Considering coming back as a goat?
Tomorrow is a holy day for Islam (Idul Ahda, The Day of Sacrifice), where any Muslim who can afford to do so is asked to purchase a goat or cow for slaughter to provide a feast for the less fortunate. So, every blade of grass in Jakarta is currently grazing livestock that have been trucked in from out of town. Children are oohing and aahing at the cute animals, and shepherds are lovingly tending their flocks and fattening them up.
But tomorrow is a different story. From early in the morning the throat cutting and draining of blood begins. Lucky me, I live right next door to a local kampung who will be feasting on goat tomorrow.
Fortunately, it's also a holiday, and I've got an 8.00am tee time booked at the course, but nevertheless I'm bound to be awoken before sunrise by the sound of goats making a hell of a racket once the first of their buddies gets the chop.
Incidentally, the going rate for goats at this time of the year is around $80, and cows require an investment of around $600. You can even transfer cash from your bank account via an ATM to an organisation who will look after the purchase and delivery of a goat on your behalf to the poor, if you can't be arsed shopping for your own goat, trying to squeeze it into the back of your Kijang and driving around town looking for a worthy recipient.
Me, I'm coming back as a cat, thank you very much.
Update: We had an interesting start to the day. The party in the kampung next door started at sunrise, and we had booked a taxi for 6.30am to get us to the course for an 8.00am hit off. At 6.15am the taxi company phoned me to say the taxi couldn't get to my house because the road was closed (we live 100m from a big mosque). So, myself and my next door neighbour walked up the road with our golf clubs over our shoulders and weaved our way through several hundred people who had laid their prayer mats on the roads surrounding the mosque. We got some funny looks, but most people were cool about it.
Fortunately we missed the goat slaughter, but on the golf course we did hear from a nearby mosque what sounded like a microphone held up against a goat's mouth while it was getting the chop.
But tomorrow is a different story. From early in the morning the throat cutting and draining of blood begins. Lucky me, I live right next door to a local kampung who will be feasting on goat tomorrow.
Fortunately, it's also a holiday, and I've got an 8.00am tee time booked at the course, but nevertheless I'm bound to be awoken before sunrise by the sound of goats making a hell of a racket once the first of their buddies gets the chop.
Incidentally, the going rate for goats at this time of the year is around $80, and cows require an investment of around $600. You can even transfer cash from your bank account via an ATM to an organisation who will look after the purchase and delivery of a goat on your behalf to the poor, if you can't be arsed shopping for your own goat, trying to squeeze it into the back of your Kijang and driving around town looking for a worthy recipient.
Me, I'm coming back as a cat, thank you very much.
Update: We had an interesting start to the day. The party in the kampung next door started at sunrise, and we had booked a taxi for 6.30am to get us to the course for an 8.00am hit off. At 6.15am the taxi company phoned me to say the taxi couldn't get to my house because the road was closed (we live 100m from a big mosque). So, myself and my next door neighbour walked up the road with our golf clubs over our shoulders and weaved our way through several hundred people who had laid their prayer mats on the roads surrounding the mosque. We got some funny looks, but most people were cool about it.
Fortunately we missed the goat slaughter, but on the golf course we did hear from a nearby mosque what sounded like a microphone held up against a goat's mouth while it was getting the chop.
posted by The Editor at 9:49 PM
3 Comments:
hey Sport good to see you are enjoying Jakarta so much..bit too smoggy for my liking.
Try a feed and beer at Lan na Thai (Face Bar)if you get the chance one of the better places in Jak
Hey sport, glad you are enjoying Jak so much. Bit too smoggy for me
I don't blame you for choosing to be a cat, it's a lot of efforts, indeed :), I guess it is otherwise for those people, as the do the ritual for religious beliefs..
Nice to have found your blog, I'll be back for future updates.
Post a Comment
<< Home