While many of you were enjoying beef brisket and matzo balls
this Passover, I was at the Hebrew Cultural Center in Georgetown celebrating
the “Feast of Unleavened Bread.” What made this night different than all the
other nights, I’ve celebrated Passover? Well, a lot.
I was told to arrive by 6 p.m. I was already in town for a
training at the Peace Corps office that ended just a little after 5, so I had
to book it to catch a bus to the Center; I ended up arriving just a few minutes
after 6. However, unlike the past few times I’ve gone on Saturday’s it was
quiet (no sound of drums from a block away) and only a few people were there.
Strange, I thought, since I’ve been told that Passover is supposed to be a big
deal. The sun was just about to set, how odd that I was one of the few people
there.
After hanging around for a little, the Kohen (what they call
their Rabbi), asked if I wanted to come and watch the ceremonial slaughter of
the lamb. Well of course! So I went out back where there was not one, but seven
lambs tied up, a trench dug, a large pit, and a wooden beam suspended. The
lambs were then herded to the other side of the building so they wouldn’t see
what was to happen. Then the first lamb was taken and blessed by the Kohen,
then held down over the trench and slaughtered by a male congregant. After most
of the blood had been drained from the neck into the trench it was hung up on
the suspended wooden beam and the process was repeated six more times. While
the other lambs were blessed and slaughtered, other congregants worked to help
fill the giant pit with charcoal and skin the hanging lambs. Once all the lambs
were skinned and organs removed, they were each given a thorough wash to remove
any remaining blood and seasoned. I’ve never had raw lamb before, but I was so
close to taking a big bite out of one of the legs as a congregant passed holding
a whole seasoned lamb and I caught a whiff of it; it smelled amazing. Seasoned
with olive oil, plenty of lemon, and green seasoning (a Guyanese seasoning
staple, though you can buy it here, most people make their own because its way
better. A wet blend of parsley, celery, thyme, garlic, hot pepper, and salt; it
would taste great off a car bumper), the lambs were placed on grates over the
burning coals. Once all the lambs were finally on the grill the service could
begin. In the meantime the women were in the kitchen making whole-wheat matzo
from scratch, and provision stew (a mixture of ripe and green plantains, eddo,
and sweet potato, think of it like a chunky mashed potato mixture).
A little after 9 p.m. the service finally began (and you
thought you got hungry waiting through a Maxwell House Haggadah Sedar?). It
wasn’t a sedar like I’m used to sitting down at a family table, but rather like
a typical Shabbat service at the Center with prayers, songs, and Torah readings
with the congregation sitting in rows. And to fulfill the commandment, the
Kohen told the story of Exodus, which was by far the shortest part of the
entire service! It was only about a paragraph long. Towards the end of the
service as the drums beat, the bitter herb was passed around so everyone could
get a piece. In Guyana they don’t have horseradish, but instead use carilla,
which is actually a bitter vegetable.
It makes for the perfect bitter herb.
When the service finally ended a bit after 11p.m. the feast
begin (again, anyone else going to complain about how their sedar took forever
and they were hungry?). The food was amazing, by far the best matzo I’ve EVER
eaten (who would ever say that?!). It was warm and soft and they served it
alongside fresh pine(apple) jam. Everybody looked at me like I was crazy when I
explained what matzo is like back in the states; a miserable stale cracker. The
provision stew was comforting finally eating close to midnight getting some hot
food, but the award definitely goes to the lamb. Fresh (about as fresh as it
gets) grilled lamb pulled from the bones, I’m not too sure there’s anything
better! And as the Kohen explained to the congregation, that in accordance with
the Torah, only males that are circumcised may partake in the lamb
(circumcision is not a common practice in Guyana) and anyone that would like he
can put in touch with a reputable individual who can arrange the procedure
(later in conversation with other congregants his work was vouched for as
“doing a good job”). The lamb was served on an honor system.
Here there were no four cups of wine, asking of any
questions, or finding hidden matzo around the building. People limed (hung out),
ate, and talked all through the night. As it’s referenced in the Torah, it’s a
“night of watching” so everyone stays (or tries) awake the entire night. The
kids love it; it’s like a lock in where they can hang out with their friends
all night long. I figured since I finished eating dinner after midnight staying
awake until sunrise wouldn’t be so hard. It was the next day that proved the
most challenging as I had a presentation to give first thing in the morning back
at the office.
The night was a lot of fun. I sat up talking with a lot of
the congregants for hours about anything from current politics to the
differences between how I celebrate Passover and how they celebrate.
Periodically people would get more food and continue the feast, as all of the
meat had to be finished by sunrise. Any meat leftover (along with all the bones
and organs) would be burned in the fire just before sunrise. Once the first
sun’s rays shown through an overcast sky the horn blew and those sleeping woke
up for a brief morning service. After a hot cup of tea and a breakfast of some
more fresh matzo and fried plantains, I headed straight to the office for a
second day of training.
From the outside this seems like a completely different
holiday, but it really just sticks with the biblical version to truly celebrate
the Feast of Unleavened bread. I was waiting to see if any of the lamb’s blood
would be collected and wiped on the door posts, but the Kohen said it wasn’t
necessary since that was only for the original Passover and not for the
retelling.
