UAE: Passing the baton of falconry from one generation to another

It is a chilly and wintry early Friday morning somewhere in the Al Ruwayyah desert, on the outskirts of Dubai. And while the rest of the millennials in town may be enjoying a bit of a slumber over the weekend, it is a hive of activity here.

Last minute preparations are taking place — a bit of training before the big race. They are in the zone, so to speak, and any distraction can hamper or prove to be the difference between winning and losing. It is only them and the falcon.

Among them are four sisters — Sheikha Salim Saif Obaid bin Suwaid Al Ketbi, Afra, Hessa and Mariam — who are listening to their father intently.

They have come from faraway Ras Al Khaimah for another shot at glory. It is the scene of the Fazza Championship for falconry — Telwah Juniors Category and the Emirati sisters are regulars at the competition.

The event is into its 19th edition and while winning here has its benefits — the sisters bought a car for their mother with the prize money, the last time that they won — it is not just about triumph and glory.

This is much more than that — the love for falcons, the UAE’s national bird, and the age-old traditional sport of falconry. And the sisters as well as over the 200 participants, who are accompanied by their fathers, are keeping the tradition alive and passing the baton from one generation to another.

“I love falcons and falconry,” says Sheikha, the oldest at 12 years of age.

“In the beginning, I was quite scared to hold the falcon in my hand but my father taught me. Then, I slowly gained confidence and my fear went away. My sisters too want to do the same,” adds Sheikha, who took up falconry in 2018.

The sisters were thrilled to buy a Nissan Patrol for their mother, with the prize money that they had got in 2019. This time, they have a very different dream.

“We love Sheikh Fazza (Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai) and we hope to see him one day,” she says.

Preserving the rich cultural heritage of falconry is due in no small part to the efforts of Sheikh Hamdan and through his dedicated team at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center.

“Falconry, in the past, was a tool of survival. Our great grandfathers used it to hunt and feed themselves. But now, after modernisation, that hobby has stopped. Another hobby has started which is racing. This heritage was going to vanish, it was going to finish. But because we have good rulers, they started with this race and this hobby survived again. And the number of falconers is increasing every year, which is a very good thing,” says Hamdan bin Mejren, a regular professional falconer, who is part of the F3 team.

“Our Rulers are very, very passionate about Falcons. Fazza and his father Sheikh Mohammed (His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai), they are very passionate about falcons. And it’s something that motivates us all,” he adds.

And Mejren is delighted that his son is following in his footsteps and carrying on the tradition.

“Obviously, every son looks up to his father. Ever since he opened his eyes in this world, he saw his father as a falconer. So, obviously, he wanted to know more about it. And he was so in love with it from day one. He fell in love with falcons since he was two years old and he began participating since then. So, every weekend, he is with me and on regular days, only in the evening. I train falcons in the morning and evening but obviously because he goes to school, he only comes with me in the evening. It is his main hobby,” Mejren says.

“This hobby, like I told you, was nearly going to vanish but because of this competition, it revived. So, as you see, if there were no races, probably my son wouldn’t learn this hobby, I will not be training falcons anymore. There is no purpose of the falcon. But now, there is a purpose and I’m very proud of it. My son’s first hobby is falcons, so I’m passing this hobby onto my son. It is coming from my father, to me, and now onto my son. It is going on through us, which I’m very happy about. Especially, these days, when you have new technology, iPads, PlayStations, it is a little bit hard to convince new kids to do something else. But luckily, he loves it,” he signs off.

Did you know:

• The sport of falconry — known locally as “kanas” (hunting) — is an integral part of the heritage of the UAE and stretches back hundreds of years.

• Falconry originated in the Arabian Peninsula and holds a special place in Arab culture and civilisation, where it was practiced as a means of obtaining food.

• Human records, excavations and ancient texts prove that falconry emerged with the advent of civilisation and was known in the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf region since 4,000 years.

• The sport then spread throughout the Muslim world and onwards to Europe and North America and is regarded as one of the noblest forms of hunting.

• In the UAE, the hunting season begins in autumn, when the migrating ‘Houbara’ birds start to arrive between late September and early October until around March when the summer heat begins.

• In the past, Arab falconers would capture falcons passing across the Arabian Peninsula towards the south at the start of winter and use all their skills to tame the wild birds to turn them into trained, highly skilled predators.

• At the time, the falconers went hunting on foot or on camelback, and prey were freely available in the nearby areas. These days, however, prey is scarce to come by, forcing hunters to travel long distances or even abroad.

• Among the most important types of falcons is the ‘Horr Saker. The name ‘Horr’ describes a type of falcon that shares a number of common characteristics while varying in size, colour and capabilities.

• The different types of ‘Horr’ falcons include the ‘Shangar’, ‘the Seniary’, ‘the White’, ‘the Adham’, ‘the Safi’, ‘the Jerodi’, and ‘the Ahmar, Akhdar and Ashkar.’

Facts courtesy Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center

james@khaleejtimes.com