Preparations for Eid

Photos: On Thursday, two days before Eid, we spent the entire day in this hair/henna salon, owned by a friend of Naila's, (with the "wasta" I got a good price). These little girls have the traditional Omani henna, while my sisters and I got black Sudani henna.
The day after we spent almost as long at the hair dresser, where the girls' hair was curled (with a curler heated on an open flame). No one is sure what to do with my hair, or lack thereof, so Belquees told me she would do something with bobby pins, saving it from a sizzling attempt to curl it, alhamdulillah.

11.10.07
This is the last night of going to bed knowing that tomorrow breakfast will not come until 6pm…because Ramadhan is almost over and then it is Eid! A holiday not unlike Christmas in that everyone spends months ahead of time shopping for it, yet infinitely less stressful because all the shopping is for oneself. Gift giving is reserved for host-guest relationships it seems, and these gifts are usually of small value as the importance comes with the act not the thing. Gift giving between lovers is something I have seen on TV, but have not yet found another time when gifts seem expected or even appropriate. If people go to Dubai they bring back their myriad purchases, fresh from the hunt, (much of pre-Eid shopping has carried the intensity of hunting, while with Christmas shopping the mentality often connotes hysteria of potentially forgetting to buy someone something.) Not to discount other holidays, I am only comparing Eid to Christmas because like Christmas, it is something that engages society as a whole, regardless of religion. Indian men hang Eid decorations along the highways, shops with Filippino owners hang “Eid Mubarak” (Blessed Eid) in their windows. Now, in these final days, most of the hopping seems to be over and it is time to focus on the really important stuff; making yourself as beautiful as possible. (Note: unless otherwise indicated, my sphere of experience is almost entirely female; at home I hardly interact with men, (the little boys do not count yet), as “Abu-ee” (my father) Khaled is generally either working or at the home of his second or third wife. Men get new dishdasha for Eid, but that’s about it.) Yesterday Tumathr and I had our lower arms waxed, (“honeyed”, halawa) so that today we could have henna done without hair getting in the way of the design. Tumathr, and SIT students Heather and Kristin and I arrived at the beauty salon at 10am and did not leave until almost 6pm; every woman in Muscat goes to get henna two days before Eid, and has her hair done the day before, and the salon was hopping. Salon culture is interesting; no men, of course, and inside the women generally remove their abaya and shela (headscarf), even when they are only waiting for their hair, or waxing, or henna.
As I type I keep stopping to admire my hands; I think the designs of henna are one of the most elegant aesthetics I have ever seen. It feels strange to have it my body, it almost feels as if it's alove and will keep spreading. Not that I would mind--though perhaps I'll change my mind, at the moment am trying to decide where to get a tattoo of a henna pattern...All four of us chose the more dramatic Sudani henna; Omani henna leaves an orange or brown color, while Sudani henna is black. I had my hands and wrists and palms done, as well as a design on both feet and ankles. Have been completely enchanted with it all evening—Heather and Kristin were making fun of me for behaving like a stoner and gazing dreamily at my hands. When we got home and after iftar Belquees put red henna on my finger and toenails, so now it looks even more dramatic. Mawli, the Indian woman who waxed our arms, seems to be passed among the relatives and friends, staying the night and eating, doing facials, massages, waxes, and oil treatments for hair.
Eid seems to produce less stress than Christmas; no one has any obligation other than to wear new clothes and go visit each other, and make sure that clothes are worn strategically on First, Second or Third Eid, so that if something is not new, you don’t wear it on the day that you will visit those who have seen you wear it before. Luckily for me, this intimidating level of nuance is not necessary, as the clothes are all new or as yet unworn. I have tried to keep shopping to a minimum—perhaps to the chagrin of my mother who loaned me soemthing to wear on the Third Eid when the fmaily gathering will be in a hotel. This is the other requirement on Eid: eat inordinate amounts of food at each subsequent home, apparently. Though it will be great to eat during the day again, this will cause my Ramadhan-shrunken stomach to pooch most unfortunately…wearing loose clothing all the time has many merits.
I should be sleeping because tomorrow night I think we will be up most of the night; the kids will be electrified. It is fun that they get so excited simply because everyone else is excited, rather than in expectation of gifts.
On the first day after Eid, (which will be Sat, Sun, Monday), my family is organizing a BBQ for family and the SIT students—this will be a two-goat party, (sort of like a double kegger), and all day we’ll be on the beach, (well, I’ll be hiding in one of the beach huts until 4pm when the sun finally starts to weaken). And the next day, my 22nd birthday, we’ll head into the desert! One night of desert camping, followed by one night bothering green and loggerhead seaturtles as they come ashore to nest. Oman has managed to preserve its beaches to the extent that leatherbacks, Hanwsbills, and even Olive Ridleys come to nest, although over the next few years this may change as development of the tourist industry continues to be a national priority. Diversification of the economy, which currently runs almost entirely on oil, (the other 5%-10% being the famous Omani dates, and minimal fishing, agriculture, and industry), has pushed the government towards tourism as a source of income, yet Oman does not have actual prospects of supporting itself on tourism.