Festival of Sacrifice in Bangladesh

In the days leading up to the Eid celebration in Bangladesh, selected streets throughout the cities are transformed into temporary cattle markets where ranchers bring their cows and goats directly to the public for purchase. Ranchers will build shelters like this one where they will live with their animals for the three days leading up to Eid.

In 2020, the Festival of Sacrifice fell directly in the middle of the Monsoon rain season —a blessing and a curse: the rain will help wash the streets clean but creates challenges for the ranchers as they try to stay comfortable in their make-shift shelters.

A cattle rancher proudly shows off his prime bulls at a temporary cattle market in south Dhaka city. He is just one of hundreds of cattle ranchers that have set up their stalls in this market, and these are just two of thousands of animals that line these streets. In these three days leading up to Eid, the animals will be bartered and sold, and then taken home and cared for until the day they are sacrificed in a show of faith to Allah.

Once an animal is purchased it is taken back to the family home where it will be adorned and cared for. The animal’s sacrifice is a deeply spiritual event that celebrates the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah.

This man is cooling off with is newly purchased, prize bull. He is one of the few in the country with the financial means to purchase an animal of this stature. On the day of Eid he will perform the sacrifice himself, with the other men in his family and under the guidance of an Imam. The event of the sacrifice is commonly performed right outside the family home.

These young men have been put in charge of the family goats. At least until tomorrow. They’ve been caring for them for three days as the city and nation prepare for Eid-ul-Azha, also known as the Festival of Sacrifice.

Tomorrow morning the entire Muslim world will sacrifice their cows, goats and sheep in celebration of Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his own son as a show of faith to Allah.

These animals will be slaughtered right where they stand. It will be bloody and brutal and difficult to accept. The meat will be carved up right on the street the very same day. One third of it will be for the family to keep, one third to share with friends, and one third will be distributed to the poor who can’t afford to buy meat for themselves. It will be an emotional day and these young men know it’s coming.

Dhaka city, Bangladesh, Saturday morning, August 1, 2020. Immediately following the morning prayer, family and neighbours gather in their neighbourhood streets to participate in the sacrifice event that is at once brutal, somber, and spiritual.

This large bull’s legs have been bound as it is now held down while the Imam says a prayer and 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 it is slaughtered, and while its blood drains into the street.

The man in the centre of this photograph is the owner of the large, black bull that has just been sacrificed. He is currently trying to wash the blood down the street to clear a walking path for his neighbours who are waiting for the Imams to help with their sacrifices. There are three more sacrifices to be done at each of the next three homes, and they cannot begin without the presence of an Imam.

These Imams have begun their day early and will travel from family home to family home until sunset, helping families perform their sacrifice.

The large, black bull that has just been slaughtered is now being washed and cleaned in preparation for skinning and butchering, while in the foreground a man removes the binding ropes from a second cow that has just been sacrificed.

The butchering of the animals is done with the help of local butchers from the neighbourhood who, like the Imams, will move from house to house throughout this long, hard-working day.

At the time of sacrifice, everyone looks 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.

Four of the families along this narrow street have each purchased a cow for sacrifice. The Imams 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.

The butchering 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. 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 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 by sharing the meat from the sacrifice with others. The household that purchased and slaughtered the cows will keep only one third of the meat that comes from the butchered animal. One third of the animal will be shared with friends and other family members, and, most importantly, the remaining third of the butchered meet will be shared with the less fortunate who are unable to afford to buy meat for themselves.

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 fulfil his or her obligations to God.

It is well known and accepted by everyone who lives here that during the Festival of Sacrifice the streets of Dhaka city run red with blood. Even with the monsoon coinciding with Eid-ul-Azha this year, it will still take days for the streets to be washed clean again.

In 2019 it was estimated that over 10 million animals were sacrificed during the Eid celebration. In 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government asked everyone to limit their celebrations and consider smaller sacrifices and quieter gatherings. Most of the festivities this year have been dedicated to giving the children an opportunity and reason to celebrate, even in this difficult time.