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Bowled by the beauties of the desert

AL GHARBIA - The camel, also called the ‘ship of the desert,’ has been, and will always be the companion of the Bedouin in the deserts.

No wonder the Al Dhafra camel pageant this week has attracted a large number of residents and tourists to the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, where it is being held.

With the changing times, the camel’s role has changed too. However, it continues to be a source of income and can generate huge amounts of money for many.

“Here you are, touching a camel that has fetched millions dirhams. It’s so exciting to see these camels being treated like queens, craning their heads in pride and arrogance — it is absolutely impressive,” said Helen Richard, a visitor from the US to the camel show.

“I decided to attend the event, and see for myself how a man could pay millions of dirhams to have a female camel.

“I thought this was a figment of imagination, but, as seeing is believing, I discovered the truth, when I found how the breeders and owners love and adorn their camels.”

Jack Dew from Canada almost echoed Helen’s words, saying that the place took a festive look, and everybody looked happy. “People here are helpful, and unlike in many other places in the world, you get what you want,” he said.

Laila, a Malaysian, was fascinated when she heard about the festival and travelled from Dubai.

“I became curious to attend the festival, after reading about it,” she said.

“I was eager to find out the reasons; why these people are interested and are very much concerned about camels — I found they were different from other camels.”

The owner of the camels taking part in the festival, should personally present, and stand in front of his camels, and say loudly before the audience: “I swear in the name of the Almighty Allah, that the cow (female) or the bull (male), is mine, or belongs to my legitimate inheritors.”

He will continue to say, “The animal, to the best of my knowledge, is not a hybrid, and God is my witness, thereof.”

The question is — when and how did ‘Al Halfa’ start, what was its purpose, and why did the organisers make it an essential condition for winning the prestigious award of the festival?

Answering the questions, Mohammed Al Mualla Al Morar, an experienced camel breeder, said: “The tradition was old, and began with the kickoff of the camels beauty pageant.”

In the past, he said, “The cow should be in the possession of the participant, or owned by one of his brothers, if they were partners. “Later, the situation changed, by adding a phrase that the cow is a purebred, and not a hybrid.“The breeders used to swear that they knew very well the pedigree of the camels.“When a person bought a cow, he took an oath after the oath of its original breeder, from which he purchased.”

In the first pageant in April 2008, the initial part of the oath ceremony was removed. Al Morar said the oath was thereafter confined to the last owner or breeder saying that “the cow is a purebred.”

Due to the change in the oath, a problem cropped up, that many camel breeders refrained from taking part in the contests of the festival, as they should be quite sure that their camels were purebred.

This is how the traditional oath ceremony in its old form has made a return to the festival, Al Morar explained.Al Morar said this is why many breeders have returned in large numbers to have their camels take part in the festival

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