One of my fondest memories as a child is
the Eid celebrations specifically those of Unguja, Zanzibar. In fact Eid is a
whole sequence of events before and during the actual Eid days.
All that business of girls decorating
hands and feet with exquisite henna designs and boys sporting fantastic
haircuts a day or two before Eid. Really, the best way to describe these
celebrations is to witness them.
This festivity is ofcourse celebrated
worldwide, but Zanzibar gives a unique charm to the celebrations. Everyone you
meet from infants to adults are dressed so smartly, sometimes so flamboyantly,
females especially and little girls in fantastic party dresses. They seem to plunge you into a fairy world of
pinks and blues and greens and what have you, with all manner of frills and
trimmings added. Not to forget the scent of oud and hal- oud lingering in the
air and around every person you meet.
In Zanzibar, Eid celebrations are known as
“Sikukuu ndogo” and “Sikukuu kubwa” in Kiswahili. This basically means small
celebration, which is after the Holy month of Ramadhan. Then there is “Sikukuu
kubwa” celebrated after Hajj (pilgrimage) with little less fanfare.
Every child in Zanzibar would practically
be dying of excitement and anticipation about a week or less before Eid as the
count down begins.
One will hear children and young adults
talking about the new clothes, shoes, handbags, hair accessories, kanzu and kofia,
the parents had bought them and what they themselves would buy with the cash
given to them when they visit friends and families in the Eid morning.
It really creates a warm, loving
atmosphere, almost fairy-like for the children, as out of the whole year, their
smiles would be widened for about four days. Yes, Zanzibar takes it a notch higher and
has Eid for four days, from the moment children wake up until they go to sleep, it is “heaven on Earth”.
I always wondered as a child why we could
not have “sikukuu” more frequent. Especially, “sikukuu ndogo”, which offers a
bonus of extra cash from family and friends to children who had fasted during
Ramadhan.
Unlike Christmas, children are not bought
presents. They buy their own from money received. And the best part of this is
when you get back home and can start counting the notes and plan your shopping
spree.
Usually, after Eid prayers everyone
returns home for a mouthwatering breakfast, more feast like before setting off
for those cash gathering visits to family members, friends and neighbours
usually enlivened by laughter, childhood memories and sheer delight of meeting
of family members who had vanished throughout the year and more.
The chatters, swapping of food plates
between houses, lavish delicacies, the envying of other children’s outfits or
the huge cash they had netted, these are just among the joys of Eid. If one doesn’t
watch out, quite a few extra calories could be among the Eid gifts received and
don’t blame the weighing scale but the memories gained are worth it. You can
always melt down those extra pounds with extra workouts after Eid.
Everything
has its price!
It is absolutely beautiful to watch for four
days how every child feels like a prince or princess regardless of social status.
Parent and guardian go out of their way to make Eid a special event for the
kids.
For four days the island’s humdrum
activities seem to have frozen. Not a thought of school, hospital, the fish
market or laundry. All those pushed aside in a whirl of fairyland romance. The
days would usually end at Mnazi Mmoja or Maisara grounds where open-air stalls are
set up for children and their families to buy toys and delicious goodies.
And who would not want to be treated like
a prince or princess even for just four days!
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