Tabaski Mubarak! This past Sunday, September 11th, marked the beginning of Eid al-Adha, an important religious celebration called Tabaski in Senegalese Wolof. On Tabaski, following dawn prayers at their local mosque, Senegalese families slaughter a ram in ritual sacrifice. Families save all year to purchase new clothes and a ram for Tabaski. Members of CREATE!’s Voluntary Savings and Lending Associations (VSLAs) are able to prepare for Tabaski by saving small amounts of money from the sale of vegetables, chicken, and other products from their cooperative gardens. Many people travel throughout Senegal to visit with family and friends and to share a feast of ram, vegetables, rice, and sauces.
After the meal, children dress up and go from house to house asking for ndewenal, or pocket money, from neighbors. Men and women visit family and friends in the evening for the ziar. Wearing their best clothes, they ask for forgiveness from one another and express best wishes for the year ahead.
To our Senegal field staff and all CREATE! community members: tabaski mubarak!