Jul, 2013
商社マンとしてサウディ・アラビアの首都リヤド駐在時のこと。スーク（市場）にオフィスがあるお客とアポイントが取れた。「11時に来てほしい」とのことだったので、約束当日、午前11時に行ってみると、店々のシャッターが一斉に降りていて、スーク全体がガラーンとしている。一体どうしたことかと訝るのだが、後で判明した。「午後11時に来い」ということだったのだ。
その理由は、折しもイスラーム暦の断食（ラマザーン）の月。ムスリム（イスラーム教徒）は日のあるうちは断食を行い何も食べない。敬虔なムスリムは自らの唾を飲み込むことさえせず、あちこちで唾を吐いてる。
ラマザーンは、ムスリムにとっての絶対生活訓たる「聖クルアーン」によると最初の啓示が下った聖なる月で、一年でもっとも祝福に満ちた月として待ち焦がれる月なのだ。
そして、件（くだん）の市場では日没と共に店を再開し、また、親戚縁者を集めての飲み食い（といってももちろんアルコールはなし）が、あたかも宴会のごとく店先で始まる。場合によっては徹夜騒ぎになる。
だから、翌日には寝不足と食べ過ぎで、グロッキー状態だ。そしてまた通常よりも沢山食べるから、断食月にはかえって太ってしまうことになる。
その断食は旅行者や重労働者、妊婦・産婦・病人・子供など合理的な事情のある場合は例外らしい。
異例の相撲力士「大砂嵐」はエジプト出身。イスラーム教徒。ラマザーン月には、日中の食事はなし。相撲は言ってみれば「重労働」だと思うのだが、元々スポーツマンであった「大砂塵」はずっと忠実に教えを守ってきて、「これもトレーニングのうち」と平気の平左と聞く。
ラマザーン月明けは盆と正月が一緒に来たようで大宴会となる。そして、その費用は、一族の中で最も成功した裕福な者が負担している。家父長制の一つの表れであり、一種の所得再分配という社会システムとも言える。
Breakfastとは朝食かと思っていたら、さにあらず、この「Break Fast＝つまりFast （断食）をBreak （解く）」は夜に宴たけなわとなる。
夜中近くの商談から、「なるほど文化の差」かと学んだものだ。
Jul, 2013
Breakfast at night Other Eyes and Ears – Vol.5
Seconded to the Saudi capital of Riyadh while working for a trading company, I got an appointment with a client whose office was in the souk (marketplace). Asked to “come at 11”, I duly turned up at 11 am on the day arranged, only to find the shops all shuttered, and the souk deserted. What on earth was going on, I wondered suspiciously. Later it transpired that I’d actually been told to come at 11 pm. .
The reason: my visit just happened to coincide with the month of Ramadan according to the Islamic calendar. During Ramadan Muslims fast in the hours of daylight, eating nothing. The most devout do not even swallow their own saliva, preferring to spit all over the place.
According to the Koran, the Muslim holy book which sets out absolute precepts for living, Ramadan is the sacred month in which the Prophet Muhammad first received revelations from Allah. As the most blessed month of the year, it is much anticipated..
The aforementioned market reopens at sunset, extended families gathering at the shops to eat and drink (though no alcohol, of course)in party-like fashion. In some cases, the festivities continue through the night..
Which means that the next day, people are groggy from too much eating and not enough sleep. And because they eat much more than usual, paradoxically this month of fasting often becomes a month of expanding waistlines.
Apparently some are sensibly exempted from the fasting requirement, including travelers, people performing heavy manual labor, pregnant women, women in labor, invalids, and children..
The remarkable Egyptian sumo wrestler Osunaarashi is a Muslim. During Ramadan he refrains from eating during the day. I suppose sumo could be classed as “heavy labor”, but Osunaarashi, originally a sportsman, has always adhered faithfully to his religion’s teachings on the matter of Ramadan, and is said to be perfectly OK with the fasting, describing it as “all part of the training”..
The end of Ramadan is a celebration to rival Obon and New Year combined, paid for by the wealthiest and most successful member of the family: a manifestation of the patriarchal nature of Muslim society, and also perhaps a form of social welfare: a way of redistributing income.
You may think breakfast should be eaten in the morning, but no, this “breaking of the fast” reaches its pinnacle at nighttime. Engaging in business talks in what was virtually the middle of the night gave me insight into yet another way in which cultures can differ.
International business consultant. Part-time lecturer at the Bunkyo University Faculty of International Studies. After graduating with a degree in economics from Keio University in 1965, studied at a foreign trade college before taking up a post in the Middle East in charge of oil for a trading company. At the age of forty-five, launched a new career in the information business and moved to New York. Following jobs at a translation company and Japanese-US communications fi m, chose the path of self-employment in 2002. Set up the Saudi Arabian pavilion at the Aichi Expo. Has worked on a series of music videos on renowned conductor Leonard Bernstein. Japanese advisor to firms such as U.S. information systems company Cognizant and U.K. educational publisher Pearson.
