Eid-ul-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice)

On Wednesday (17NOV10), Muslims in Malaysia celebrated Eid-ul-Adha or the Festival of Sacrifice.  It is the greater of the two Eids celebrated by Muslims (although it doesn't appear that way here in Malaysia) and commemorates the sacrifice of the Prophet Ibrahim AS (Abraham).  It also marks the end of the Hajj or annual pilgrimage to Mecca.


Here as elsewhere in the Muslim world, animals are slaughtered as sacrifice and the flesh is distributed amongst near of kin and the poor.  I was at a surau near my house to witness the event.

The surau at Medan Idaman is also known as the Surau Arab due to the large number of Middle Eastern worshipers who come here.  The Eid khutbah (sermon) here was in Arabic and English. 

Cows waiting to be slaughtered.  Some children trying to feed them.  For some of them, this is probably the first time they are seeing cows up close.

I wanted to take a shot of the little boy because of his ethnic clothes but the two older ones insisted on being photographed together.
The two older boys were teasing the younger one for being dressed like a Pakistani.  I don't understand Arabic but I could feel the essence of the teasing and it also helped that among the words used was the word 'Bakistani'.

Little holes like the above have been dug to assist in the slaughter...

... with one large hole to bury any unwanted parts like entrails and etc.

Weighing scales are also ready for distribution of the meat...

... as are cutting tools.

Of course one must make sure that the knives are sharp.

Slaughtering in progress.
A total of 8 cows were slaughtered here, a relatively small number when compared with the Masjid Pakistan in Sentul where over 20 cows and a similar number of goats were sacrificed.  The crowd witnessing became less and less for the subsequent cows as people began to get involved in the skinning and preparation of the meat for distribution.  I did take photos of the whole event, however I think it best not to display them here as there may be those who find it offensive.

The supplier also provided T-shirts for the volunteers.

A child covers his nose as one of the cows entrails was being cleaned.

The meat has been chopped, weighed and packed ready for distribution.

Traditionally the meat is divided into three portions, with one portion for the person on whose behalf the sacrifice is performed, one portion for kin and relatives and one portion for the poor and needy.  The meat is distributed raw.