Eid in Kelaa II
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Day 3
In the morning, a group of men gathered on a wide street with sticks made ahead in time for eid to play “Mandi/olhulaa mandi”. “Mandi” is a local sport played using a long stick (a bat) and small wooden pieces (3- 4 inch long, locally called “foali). It is played as two teams, one as the striking team and other team as the catching team.
A small dip was made in the ground and pieces were placed in the dip. Players hit the foali with the bat, which raises it into the air. With practiced precision, the player then strikes the foali hard towards the team on the other end of pitch. If the opponent catches the foali, the striker and the catcher will face a showdown, called “Udi enburun”, a type of synchronized dance similar to Capoeira. If the striker beats the catcher, he gets to play again. Or else he will be out. This art of playing mandi is slowly dying and today there are very few people who know the sport well and the proper way to perform the “gulhamathi hiffun” and “Udi enburun”. If we want to conserve this fading art, some serious work needs to be done and soon!
At the end of the game, the men dance over to the beach with live boduberu and clean themselves in the sea. As per tradition, women came to fetch the men from the sea. However, the modern twist is that instead of the hot herbal water and massage as in the past, now the women come with boduberu and hot noodle soup. Families enjoyed the meal together, bantering on the beach while enjoying the sea and the amazing view from the island as boduberu played in the background.
In the past, women would come to fetch the men from the beach playing drums and take them to a shady area on the beach. The area would be covered with dried coconut leaves and pots full of warm water with herbs. Women would give massages to players of mandi using the warm herbal water. This was called “veyogandu modun”. This is no longer practiced in the community.
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In the evening there was a tug of war between male and female teams followed by an event held especially for children. As the evening went on, people gathered to perform a local play called “ vagu Kulhun”. The play is about a farmer trying to protect his banana trees from a group of thieves and involves a lot of improvisation. There is a leader among the thieves called “mula vagu” who leads the pack to steal the bananas. Also in the group of thieves is a doctor who treats all the injured thieves. The banana tree is guarded by the “Badi edhuru” (gun man) who shoots at and tries to kill the thieves as they try to steal the bananas. The end goal for badi edhuru is to kill the thieves before they steal the bananas; and for the thieves it is to steal the bananas without getting killed. Whoever finishes the job first wins the play. Special characters make appearances throughout the play to keep the audience entertained. Kids particularly enjoy this play, as do the adults who take part in playing and watching!
On the third night of Eid celebrations, the stage show continued but this time with more input from the community. Dance groups and short skits made their way on stage much to the amusement of the audience. The title group for the night was the popular rap group Symbolic Records. Most of the audience was rapping right along with the group, a testament to how popular they are in Kelaa!
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Day 4
The activity died down just a little on day 4, when families took the day to spend time together at the Kelaa thundi area. People packed picnics and played watersports at the amazing beach and lagoon.
The sun set on the long Eid weekend surrounded by family, loved ones, good food and good tunes. An Eid well done in Kelaa!
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