New Archive:
March 2001 Issue
Purim Middle Eastern Style:
Setting the Night on Fire
By Loolwa Khazzoom
Hey, you Purim party animals! Before you dress up as this year's hottest dominatrix and head off to your annual drunken revelry, let's take a virtual trip to the Middle East, where passion is in abundance, to get a few pointers on spicing up your celebration this year.
IRAN: Pyromania Heaven
The direct descendants of Esther and Mordechai have a thing or two to teach us about having a blast on this holiday. Traditionally, Iranian Jewish children would make a large effigy of Haman and fill his clothes with gunpowder. Jewish homes in Iran were built with courtyards in the center, and in the middle of those courtyards, the children would set up a large stick, from which they would hang Haman. They then would throw oil over the effigy and set it alight. (Firecrackers on July 4? Yawn.) Jews of all ages also would make pilgrimage to Hamadan, Iran, to visit the tombs of Esther and Mordechai. In addition, the women would cook up a storm with a gazillion traditional Purim sweets.
Morocco: More Food and Fire!
Moroccan Purim sweets include cookies and cakes such as Azlag and Cabeza de Purim, as well as a special cous-cous dish, Barkuk. In Morocco, Jewish children made scarecrow figures of Haman and his ten sons, hung them on a tree, and burned them. In addition, all Moroccan Jews shot cap guns and stomped their feet when Haman's name was read during the megillah service in the synagogue.
Egypt: Party All Night Long!
Two Jewish communities lived in Egypt--the Karaites and the Rabbinic Jews. Karaites were Jews who believe that the rabbis interfered with G-d's original teaching to the children of Israel. For this reason, the Karaites only followed Biblical Jewish practices. Rabbinic Jews, on the other hand, were Jews who believed in and followed the teachings of the rabbis. Throughout most of the year, these two communities lived in two separate sections of the Jewish quarter. But on Purim, the two quarters became one, and the streets were decorated festively. The gates to the Jewish quarter were locked from the inside, so that no outsider could get in unless accompanied by a Jew.
Celebrations started a few days before Purim, and on the eve of Purim lasted the entire night until the morning hours. Adults and children freely wandered the streets in fancy masquerade clothing. For this reason, the holiday was called Id al Maskharah--the feast of the masquerade. Throughout the streets, people gathered to play traditional gambling games and to belly dance. Food stands sold shishkabab, pasta, pickles, and salads.
In Karaite homes, families ate sweets such as Wedan Hij'midn (Haman's ears) and Bugh Ashah (strudel filled with cream), and people exchanged gifts with each other. For example, the head of each family would give each family member a generous monetary gift. In the synagogues, beeswax candles were lit in a special room which was supervised throughout the holiday. Shops were closed on Purim, and it was a popular day to get engaged.
Iraq: Hey, Mr. DJ
The megillah (m'rilla) reading was a party in itself. As in Morocco, everyone would shoot cap guns and stomp their feet whenever Haman's name was read. After services, a group of musicians would tour throughout the Jewish quarter on Purim (Md'jella), cranking out traditional tunes to liven up the parties. People would roam from house to house, bringing special Md'jella sweets, such as simbousak b'shikir (pastries filled with walnuts, rosewater, cardamon, and sugar) and ba'aba (pastries made with dates and sesame seeds). Families would play gambling games such as nakshehood and dosa (see instructions below) in honor of the Purim theme of chance, a.k.a., drawing lots. The head of a family would give money to all guests, to use for gambling, and would give money to all the children of the family as well. The money children won from the games and received as gifts would be split in half: One half would be used to give to s'daqa (charity), and the other half would be used to buy new clothes for Pesach.
Chug-a-Lug:
As far as I know, getting plastered on Purim was not traditional in any of the Middle Eastern or North African countries--certainly not in Iraq, where my family is from. The holiday was more of a family holiday, full of traditional games, music, dance, food, and socializing. In addition, in Iraq as well as in other countries, Jews dressed up only as characters from the Purim story (as opposed to characters from Marvel comics).
Truth be told, I find the traditional Mizrahi celebration of Purim to be much more fun than the booz-fest costume parties I have experienced in my adult years--which sometimes seem indistinguishable from Halloween raves. The Purim traditions and story offer so much richness and so many prototypes to play with that I just don't feel the need to dress up as a drag queen and dance to the latest techno beats, while chugging down my fifth bottle of Beck's. That I can do any old Saturday night. So check out some of the traditional Mizrahi ways of celebrating this year, and see what you think! Meanwhile, I am and remain truly yours, Loolwa Khazzoom: Iraqi homegirl and the party's designated driver.
For recipes and further information on Purim in the Middle East and North Africa, visit the Jewish Multicultural Curriculum Project links to Jewish communities around the world http://www.temple-isaiah.org/jmcp/links.htm. Also check out your local Jewish bookstore for religious, historical, and recipe books from the Mizrahi and Sephardi traditions. If your bookstore doesn't carry any such books, contact Afikomen Books in Berkeley.
Learn to Play DOSA--A Traditional Mizrahi Purim Game
The story of Purim revolves around the theme of chance. Haman chose a date to kill the Jews by drawing lots. He then was killed on the day that he chose to kill the Jews. Dosa is a game that involves no skill whatseover. It is strictly based on chance.
Rules of Playing:
1. There is a rotating dealer at each table. The dealer can win or lose the most of anyone at the table in each round.
2. Dealer puts out as many stacks of cards as there are people at the table.
3. Everyone at the table except the dealer puts as much money as they want to bet, on any pile they want--only on one pile. Keep in mind you may win or lose four times the amount you bet.
4. Leave the piles in the middle of the table in a row.
5. Dealer is the only one a the table with no money on a pile.
6. Dealer turns over piles of cards, beginning with her own. Dealer asks before turning over each pile, "Whose pile is this?" The card that is relevant is the one on the bottom of the pile.
Rules of winning:
1. If the better wins, she gets back the amount she put on the card. The dealer gives the better that amount from the dealer's money.
2. If the dealer wins, the dealer gets what is on the pile.
How much do you win?
o 2-9 are regular cards. Highest number wins the amount bet on the pile.
o J, Q, K are face cards, called "Haman." They have the numerical value of 10. They beat 2-9, but they have no magic value.
o 10 is a magic card. It wins 2x what is bet.
o Ace is a magic card. It wins 3x what is bet.
o Joker is a magic card. It wins 4x what is bet.
Loolwa Khazzoom is the
founder and coordinator of the Jewish Multicultural Curriculum Project.
For the past decade, she has done cutting edge work in Jewish multicultural
education, founding organizations and leading workshops internationally.
She also is a professional musician and author. She just published her
first book, Consequence:
Beyond Resisting Rape.
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