The teeming mass of Muslims in The Gambia joined the rest of the Islamic world to observe Eid-ul-Adha on Sunday.
Tens of thousands of worshippers dressed in fine clothes trooped to mosques and large clearings to perform congregational prayers to mark an important event in Islam.
Other Muslims in The Gambia are set to observe Eid on Monday which the government has declared a public holiday.
The climax to Eid is the customary ritual of slaughtering rams by Muslims as an act of sacrifice for those among them who can afford it.
Islam also enjoins worshippers to slaughter other livestock such as goat, camel or cow if they cannot afford a sheep.
The tradition dates back to the Prophet Abraham who was instructed by God to slaughter his son as an act of worship.
As Muslim traditions go, God would later send a ram through the Angel Gibril as Abraham was about to apply his knife on his son’s throat.
Thus began the ritual which would become a centerpiece of worship for Muslims many centuries later.
WN/as/APA