We had planned to celebrate Christmas with our staff on Monday, January
5th two days before the actual holiday. But arriving home late Saturday
night, we wondered if it would happen since numerous preparations need
to be made ahead of time such as buying & grinding grain (a job we
had given to one of our staff who we later found out was quite ill),
fermenting the flour for atleast a day in order to make it into injera
and then finding women to make the injera. Although we had left money
for one of our staff to buy a goat, we weren't confident that had
happened.
But it all came together in the end. We were able to pick up the ground grain at 7pm as we passed through the town it had been purchased in. The grinding mill was strangely open at that late hour and the grain already ground. Sunday afternoon, we discovered the goat had indeed been purchased (although the staff member who had purchased it had travelled to another town and not told anyone whether he had actually bought the goat or not.)
So the feast was on. Ladies prepared the batter and began baking the injera on a hot clay pan Monday afternoon and Joel, Rolf and one of our staff slaughtered the goat. They "enjoyed" raw liver and other seered innards as is custom for those who prepare the meat.
The women spent the afternoon cutting up the meat and preparing stew. Around 5pm, our staff, their wives, children and a few extras gathered together to enjoy a spicy goat stew with injera. Sweet coffee ended our time of fellowship.
Their bodies may be dusty but they are patiently waiting for their plate of goat stew with clean hands.
A goat costs about $40 so although goats are wandering all over Gesses, they are only slaughtered on special occasions. More often they are used to pay for debts or a court case. Because of this, meat is not a regular part of their diet due and every part of the goat is consumed except for the hide, the horns, and the hoofs.
The semi-digested intestine contents (until the point at which the contents turn into feces) were squeezed into a cup and served to Joel and Rolf. The stomach and intestines are then washed and served as an appetizer or dessert. For this celebration, it was dessert.
Small bones were consumed, the marrow was sucked out of larger bones, innards were cleaned, cooked in the blood of the goat and passed around for dessert. After the kids and spouses returned home, the men (including Rolf) sat around the fire, laughing and talking together consuming the last item on the menu: goat's head. Picked clean, the evening ended with singing and flute playing.
Nothing wasted. There are no leftovers to pack away. And I wonder if our staff didn't enjoy their Christmas feast even more than you or I as they tossed a few remaining bones to the dogs and lay out the goat hide to dry.
But it all came together in the end. We were able to pick up the ground grain at 7pm as we passed through the town it had been purchased in. The grinding mill was strangely open at that late hour and the grain already ground. Sunday afternoon, we discovered the goat had indeed been purchased (although the staff member who had purchased it had travelled to another town and not told anyone whether he had actually bought the goat or not.)
The semi-digested intestine contents (until the point at which the contents turn into feces) were squeezed into a cup and served to Joel and Rolf. The stomach and intestines are then washed and served as an appetizer or dessert. For this celebration, it was dessert.
Small bones were consumed, the marrow was sucked out of larger bones, innards were cleaned, cooked in the blood of the goat and passed around for dessert. After the kids and spouses returned home, the men (including Rolf) sat around the fire, laughing and talking together consuming the last item on the menu: goat's head. Picked clean, the evening ended with singing and flute playing.
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