Friday was Adil Adha here in Malaysia. Locally it is known as Hari Raya Korban [Grand Day of Sacrifice? lol], and the date is determined not by the Western Lunar calendar, but rather the Islamic Solar calendar. It is celebrated in the memory of Rasulullah Ibrahim A.S. who obeyed God’s command to slaughter his own son, Ismail A.S. [I'm sure Christians have their own version of the tale with Abraham, care to share? :)] For Ibrahim’s steeled obedience, Ismail is spared and replaced with a sheep [do pardon and correct my mistakes]. This in turn is remembered as an important mark in Islamic history and celebrated annually by Muslims worldwide.

The Malaysian muslim community, of course, is not to be left out. Locals would usually pick out cows for korban[sacrifice]. My neighbourhood this year decided to hav 9 cows for korban. 7 are to be managed at the community Surau[the lesser version of a mosque, also known as a Musolla overseas I think], while 2 more will be taken to the field near my house, since most of the korban candidates [the people who paid the money to have the cows sacrificed, if you know the term, do let me know] live close together in the area. Since Aidil Adha fell on a Friday, it was rather hectic to have korban the same day because of Friday prayers, so it was decided that it be done the next morning.

So, early that Saturday morning, I rose early, had a quick wash, grabbed a sharp knife and headed out to the field. As was done during the previous years, there stood two bulls, each tied to a tree. While we waited for the sufficient amount of men, we sharpened our knives and exchanged short chats over a delicious breakfast of tea, Nescafe, mee goreng, nasi lemak and an assortment of kuihs. I sat next to Abg Wan, a nice chap in his late 20s.

Me: Gila merah sambal tu.
[That's an awfully red sambal]
Abg Wan: Tu nampak power tu, tak rasa lagi ni [feeds himself a spoonful]
[That's what makes it look awesome]
Me: Power tak?
[Is it good?]
AW: Fuh. Gila pedas. Kalo ko tak suka pedas layan mee ngan kuih bengkang je la.
[Phew, that's freaking hot. If you don't like hot foods you'd be better off with kuihs and fried mee]

After a while, the korban coordinator for the day, Hj. Husin, called out to the men to help bring one of the bulls down. It’s rather hard to explain how it was done, but I’ll try my best. Each of the bull’s legs and neck are tied to a rope. The right hind leg is tied to a tree trunk, while the right rear is tied to a rope that is then put diagonally below it, so that the end is near the left hind leg, which is done the same and the end comes out near the right rear leg. The left rear leg is let loose, while the the neck is held firm by 4 men.

The idea was to pull the right rear leg and left hind leg off the ground so it would lose balance and fall. The 4 men holding the neck rope will make sure that it falls gently. With lots of commands, muscle, cheers and flattened cow poo, the first bull went down with little [if any] difficulty. Its four legs are then pulled together and tied up nice and tight.

A tree trunk about 3m long and 10 cm thick is then put through between the left and right legs. It is said that doing so makes it easier for people to hold the bull down. Which, obviously what the sufficient amount of men was needed for. Bulls are extremely strong beasts, and it takes more than just wits to take it on.

A hole is then dug somewhere below its neck to allow blood to pour inside. Banana leaves are then laid behind its neck, and a sharp knife is then put flat against it. All able men were made to either sit, or hold down the bull with all our might. Hj. Husin then reads out the names of the first batch of korban candidates, followed by a takbir[chanting God's name] by everyone. The knife then made its way through the tough hide, and cleanly severing the major blood vessels and windpipe. The banana leaves helped to shield the spray of blood and bodily fluids as the bull struggles for its life. After a last and softened breath, the bull is now in peace.

After a minute of cleaning the knife and catching breaths, we moved on to the next bull. Same procedure, same result but a lot less poo were involved.

We then let the blood drain out of the bulls for about 10-15 minutes before we continue. By time I realized, there were already women huddling together, processing onions, grinding spices and mixing drinks. All that while chattering in less than humble voices which could be well heard a mile away. When everyone is ready with their knives, Hj. Husin called out to the men again to start processing the bulls. 2 groups of 5 were formed to skin the bulls, and I get the skin the first bull. The bull is then made to lie on its back, head chopped off, and legs held up in the air by hand and/or rope.

Younger kids who came helped out, too. I was to start skinning to right rear leg, and I had a kid hold it up for me. It was a very pleasant atmosphere, guys talking about their work, football and their [constantly messed up] cars. The kid who held it up for me was Amirul, someone I have seen before but never spent much time with [it's not like I joined their group of Heely-bound 10-year olds. Good thing he was on sandals that day].

Me: Sekolah kat mana?
[Where do you go to school?]
A: Hussein Onn 2
Me: Oh, bawah ni je la? Jalan kaki ke, naik basikal ke?
[Oh, just down there? Do you walk or cycle to school, or what?]
A: Pegi abah hantar, balik jalan.
[Dad sends me there, and I walk home later]
Me: Ohh…
A: [quietly looks at me skinning the leg]
Me: [quietly skins the leg][turns around to look at Amirul, hoping for him to say something]
A: [blur look, as if saying 'WTF did I do?']
Me: [shakes head]

I was surprised at how quickly I ran out of ideas to chat with kids. Hmm,… I should practice with my nephew more often when he learns how to talk. Okay okay, back to the story.

