Xeedho is the Mother-in-Law's gift dish that she offers to her son-in-Law on the 7th day of her daughter's wedding.
There are small pieces of dried camel meat or beef in the dish, referred to as "te muqmad." In fact, the dried meat is cut into small pieces, which are fried in butter, preserved in clarified butter, and poured into an oval-shaped container called the xeedho. The nomads used a wooden vessel as their main utensil for food in the past. They carved it from a tree trunk and decorated it. Currently, muqmad is contained in a calabash or basin.
In the wedding ceremony of the bride and groom, the Xeedho is an imperative moment. Through the Xeedho, two families are able to establish social ties and share a sense of mutual respect. However, they also share a common concern for the welfare of their new home. It is transmitted informally, from mothers, grandmothers, and aunts to their female descendants, more precisely, to their daughters. The production and use of Xeedho are currently declining, due to the reduction in practitioners and the lack of backups capable of sustaining the transmission.
In 2019, UNESCO supported the training of young people and the implementation of a safeguard plan with support from the Ministry of Culture. As a result of these various workshops in the field, the communities expressed their strong desire to safeguard Xeedho. They affirmed their commitment and a firm desire to see this goal realized. Taking part in the inventory of Xeedho was an active activity for the women of the AliSabieh women's association. With the collaboration of the communities, formal contacts have been established with female practitioners observed during wedding preparations in Djibouti-Ville. To determine the urgency to safeguard this element, the Republic of Djibouti conducted a pilot inventory in January 2020 with financial support from UNESCO. In addition, practitioners are encouraged to engage young girls who appear disinterested for lack of the required knowledge with the aim of fostering their development. A lack of enthusiasm for Xeedho is also due to external constraints resulting from the modernization of the city.
In February and March 2022, six practitioners from Djibouti City and its regions of the interior met to consider their role as locomotives, or drivers, in this safeguarding effort. Finally, awareness sessions were held on March 22, 2022, in Assamo, southeast of Djibouti, to inform the communities about the preparation of xeedho dishes.