Eid
on M&S Diary (Sierra Leone), 30/Oct/2006 16:56, 34 days ago
Yesterday was a public holiday in Sierra Leone, to celebrate the festival of Eid which marks the end of Ramadam. From midnight the call to prayer floated through our bedroom window from the mosque at the end of the road, followed by the sounds of worship. I woke to hear a group of people marching past singing“a tell God tenki. Alhamdu lilah.”At our house on Lighteddy Boston Street“Pray Day” was celebrated by Mattea taking a rare day off to sit on the balcony and read the paper; Aminatta spending the morning cooking a huge amount of couscous, and in the afternoon getting her hair braided by her cousin; Aunti Pat eating papaya and sleeping; Francis going across town to visit his grandparents; and Simon and Maro eating lots of Aminatta’s couscous.In the late afternoon we went down to the beach where thousands of people were picnicing, playing football and splashing about in the shallows. There was a carnival atmosphere as teenagers strutted, hawkers touted their wares– kebabs, peanuts, plantain crisps, biscuits and soft drinks – and children danced while their parents sat in large groups either on the sand or at one of the many beachside bars. As for ourselves, we drank some guava juice and watched the sun go down.We came home to find that Philip, who owns a small shack outside our gate which sells beer and insect repellent, had got hold a set of speakers half the size of his establishment in honour of the day. These were balanced precariously on a plastic chair and ensured that the sounds of the mosque which had echoed down our street the night before were replaced by the booming beats of Bob Marley. We were just grateful that he didn’t favour everyone else’s favourite artist – Shakira.