The idea of skinning the bull in that position was so that its skin can be spread open on the ground where it can be used to wrap up whatever inedible remains. 4 of us, one on each leg, worked from the lower knee, and all blades are to meet at the navel. All was perfectly fine, at least until it came to us, the pair handling the rear legs. The one handling the left rear leg is known as Abg. Radin.

Me: Tu kat tengah tu bulu apa? [hands about to grab it so I can cut it off]
[What's that bunch of hair on the middle over there?]
AR: Bulu pelir dia.
[Pubic hair.]
Me: [hands froze in mid-air] Oh ok.
AR: [moves on to skin the lower thighs] Nak buang kulit belah situ buangla dulu, aku tak setel lagi belah ni.
[You can go ahead and skin that area. I haven't done this side here, yet]
Me: Um.. takpelah, saya pun belakang ni tak siap lagi [continues to skin the upper back and buttocks]
[Um, that's okay, I'm not done back here either]

When we were both done with our sides, I found us hesitantly staring at what looks like a long tube available only on males. We then looked at each other, and reached a silent agreement to let the pair handling the hind legs do that part. We then idled the few minutes away sharpening our knives and slicing away at what fats there are to be removed. When the other pair’s blades came to that point, all 4 of us were looking at each other. All blades hesitant to approach that area. And an awkward silence surrounded the air about that bull. At least until…

Abg Radin: Inilah sebabnya ‘Ada beberapa perkara yang perlu diserahkan kepada pakar’
[This is why 'Some things are best left to the experts']

Watch the Indah Water ad if you don’t get the joke :) We couldn’t help but burst out laughing, and poor Amirul laughed so hard he tripped and fell on a lump of cow poo. It was then Hj. Husin came with the ‘expert’ [the one who slaughtered the bulls] who then proceeded to tied up the ends of the penis and carefully skinned that area for us. He then continued to help us process the abdominal organs.

Hj Husin: Jago-jago, jangang cucuk peruk dio.
[Careful, don't pierce the stomach]
Expert: Tu la, silap cucuk bocor pulak taik dia.
[Yeah, a wrong poke and shit might leak out]
HH: Piso kamu tu condong ke atah sikik, kang tercocok pulok
[Your blade should incline upwards, otherwise you might pierce it]
E: Haa? Macam ni?
[What, like this?]

[blade pierces through one of the stomachs, and shit starts to leak out]

HH: Ah, sudoh.
[Oh, that's it...]
E: Eh, alamak. Cari tali, cepat!
[Eh, oops. Find me a string, quick!]
Me and Abg Radin: Oh shit.

We then took a break so that another group could take over and deal with the meats from there. Then I noticed Abg Wan, dilligently digging a nice big hole. In korban sites, you need a hole that’s about as big as a cow itself to bury in the inedible remains. This hole is extremely important and I was told it was part of the akad [ritual?].

Me: Berapa dalam nak gali ni?
[How deep should be it be dug?]
AW: 3-4 kaki kot.
[3-4 feet, I guess]
Me: Eh, dalam jugak tu. Dahla luas.
[Eh, that's quite deep. Not to mention how wide that hole already is]
AW: Tahun lepas besar ni jugak tapi tak cukup dalam. Sehari dua lepas korban anjing datang gali keluar.
[It was this big last year, but not deep anough. A few days after the korban, dogs came and dug it up]
Me: Ohh… meh sini saya keluarkan tanah tu. Abg relek dulu.
[Oh... let me dig out the dirt from there. You take a break.]

And then we took turns digging out that hole for quite some time. After about 30 mins of digging, we decided that it’s deep anough, and took a break. We grabbed our knives again and help a bit here and there to cut up the meat. By that time, there was no more work for me to do, aside helping to carry basins of meat and attending to the rendang. I was stirring it when something caught my eye.

Me: Apasal ada sudu ngan garpu kat dalam rendang ni?
[Why is there a fork and a spoon in this rendang?]
Hj. Husin: Ntoh le. Dak dau aku. Kunun nok bagi cepak masok kot.
[Beats me. I don't know. Perhaps to let it cook faster.]
Me: Hebat punya petua ni
[This is a damn good trick]
HH: Mokcik-mokcik kamu hok tu yang buak, tau tau je la
[Your aunties over there did it, you should know la..]

When all was done, Hj. Husin called us up again to distribute the korban. For us volunteers, we received two portions [each portion is 1kg], one for upah[fee] one for sedekah[giving alms]. It was nice, but the meat wasn’t why I came anyway.

At about 1pm or so, I went home for a shower and Zohor prayers before heading out to the field again for lunch.

The year long wait was well worth it. I had myself two helpings of Sup Gearbox [Cow Knee Soup]. THAT was what I came for. Yum-may. The rendang was well-made too. In all, it was a very good way kick start the day :D

Later that day, I drove up to Cyberjaya to celebrate a friend’s birthday and spent the night there [Happy 20th Birthday!] and came home much much later after lunch at Alamanda earlier today.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha, and I hope you had a pleasant and less tiring weekend :)