Community Update and Thanks

Ramadan reflection – “It’s like Christmas in Tuwani”
September 20, 2007
Eileen Hanson

At sundown, the call to prayer goes out. The men gather in the mosque. And soon after return home to break the fast with the evening meal, iFtar (the evening meal of breaking fast).

The first night of Ramadan we were supplied with quite a feast. Chicken and stuffed grape leaves from our neighbor. A platter of rice, and a several ketayef* from another. Fresh baked bread called taboon, made in an earthen oven, is a staple here in Tuwani and we have been blessed with a particular abundance of bread each evening of Ramadan. Dried dates are almost always part of the Ramadan evening meal. A typical Palestinian meal includes a variety of ‘salads’, which include a whole range of delights, all served in small bowls for everyone to share by dipping their bread.

I have had the chance to share a Ramadan break-fast meal with a couple of families in Tuwani and in Hebron. It is a wonderful, informal feast. Paper is spread out on the table (or the floor, which is traditionally where one sits and eats) so clean up is just rolling up all the chicken bones and date pits. After dinner is time for drinking tea and lounging around, at least for guests and the men. (Women are usually off to the kitchen to clean up.) All kinds of fruit are offered, and later after you’ve had a chance to digest, comes the ketayef. Nothing is rushed. The meal is a whole evening affair.

Morning comes early. Morning prayers are around 4:00am. Most people rise even earlier, just past 3:00am, to eat a small meal before sunrise. In Tuwani, a diesel generator supplies electricity for the whole village, so at 3am someone starts up the engine and all the lights come on (there are actually street lights in Tuwani, although all the roads are dirt).

During Ramadan, the call to prayer is much longer, as they sing portions of the Koran over the loudspeaker before the call to prayer. The men gather in the mosque for a short prayer, and as they are leaving, someone goes down to turn of the generator. The sun is up not long after. Shepherds are out very early for grazing, usually just after sunrise.

Daytime is pretty slow in Tuwani right now. Ramadan can fall at any time of the year, since Muslims follow a lunar calendar. When Ramadan falls in the height of summer, Muslims fast for 16-17 hours, during which time they do not eat or drink anything, even water. We are just at the end of summer now. The days are still quite hot, and there is very little vegetation left after the long, dry summer. Many people rest during the day, as the night has been so short. The olive harvest next month will be a very busy time.

Life in the city is noticeably different during Ramadan. In Hebron, no one is smoking or drinking tea or coffee, usually a common sight in any shop. Restaurants are closed, but the market is packed with people buying food to prepare the evening’s feast. Jerusalem is especially busy, as Muslims believe that to pray in Jerusalem (called Al Quds, “the Holy”, in Arabic), during Ramadan brings a special blessing.

Although fasting from all food and drink, allowing nothing to pass your lips during daylight may seem arduous, people are generally happy it’s Ramadan. The other day, I asked our neighbor how he was doing. (He is very good about using simple Arabic words and metaphors that we foreigners can understand.) He said with a big smile, “I’m happy. It’s Ramadan in Tuwani. It’s like, Christmas in Tuwani.”

*Ketayef is like a small pancake. Everyone is selling them in the market these days, made fresh on the griddle. At home, they are then folded in half and filled with all kinds of delightful things, sometimes cheese, sometimes apples and nuts and cinnamon. Then they are baked or fried. Delicious! Although not exclusively for Ramadan, ketayef is one of the special treats of the season.