Forty-four Sheep, One Kitty

By now you will have read the headline: "Villagers Sacrifice 44 Sheep to Honor Obama," or something like that. Yes, it's true: in the village of Cavustepe, in Van province, near Turkey's border with Iran, a group of Kurdish villagers was so overcome with joy at the election of Barack Obama that they sacrificed 44 sheep (because he's the 44th President, get it?), daubed Obama's picture with blood as a token of good luck, got out the zurna and the bass drum for a dance, then made speeches celebrating the end of racism and expressing their hope for world peace. Then they had lunch--non-vegetarian, of course. This linked article shows the festivities, including the kurban, or sacrifice. But the nicest part isn't the slaughtered sheep; it's the kitty that they're sending to the White House as a gift. It's a Van Kedi (cat)(links here and here), which (mashaallah! very auspicious!) has one blue eye and one yellow eye. This is indeed a gracious gift, and is certainly more appropriate and aristocratic than some "goldendoodle" puppy! (Picture of said cat above.)