Kor*te

Today in Senegal Musl*ms are breaking their month of fasting for Ramad*n with a day of celebration. In light of the fact that Senegal is a Musl*m country, Kor*te (pronounced core-ee-tay) is a national holiday and even the missionary community "observes" with a day off school.

Ramad*n is a month of fasting in which Musl*ms refrain from eating, drinking, and sexual relations from dawn to sunset. This makes for an interesting experience for everyone in the country who is affected by the tiredness, and irritability of those observing the fast. I even came across a Senegalese website encouraging visitors to stay away during the month of Ramad*n because it can often be an "awful" experience for a variety of reasons.

To give you an idea of how daily life is affected, I have been woken up almost every morning for the last month between 5:30am-5:45am with the call to prayer heard from the neighbourhood mosq*e. Store hours tend to be altered, and out of respect for our house help and security guards we try not to eat or drink when they are around during the day. If you happen to be out in traffic around 7pm driving can be atrocious as people are at their worst after a day without food or drink. They are desperate to get home in preparation for breaking the fast. You can generally buy dates and water from vendors out the window of your car at this time as this is the traditional way to break the fast. They believe that starting with dates, sweet breads and pastries is good for your system as you begin to eat after a long period of fasting. On more than one occasion I have found myself in a grocery store between 6-7pm waiting in extensive line-ups as people shop in preparation for their evening meals.

Today marks the end of the fast, it is the day when families and friends get together in celebration much like we would for Thanksgiving or Easter. The end of the fasting period is marked by the first day of the following month according to the sighting of the new moon. This is announced by the local religious leader and is not generally known until the day of. We only found out we would have the day off school as of Tuesday and this was because we knew that the full moon would appear Friday, Saturday OR Sunday. Food is donated to the poor, people often have new clothes made by the local tailor or wear their best outfits. Communal prayers are held in the early morning, followed by feasting and visiting relatives and friends. Kari was out this morning and apparently the city is quiet and deserted which is uncharacteristic and contrary to the usual hustle and bustle as early as 5am on a typical day (weekend or not).

I have to admire the discipline and commitment of the Musl*m people as they observe the month of Ramad*n. Fasting is intended to teach patience, humility, and spirituality. It's definitely not easy in the intense heat of the day. There have been a few times in the last two weeks when I have missed my afternoon meal and within an hour or two I'm grumpy and my stomach is aching.

During Ramad*n Musl*ms sacrifice for the sake of God and offer more prayer than usual. They ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds. Musl*ms believe Ramad*n to be an auspicious month for the revelations of God to humankind, being the month in which the first verses of the Q*r'an were revealed to the Islam*c prophet, Muh*mmad.

It is a time when I, as a Christian, am challenged to reflect on how undisciplined and uncommitted I can be when it comes to things as simple as my daily Bible reading and prayer time, let alone fasting. It's ironic to me that while the people here are obligated to seek after patience, humility and spirituality (or holiness), these are things that I aspire to in my relationship with God. Though I am not mandated by my local pastors or restricted by social pressure, I should be intrinsically motivated by my love for God to pursue these things of my own accord.


**I referred to Wikipedia.org for info regarding Ramand*n