DAKAR, Senegal– When Cheikh Moustapha Seck, a 24-year-old sheep farmer from Senegal, talks about his animals, his face lights up.
“It takes love and patience to work with sheep,” Seck said, lovingly stroking the long neck of Sonko, his champion sheep, named after the country’s new prime minister.
Sonko is not just any sheep. It’s a locally bred Ladoum, the equivalent of a Ferrari among woolly creatures. The majestic-looking Ladoum can weigh up to 397 pounds (180 kilograms) and has made this coastal West African nation famous among breeders.
As Muslims around the world prepare to celebrate Eid al-Adha This weekend, the second most important holiday in the Islamic calendar, Ladoum will have its time to shine.
During Tabaski, as the holiday is known locally, Muslims commemorate the Quranic story of Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice Ismail as an act of obedience to God. They kill and eat a sheep, making the animal highly sought after in the days leading up to the festival.
The Sonko sheep was born last year, when his namesake Ousmane Sonko was still a jailed opposition leader and apparently far from leading the country. Like him, Sonko the sheep “was a warrior and our hope,” Seck said.
As political events have calmed down since Senegal’s elections earlier this year, this weekend’s celebrations are taking on new life. People have diverted their attention from the protests to the mimes, at least the prize sheep.
Celebrated for its gleaming white coat and symmetrical horns, the Ladoum is most often purchased for beauty pageants and prestigious breeding, rather than for eating. On Eid al-Adha, like Ibrahim’s son, they will be saved.
Very few in Senegal can afford a Ladoum. With a value of up to $70,000, the sheep is the ultimate symbol of social prestige in a country where the GDP per capita does not exceed $1,600. After years of record inflation, many are struggling to afford regular sheep at prices starting at around $280.
The Ladoums spend their days being groomed, massaged and syringe-fed vitamins in special rooms, decorated with photographs of champion sheep and their lineage.
Balla Gadiaga, a salon owner who inherited his parents’ passion for sheep, said his clients come from all over the African continent.
“Just yesterday I had someone from Abuja on the phone,” he said, referring to Nigeria’s capital. “We sell to customers in Senegal but also in Gambia, Nigeria and Mali. Everywhere.”
His favorite sheep is called BRT, after the acronym for the electric buses that circulate in Dakar, the capital. It is of “excellent measurements” and “extraordinary beauty,” she said. It’s also worth $40,000, a bargain compared to Gadiaga’s most expensive, which is over $65,000.
Gadiaga stated that sheep are not only big business but also a source of happiness.
“When you’re stressed and you’re ahead of the sheep, you’re calm,” he said. “You feel comfortable.”
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