Global Arab Network | ADACH organizes first milky camel competition in Abu Dhabi

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ADACH organizes first milky camel competition in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage

Wednesday, 16 December 2009 10:27

UAE (Abu Dhabi) – The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) is organizing "Al Dhafra Festival 2010", a world-renowned cultural event focusing on camels, which runs from January 30 until February 8, 2010 in Madenat Zayed in Al Gharbia (The Western Region).

The event’s third edition is held under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

This festival is part of the implementation of ADACH strategy to preserve the cultural heritage of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

More than two thousand camel owners from the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries took part in last year’s event, where more than 24,000 camels competed for the title of the most beautiful camel, in a variety of individual and group categories. The total number of festival prizes in various competitions amounted to more than 40 million UAE dirhams (about 11 million US dollars).

The High Organising Commission announced that January 20, 2010 is the deadline for the registration in Mazayin. This was in order to limit the numbers involved in the local Asayel and Majaheem categories, and organise its entry into several different rounds of the competition, whose results would then be announced electronically.

Camel experts from the Arab Gulf region will form the judging panel. The judges will look at the standard of all parts of the camel’s body, with the total scores amounting to 100: 25 points for the head and neck particulars (the mustache, muzzle, head size, ears, length and height of the neck); 20 points for the upper part of the body (the withers’ length, rise of the withers, form and location of the hump, the back’s length); 15 points for the front (the forehead’s width, shula, the size of the foot); 10 points for the rear (the Fuqar size and step length) and 30 points for general shape and fitness (including the beauty of the camel, the length of the gap between front and back, the size of the mount and the body’s health and the hair’s shine).

Dhafra Festival, which typically attracts thousands of locals and tourists to many of the events, will include many important events such as the traditional market, competitions on poetry, dates and photography and many new heritage events that will be announced later.

The Organising Committee announced the launch of a new contest for the first time at the Dhafra Festival called “Al-Hallab”. This new contest seeks to choose the camel that produces the most milk.

The competition seeks to attract attention to this category in camel breading and encourage camel owners to acquire ‘milky’ camels, especially as these camels have been offering a great economic value for centuries.

The camel’s milk is its most important food product, and has many health benefits as it is used to treat many diseases.

The “Al-Hallab” competition imposes many conditions and standards which are designed to ensure the accuracy of the results and prevent interference in the amount of milk generated by the camel. In addition to this there is a great interest in the participating camels’ food and aspects of their health.

Camels must be clean and free from any diseases to be able to participate. Prizes are awarded for the first ten places in each of the Asayel and Majaheem categories.

Mazayin Dhafra competition is divided into two main categories: Asayel and Majaheem.
Each category has general conditions for participation which are detailed in the participants’ manual, the most important conditions being that the participating camels must be free of any type of hybridization, defects or infectious diseases, and they must adhere to the rounds’ timetable.

Asayel is a breed of camel that originates from the UAE and Oman and is mentioned in Hadith as the “Red Camel”. Its value is also evident in history when Antra bin Shaddad, the historical poet and knight, travelled to the Southern Arabian Peninsula to bring the Asayel and present them as a dowry to his love, Abla.

Majaheem: this breed originates in Najd, Saudi Arabia. Their colour is darker, with varying degrees of blackness.

Camels’ ages, names and colours:

1.    Houraa: from birth to one year old. (Plural: Hiran.) also called Al Maqhour.
2.    Mafroud: one year old. He is isolated from his mother. (Plural: Mafarid. The female is called Mafrouda.)
3.    Haq: two years old. He is called “Weld Al-Boun”. The female is called “Haqa”.
4.    Luqi: three years old. Male can be used as a beast of burden; female allowed to mate.
5.    Jatha: four years old. He is called “Jadha’a” because he mutilates his first incisors. The female is called Jatha’a.
6.    Thani: five years old. He is named Thaniye because this describes his “bendings”, which have reached their final stages. The female is called Thaniya.
7.    Rubaa: six years old. Also called “Hayel”.
8.    Sodees: over seven years old.

The ages of female camels are calculated according to the number of times they have given birth. With some of them, it is impossible to find out their age using this method,   for example:
• Bikra: is a female camel who has given birth for the first time.
• Thanow or Umm Thani: is a female camel that has given birth for the second time, and then Umm Thalith and Umm Rabii.
The camel is then named Jadha after reaching four years of age, as in the old saying: “Jadha is vigorous while Thaniye is chromatic”.

Some of the camels’ names:
• The little female camel is called Bikra, and little male called Quood.
• Fahl is the camel’s name after the age of Jadha.
• Naqa: is the name of the female camel when it is fertilised.
• Harsh: is the name of the male camel when it grows older, while Naqa is called Fater.
• During the beginning of her fertilization, Naqa is called “Moashar” (plural “Oshar”). She is known for raising her tail when introduced to Fahl.
• She is called Naqa after six months, and shows signs of fertilization through the size of her belly.
• Naqa is called “Moqarrab” when she is said to be approaching her delivery date.
• After the birth, she is called “Dhaffa” (plural “Dhaffat”).
• After six months from delivery and when the summer comes - because camels are often born between autumn and the end of spring – Naqa is called “A’ashar” (plural “Oshar” ).
• A Naqa who has not been fertilized is called “Hayel” (plural   “Heel”).
• A Naqa is called “Masaad” if she has a miscarriage, or her pregnancy fails before completion.

Global Arab Network

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