TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
High steaks: Cows go from roofs to plates in Pakistan for Eid
Change Size
In this photograph taken on August 4, 2019, a man stands on a bull being lowered with a crane from a roof of a building in preparation for the Muslim annual festival of Eid al-Adha or the Festival of Sacrifice, in Karachi. In Karachi alone nearly half a million cows, goats and other camels will be sold or sacrificed during the Eid al-Adha holiday. But in the sprawling city of around 20 million, notorious for its gridlocked traffic, dense neighbourhoods, and woeful lack of greenspace, some roofs are transformed into temporary livestock pins ahead of Eid. (AFP/Rizwan Tabassum)
S
yed Ejaz Hassan's annual ritual in Pakistan’s megacity of Karachi has kicked off, which will see his cows transported from a roof to plates over the coming days ahead of next week's Eid al-Adha holiday.
Muslims slaughter an animal -- a goat, sheep, cow, or camel -- on the annual festival in a ritual that stems from the story of the prophet Abraham, commanded by God to slaughter his beloved son Ismail.
The meat is then distributed in equal parts to the poor, to relatives, and consumed by the family themselves.
In Karachi alone, nearly half a million cows, goats and camels will be sold or sacrificed during the holiday.
But in the sprawling city of around 20 million, notorious for its gridlocked traffic, dense neighborhoods and woeful lack of green space, some roofs are transformed into temporary livestock pens ahead of Eid.
For Hassan -- an entrepreneur -- the roof of his four-floor building is the only place with enough space for the hay and troughs necessary to raise the half dozen cattle he hopes to sell for a profit before Eid.
Once the animals are fattened, cranes are then used to bring the animals down from the rooftop to the streets -- amusing pedestrians watching from below.
"We raised them with love and care," says the 56-year-old Hassan.
Even if it is necessary, "it hurts to sacrifice these animals which we have raised," he adds.
Read also: Eid prayers in churchyard show religious harmony in East Java
Bracelets and henna
While thousands of animals will be slaughtered next week to celebrate Eid, livestock sellers and customers still prefer to add a bit of flamboyance to their purchases, outfitting their animals with leg bracelets or flowers necklaces while others are dyed with henna.
But amongst the lively and chaotic atmosphere in Karachi’s livestock markets are bitter negotiations.
Double-digit inflation, a depreciating rupee, and a range of new taxes in Pakistan this year have translated into much higher prices for animals this Eid.
"(The farmers) are demanding exorbitant prices for cattle, almost double to that of last year," says Syed Zeeshan.
"Last year I bought an animal for 100,000 rupees (about US$625), but I will have to pay 12,000 more rupees (US$75) for a smaller one," complains another customer Mohammad Imran, a small business owner.
Despite the rise in prices, about 80,000 cows have already been sold at a single market in northern Karachi, according to administrator Zaki Abro.
To distinguish their stock in the crowded market, sellers have in some cases have chosen names for their animals, including a recently sold bull called Trump, with the hope of attracting customers.
"He has similar grandeur and distinction like the US president," says Abro.
