InfoAnda - In Senegal, a sheep is man's best friend

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Read more with google mobile : In Senegal, a sheep is man's best friend

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition World In Senegal, a sheep is man's best friend AFP - Wednesday, November 17 Send IM Story Print In Senegal, a sheep is man's best friend DAKAR (AFP) - – It is the day of reckoning for reality television star Hamza, a large white ram that is among 15 contestants hoping to be crowned Senegal's most beautiful sheep. His owner, Mohamed Diop, 38, who calls Hamza "my pet and my best friend", is the nervous one, however, with a prize of two million CFA francs (3,000 euros, 4,000 US dollars) only one of the issues at stake. "If I win..." he says, pausing as he peers over a throng of people crowding his stall before yelling to attract the attention of a young woman standing shyly to the side clutching a baby. "If I win," he repeats, pointing and beaming, "I am going to marry that girl!" The popular Kharbii competition -- Kharbii is sheep in the local Wolof language -- now in its second year has gathered a massive television following with viewers following the show week by week as finalists are whittled down. Organiser Marianne Bathily of the African marketing agency EXPagency, says the competition is a platform for Senegalese "to express their passion for sheep", an animal with huge religious significance in Islam. The competition comes ahead of the biggest day in the Muslim calendar, the Festival of Sacrifice Eid Al-Adha, known in west Africa as Tabaski. The festival commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael, at which time God, rewarding his obedience, allowed him to slaughter a ram instead. On November 17, some 690,000 sheep will be slaughtered in Senegal in one day, Farming Minister Oumou Khairy Gueye Seck told AFP. "We have opened the borders and given a tax exemption for sheep coming from the sub-region, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso etc," she said. As the holiday approaches, sheep are seen bundled into the backseat of cars, tied onto the roof of a minibus taxi or encouraged across a busy mini-section in the city where hundreds are sold on street corners. Families across the west African country have tightened their belts to lay out the hefty sum required to buy the animal, with the cheapest -- and smallest -- sheep coming in at around 50 euros, the average monthly salary. While banks offer special Tabaski loans, organisations go all out to donate free sheep to needy families. "It is the Quran which recommends that each individual, each adult believer who has the means, must slaughter a sheep. It is obligatory," said Imam Aliou Cisse of the Grand Mosque of Sacre Coeur. However no-one should be excluded from the sacrificial meal and anyone unable to afford a sheep "is obliged to call on his family for meat." While the animal plays an important religious role, the Kharbii competition shows the sheep is also a much-loved pet. There is even a Facebook group where men coo over each photographed animal, endlessly discussing its merits. According to organiser Bathily "eight houses out of 10 have sheep and in fact, sheep are Senegalese dogs. They love their sheep and it is not just for Tabaski. The sheep are even named." Keeping sheep in the house, at the foot of the stairs or on the roof, protects the inhabitants from "black magic", says Bathily. For men it is also a status symbol: "Having a big sheep is like having a big car, you want to impress your neighbourhood and your friends." The animals are kept gleaming white with regular baths in the sea. It is a common site at popular beaches to have a group of boys leading a bleating sheep into the ocean to be scrubbed clean. Back at the competition finals, Assane Diop speaks on behalf of Gora Diokhane from Rufisque whose ram Magal is also a finalist. He describes the relationship between a man and his sheep as "very complex". "Maybe some people see a sheep as an animal to eat or slaughter. But we breeders see it as a pet. There is a very strong love that links a breeder and his ram, his ewe, his lamb. It is indescribable," says Assane Diop. When a group of men get together to discuss sheep, lineage and breeding, it can get "very passionate", he laughs. In the small arena, the hot late afternoon air choking with dust, the sheep perform their final parade. The crowd goes wild as one by one the finalists enter the area. Hamza, like his owner Mohamed -- who wears a sleeveless black T-shirt that hugs his muscles, low-slung jeans, a cap and a chequered scarf casually tossed around his shoulders -- has swagger. But despite his convincing strut, he does not make the top three and it is Magal from Rufisque who is crowned the best-looking sheep in all of Senegal. fb/ns/jj Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary Reuters - 41 minutes ago Apple says Beatles songs now on iTunes Reuters - 42 minutes ago Final Harry Potter movie will be "like a war film" Reuters - 2 hours 22 minutes ago Beatles coming to Apple's iTunes: source Reuters - Wednesday, November 17 Fireworks at Appalam premiere CinemaOnline - Wednesday, November 17 News Search Top Stories Prince William to marry Kate Middleton next year 'Baby black hole' offers insight into cosmic enigma EasyJet profits surge 70%, plans first dividend Pilgrims stone the 'devil' as Muslims celebrate Eid Japan space probe collected asteroid dust More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended Greece admits breach of bailout terms as audit begins Oil will run out 100 years before new fuels developed: study US truck dealer triggers buying spree with free AK-47s Prince William to marry Kate Middleton next year Branson to serve as 'stewardess' after losing F1 bet More Most Viewed » Alcohol more harmful than heroin, crack cocaine: study Toddler survives seven-floor fall in France EU fines 11 airlines 800 million euros for air cargo cartel 'Naked' airport scanners may be 'dangerous' Be fit, have fewer colds: study More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! 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