Tabaski sheep: An equation with two unknowns
Sheep is a headache for many households a few days before the Eid el-Kabîr festival. If for some one sheep is enough, others see double.
Activities are going well this morning at the Sandaga market. Customers flock in droves for the needs of the party. Slippers and Bazin fabrics are displayed in front of shops to attract customers. It’s also sales week for shoes and nothing is left to chance to attract customers.
A few days before the tabaski, some sellers intend to bet everything in order to sell their merchandise and afford enough to buy a sheep. This is the case of Abdoulaye Sy, seller of women’s underwear. Sitting in front of his stall, he intends to attract customers. Boxers, bras and shorts of all sizes are on display.
“Would you like something, pretty young lady? » he asks a lady in her thirties who has come to look at the merchandise. This passes without buying. “Another lost customer,” he laments.
This year, Abdoulaye is more worried than usual with Tabaski approaching quickly.
“My customers are becoming rare and it’s not good for business, especially since tabaski is coming soon,” he laments.
Aged 63, Abdoulaye is still standing on his two legs despite the fatigue and sweat of a day spent watching for customers. Abdoulaye is polygamous, he doesn’t worry about the party: “I focus more on how to manage the children’s clothing. For the sheep, I planned to buy one for my two wives.
And to add: “This year I have not kept any money and I cannot afford to spend more than 80,000 CFA francs on a sheep”. The sixty-year-old does not intend to spend an astronomical sum on the purchase of the ram.
Mamadou Diouf’s stall is a few meters away. Neatly packaged jeans, pants and men’s shirts are displayed on the table. In front of his business, Mamadou is on the lookout for customers.
This forty-year-old says he is worried about the party but remains optimistic: “lately, business has not been going well but I do not despair”. The tabaski is fast approaching and this national from the Diourbel region has already resolved the question of the sheep: “I have put money aside and intend to buy a single sheep for my two wives” he declares.
If some polygamists plan to buy a sheep, others plan to please everyone.
Two women, two sheep
Under a blazing sun, Daouda Dione, with jeans and shirts in hand, wanders the alleys of the market in search of potential customers. He has already found a solution for the sheep question: “I am also a breeder”.
For the tabaski, he intends to satisfy his two wives: “I have already planned two sheep for each.”
A stone’s throw from Daouda is Mor Diop’s boutique. Jeans, shirts, pants are displayed on shelves. To attract customers, particularly women, Mor relies on humor and compliments. Sitting in front of his shop with his friend Mame Thierno, he approaches customers and uses nice words to attract buyers.
This year, this thirty-year-old does not intend to deviate from the rule. “I planned to buy two sheep. One for my wife who is in Saint-Louis and another for her who is in Dakar,” he declares teasingly.
Like his friend Mor, Mame Thierno is also a thrift seller. He plans to buy not two but three sheep for the family: “I save money every year according to the needs of the party. I buy three sheep. Two for my wives and one for my parents.
For now, these young people hope to find the necessary means to spend the celebration in Diourbel with their family. “These days, there is the pressure of celebrating and buying a sheep,” explains Mor Diop.
Like a sword of Damocles, the purchase of sheep hangs over the heads of many polygamists. But for these men the most important thing is to remain faithful to the precepts of Islam.
Arame NDIAYE
