My family and I woke up at about 6:00 am yesterday morning to clean the house from top-to-bottom (temizlik, in Turkish). Something similar to Spring Cleaning only this was far more intense. We washed walls, floors, surfaces, clothes...pretty much everything. We vacuumed every floor and rug... even the corners and the cobwebs. LOL! You get my drift I hope. After, the males in the house, actually every house in Turkey left for morning Cami (call to prayer). In the meantime, my host mother and I prepared breakfast; potatoes, eggs, a variety of cheeses, fresh olives, fresh honey (the kind still in the honey comb), tomatoes, cucumbers, tea and of course the FRESH Turkish Bread that my host dad gets from the bakery every single morning. Soon after, my dad and my two brothers returned from Cami and Abdula Amca and İşmael joined us. I was under the impression that this was all preparation for Bayram... little did I know it had already began. The cow that my family was sacraficing was patiently waiting in the back of Abdula Amca's truck parked in the front of our house. Allof a sudden breakfast had turned into a rush and before I knew it we were in the car headed to the place where this cow would be sacraficed (Fatih, Erkek Yurdu, all I know is Erkek=male I couldn't tell you what the rest means lol). Now, I had heard a little about this Bayram before my Fatih but when I say little TAKE THAT LİTERALLY... it was in Turkish for good heavens. I was warned about the blood and warned about the cold air but there was no way that I could be prepared mentally. Black shoes and a thick coat just wouldn't cut it. Ok I'll cut the crap now... on one side of this building, there were cows everywhere chained to trees and tractors waiting for their turn to be sacraficed. On the other side of this building, "it was going down". Cows were being tied, tipped over and slaughtered! so it didn't dawn on me that these cows knew exactly what was going on until one got a loose LMAO! It was on! It was like a movie, here were four men trying to trap and catch this big cow that had every idea that it was his turn to hit the "chains". These men were sliding on "fall" tree leaves! Finally they caught him. I don't think I ever paid so much attention to the behavior of animals. These cows were giving hell; mooing, rubbing noses together to try and get the ties a loose and alltogether kicking for an in more of life... for one last breath. This all was happening too fast for me to even attempt to cover my eyes and at the moment I knew it was something I'd never get to experience again. Anyways, this is how it went; the butcher chose the next cow to be butchered, DRUG it to the "chains"(the chains being the machine that straddled the legs and tipped the cow over) and I say drug because these cows were aware and reluctant. Afterwards, the cows legs were tied up and this cow was lifted a little more than an inch of the ground. Then, before the sacrafice was performed, the butchers recited a prayer from the Holy Qu'ran (something to the nature of: God gave the animals to the earth for the people to feast during Kürban month, and then they feasted) then the cows throat was severed. Blood was shooting everywhere and at this point I was begging my tummy not to let go. The cows let out a loud piercing cry and gave its last kicks before its organs gave in. After that, the cow was placed on thie tray with wheels moved towards this large area so the blood could drain from its body. After it finished draining and the head was removed it again was tied and lifted to be skinned and gutted. It's hide was whisked to one side of the building and its intestines and internal organs to another. After the body was lowered, cut into portins and distributed to its sacraficer.
I might have something very intellectual to say about this experience later but as of now all I can think of is, "What The Hell." This is for three reasons: I'm not finished telling my story, the cow is still stretched across the kitchen (which happens to be the room adjacent to where I'm writing this journal entry) and I had beef for dinner.
After our cow was sacraficed it was placed back in the trunk of Abdula's truck in portions and then we headed home for who in the hell knows next. When we get home, I don't know what I imagined happening but it could not have been anything close to what I'm about to explain. I came in the house leaving the bloody shoes at the door of course and ready to get out of everything I was wearing even though I had not directly made contact with any meat or blood...YET. After changing clothes I come out of my room, which is directly across from the kitchen, to find half of a cow laying across the kitchen table and the rest on the floor leveled table and some in a bucket near by. And again, all I could think was, "What The Hell!"
Now the night before Bayram I asked my host dad what to expect and I thought I understood him saying that the cow was coming home but it didnt dawn on me until after I saw this cow meat, the same cow that had just been sacraficied, laying on the kitchen table. My mom, in addition had been huffing and puffing about Bayram for 2days and again, it wasnt until that moment that I understood why... and it was a little too late to withdraw the help I had promised her. In case you missed my implication... the rest of the butchering would be done by my host dad, my host mother, MYSELF... and at the kitchen table. NO COMMENT! We made it home after the sacrafice at 11:37 am Nov.27.2009, and here I am Nov.28.2009 writing about it at 1:35pm. Oh yeah, the meat is still laid across the entire kitchen drying. About two thousand DOLLARS worth of beef..... ONCE AGAİN NO DAMN COMMENT!
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