 to 50,000 ($80 to $100). If someone waits until the day of Tabaski, the price is doubled. This is a high price for a Burkinabe family, especially if the average day's wage is $5. The sacrifice is not only the animal, but probably paying for the animal as well. Our night guard always jokes about buying chickens at Tabaski and that his family never complains.
The streets are filled with shepherds and their sheep. People spend all year raising a herd of sheep in the village to bring them to Ouaga to sell for Tabaski. Here is a picture I took on my phone of the market: