Photographs and Emotions about The Festival of Sacrifice in Bangladesh
This post is a photo essay that examines Annie Tong’s first-hand experience in Bangladesh of the Islamic celebration know as ‘Eid-ul-Azha,’ the Festival of Sacrifice. Annie Tong, photographer and author of this post, reflects on her photography while in Bangladesh and working on her photography project The Everyday of Life.
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Living and travelling in Bangladesh for the past six months and into the summer of 2020 has provided me the opportunity to experience and photograph the streets of Dhaka city during the Islamic celebration of the Festival of Sacrifice (‘Eid-ul-Azha’ or ‘Eid al-Adha’ in Arabic.) The Eid ceremony is marked by the sacrifice of cows, goats, sheep, or camel as a show of faith to Allah. Celebrated by Muslims all over the world, the significance of the animal sacrifice is in its remembrance of the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his son Ismail.
In 2019 an estimated 10 million animals were sacrificed throughout Bangladesh during the Festival of Sacrifice.
A cattle rancher proudly shows off his prime bulls at one of the temporary cattle markets in the southern part of Dhaka city.
As a westerner, the traditions surrounding this religious celebration have been difficult for me to understand and accept, but with the help of friends and families who have welcomed me into their personal celebrations, I am now better able to appreciate how important this religious event is to the people of this nation.
— Selected Dhaka Streets Become Temporary Homes Thousands of Animals in the Cattle Markets —
In the three days leading up to Eid selected areas of Dhaka city, and all cities throughout Bangladesh, become temporary cattle markets for ranchers to bring their animals directly to the public to be purchased. The animals will be bartered and sold, taken home and cared for until the days of Eid celebration when they will be sacrificed as a show of faith to Allah.
It is well known by everyone who lives here that during the Festival of Sacrifice the streets of Dhaka city run red with blood.
Cattle ranchers set up tarps to help create shelters for themselves and their cattle in the streets of Dhaka City.
In designated areas of the city, ranchers set up small shelters where they not only keep their animals, but where they themselves live, sleep and eat for the three days of the market’s duration. This year the Festival of Sacrifice falls directly in the middle of the Monsoon rain season which is both a blessing and a curse: the rain helps wash the streets clean but creates challenges for the ranchers as they try to stay comfortable in their make-shift shelters.
Family and neighbours gather together in the street to participate in event that is at once brutal, sombre, and spiritual.
People with financial means will purchase an animal they intend to sacrifice on the day of Eid. They are to perform the sacrifice themselves with the aid and guidance of an Imam. The event of the sacrifice is commonly performed right outside the family home.
These young men are overseeing and caring for the family goats that have been purchased in the days prior to Eid, and that will be sacrificed to Allah in celebration of their faith.
In Bangladesh, this year’s Eid was celebrated from the evening of Friday July 31, to the evening of Saturday August 1, with the sacrifices beginning on Saturday morning following the early morning prayer. Family and neighbours gather together in the street to participate in event that is at once brutal, sombre, and spiritual.
Know that I have not just shown up here on the street with my camera to take photographs. I have been invited by these families to witness their sacrifice and join in their Eid celebration.
This large bull’s legs have been bound as it is now held down while the Imam positions the blade of his sword. The cut will be made completely through the animal’s throat and neck. It will be held down by these men while its is slaughtered, and while its blood is allowed to drain into the street.
These photographs may be difficult for many to view, and I have chosen not to include any images that might seem too brutal or disrespectful. As a photographer I believe I have continued to show respect for these animals just as I have for the people I have photographed during this celebration. As I have said in earlier posts, I photograph people as subjects, not objects, and have tried my best to behave this way towards the animals in these photographs.
— This Street Photography is by Invitation Only —
I want you to know that I have not just shown up here with my camera to take photographs. I have been invited by these families to be with them in their neighbourhood, to witness and photograph their sacrifice, and to join in their Eid celebration. In the days prior to Eid I visited several families in and around the Dhaka neighbourhood where I am currently staying. We spoke about the animals they purchased and about their plans for the day of sacrifice. I have been invited and welcomed by many to attend their morning sacrifice and to participate in and photograph the event. I have not, however, been invited to attend the mosque or join in any prayers.
The coronavirus conditions surrounding this year’s Eid celebration has limited the celebrations for everyone and made it impossible for me to accept the many invitations to attend the family meals.
At the time of slaughter, all of us look on in a quiet, somber show of respect. These animals are loved by all, and their belief is that it is precisely because of this love that the sacrifice is a true show of faith and worship.
Along with invitations to attend his family’s morning of sacrifice, I was also warned by one young man that I might find the slaughtering of the animal too difficult to watch. He seemed concerned for me, concerned that I would not understand his traditions, and that I would not “see things clearly” for what they are. He said he believed that my Western methods for killing animals, “with electricity or heavy blows,” were inhumane. “In Bangladesh” he said, “we care very much for our animals, and that is why we kill them this way. You will see.” He spoke English very well, and though I did not question what he said I also did not quiet understand what he was trying to say.
By 10:00 on Saturday morning, after having spent a just two hours witnessing the difficult and brutal scenes for which the two photographs directly above have only begun to reveal, I still could not understand what this young man was trying to tell me. I think the difficulty was in that we each had different ideas of what we mean by the word ‘humane.’
Washing the blood down the street immediately following this animals slaughter.
The man in the centre of the above photograph is the person who purchased the animal that has just been sacrificed. He is currently trying to wash the blood down the street to clear a walking path for his neighbours. The bull he has just sacrificed is now being washed and cleaned in preparation for skinning and butchering, which will be done with the help of local butchers who will be coming to help with the process.
This man and his family will keep only one third of the meat that comes from the butchered animal.
For this large bull, this man would have likely paid close to 200,000 Bangladesh Taka, which is approximately to $2,400 US dollars. The current minimum wage in the country is close to $100USD per month, and the average middle-income earning is around $500USD per month. This man is proud that he can afford to purchase this large and expensive animal for this important celebration and he is likely even more proud of the fact that most of the meat that will come from the butchering of this animal will be gifted by him and his family to others.
— Keep, Give and Share: A Tradition of Looking After the People Around You —
The sacrifice of Eid-ul-Azha is more than a show of faith to Allah by sacrificing something you love; it is also about showing kindness and equality to others by sharing the meat from the sacrifice with others. This man and his family will keep only one third of the meat that comes from the butchered animal. He, and everyone who purchases and sacrifices an animal, will also share one third of the animal with friends and other family members, and, most importantly, he will share and distribute one third of the meat to people who are unable to afford to buy meat for themselves.
Eid-ul-Azha is a time of worship and celebration, a tradition that is filled with love for one another, and respect for the animals whose lives are sacrificed to Allah and whose flesh will feed the people of this nation.
Four of the families along this narrow street have each purchased a cow for sacrifice. The Imam will move along the street, from one family home to the next to perform the sacrificial slaughter.
This day of Eid is long and full, and not yet over. After sacrifices have been completed and most of the blood of the animal has been drained out into the street, the animal is butchered right where it was slaughtered. Those who need help with the butchering will have made prior arrangements with local butchers to come by and help with the skinning and carving of the animal.
The butchering of the animals happens quickly. The animal is carefully skinned, and the rawhide is laid out on the street and used as a clean surface for breaking down the animal parts.
In Bangladesh there is little concern for maintaining specific ‘cuts’ of meat. Most of the animal is cleaned and cut into cubes for stewing. Organs are the only parts of the animal that are separated to be cooked differently from the rest of the animal. Throughout most of the country there is little in the way of cooking methods that can take advantage of the various ways of preparing specific cuts of meat. The typical family home does not have an oven or grill. Meat is commonly prepared in a pot, stewed with a mix of spices.
Large tree-trunk-butcher-blocks and cutting mats are sold throughout the days leading up to Eid. They are used in the streets as professional and novice butchers cut and cube the entire animal into pieces.
— Distributing the Meat to the Poor —
The day of Eid is so full that some families will not have the opportunity to perform their sacrifice until the following morning. In these late afternoon and evenings of Eid, poor families will walk through the streets from door to door waiting for small parcels of meat to be gifted to them by the wealthier families who have purchased and sacrificed animals.
Sharing is an essential part of Islamic belief, and because of this the poor can accept this gift of meat with dignity.
Every effort is made to ensure that there is enough meat to be distributed to everyone in need. This celebration of Eid-ul-Azha is intended to ensure that even the poorest people in the nation who cannot afford to buy meat on their own, can enjoy plenty of it at least once a year. Sharing is an essential part of Islamic belief, and because of this the poor can accept this gift of meat with dignity. Receiving gifts of meat or money is thought of as helping the giver fulfill his or her obligations to God.
The blood of sacrificed animals flow through neighbourhood streets throughout the days of the Eid sacrifices.
In the days before this Festival of Sacrifice I was warned that it is a time when the streets of Dhaka city run red with blood. At the time I thought this was meant to be metaphorical. The photograph above could have been taken anywhere in the country during these days of sacrifice. Any city or town or street.
Not everyone in Bangladesh has been able to enjoy this year’s Eid celebrations as they usually do.
Last year it was estimated that upwards of 10 million animals were sacrificed during the Eid celebration. This year, in an effort to keep the crowds to a minimum, the government asked for everyone to limit their celebrations and consider smaller sacrifices and quieter gatherings. I have nothing to compare this to, but my experience of this year’s Eid was that the sacrifices themselves were kept to small neighbourhood gatherings, but that the gatherings and sacrifices were many. Nevertheless, it is important to note that not everyone in Bangladesh has been able to enjoy this year’s Eid celebrations as they usually do. Monsoon flooding is currently affecting nearly a quarter of the country, and as of the end of July, Bangladesh is the third most coronavirus affected nation in South Asia.
— Final Thoughts on What May or May Not be Humane —
Do you remember earlier in this post when I spoke of my conversation with a young man about what may or may not be considered a humane way to sacrifice an animal? He was actually the eldest son of the man who purchased and sacrificed the large black bull, the man pictured bare foot in the photo washing the blood down the street. I do thank that family for inviting me into their celebration, and I thank their eldest son for challenging me with his views on the act of sacrifice.
I am well aware that my views on how these animals have been slaughtered are of little consequence to anyone. These killings felt brutal, and at times took my breath away. But I do appreciate something now that I could not see before: These animals have been sacrificed at the hands of those who love them. The killings are not passive acts of taking animals’ lives for the sake of meat. The death of each animal is intended to be a painful and personal experience, and as a religious ceremony it is designed to reveal the truth of love and the horror of death and the willing devotion to God. — Today I am still finding blood on my clothes and am only beginning to make sense of things.
— The Everyday of Life Photography Project —
This post has included photography from The Everyday of Life photography project. I invite you to visit my project website and enjoy the photo series from Bangladesh and other locations. I also invite you to visit and follow my Instagram posts @theeverydayoflife.
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