FAVORITE: Tami Ayed Al-Hajri, along with the beautiful Dwaiykha, stands near the all-female herd.
By MOLOUK Y. BA-ISA
Published: Feb 17, 2010 1:46 PM Updated: Feb 17, 2010 4:30 PM
These days if you drive from Dammam to Riyadh, in the distance you will see all the young camels with their mothers. Recent rains have allowed the desert to bloom, so rather than staying in their paddocks eating alfalfa, the herders have brought the camels out to feast on nature's green bounty.
To get closer to these "Ships of the Desert," we traveled 60 kilometers west from Dammam and then made a sharp right turn between the dunes. Our destination — the camp of Tami Ayed Al-Hajri -was six kilometers down a rolling, sand-covered track in an area called Aubalan.
While exiting the Nissan Patrol, we became aware of Suliman in all his furious glory, facing us down from his paddock. From his mouth protruded "Al-Lehah." This dark red bloom explodes from the male camel's mouth when he is angry. Formed in an inner pocket of the cheek, Suliman inflates this skin as a physical sign of his rage. He was warning us not to go near his females. At four meters tall and weighing nearly 800 kg, few would challenge him.
Al-Hajri was waiting, urging us to come and see the herd before sunset. The main herd was off to the left. They were all female. Male camels that will not become Fahel (stud) are sold for meat before the age of three. Al-Hajri's camels were black or red, but there are three other varieties in the Kingdom, white, yellow and shaul — dark brown camels which are famous for their ability to run alongside their keepers. According to Al-Hajri, black camels used to be the favored ones because they produced the most milk. Red camels give less milk, but it is sweeter. Red camels are raced as well and now a fast camel can sell for millions.
In the paddock to the right of the herd, the camels with their recently born young were kept close. Young females are called bagrah and young males are known as qaud. The calves are fearless and their interest in tasting anything that looks edible requires visitors to constantly pull scarves and shirt sleeves out of the babies' curious mouths. In this paddock, food and water are provided at all times. The young will stay with their mothers for at least a year, before they are fully weaned.
Standing slightly apart from the herd was a pregnant camel named "Dwaiykha," one of Al-Hajri's favorites. A camel pregnancy lasts 13 to 15 months. Camels go off into the desert alone to bear their young. Al-Hajri remarked that when Dwaiykha made her move, no one would interfere with her activity. The herdsman, Abu Mohammad, would maintain a discrete presence at a distance and only help her if she showed signs of obvious distress.
"Winter is the best time of the year in the desert, especially if you have an interest in camels," Al-Hajri said. "It is preferable for camels to birth their young in winter and spring. As camel pregnancies last more than a year, for the last few months we have had Suliman out among the eligible females in the herd every morning. By the scent of the female camel's urine, the stud can tell instantly if she is fertile. He has a laboratory in his nose. If a female camel is afraid, she will turn away and try to avoid him, but he is patient and determined. Suliman will dominate her and convince her to sit before him so he can have his way with her. When he no longer shows any interest in a camel, we know that she is pregnant and we no longer expose her to him."
While Suliman's interaction is only with his own herd of 50, some Saudis allow their famous studs to be used for a fee. In these situations the female camels are brought to the stud and he may be surrounded with three to four hundred females, all hoping to attract his attention at the biologically ideal moment. Al-Hajri advised that it is easy to spot those qaud with the potential to become studs. They will have longer necks, broader shoulders, large limbs compared to their size and more muscle mass. Bedouin can go back 10 generations on their studs, committing the bloodlines to memory. Extreme care is taken around all male camels older than one year, as they are unpredictable and can be dangerous. A male camel can easily kill a man and studs will fight if they encounter each other. These days the safest, quickest way to separate fighting camels is to push a vehicle between them.
"I am proud that I have my camp here and my camels to help keep my children close to their heritage," Al-Hajri said. "I worked for Saudi Arabian Airlines for 21 years and then I became a businessman, but I never forgot my roots. I have had this camp for 13 years. Now that I am older, I have turned over many of my business activities to my sons, so I can come out to the desert and relax more often. I find peace here."
This father of four sons and five daughters has always believed that formal education is important, especially in these modern times, and he insisted that all his children be well-educated. He made a point of not forcing the traditional Saudi life on them, but he is delighted to see that they all regularly come out to the desert to join him in a meal and sit by the fire.
By now darkness had fallen on the camp and the fire sparked high. Steel bowls of frothy camel milk were brought into the tent to be enjoyed by all. The raw milk is drunk immediately, with any excess returned to recently weaned calves. Camel's milk is close in composition to human mother's milk and has triple the amount of vitamin C found in cow's milk. Research has shown that camel's milk contains an insulin-like protein that survives the digestive tract and may benefit people with certain forms of diabetes.
After pushing the foam on the milk's surface to one side, Al-Hajri carefully picked up a large bowl of camel's milk in both hands and drank from it deeply. His face registered contentment. Surrounded by his children, his camels and a magnificent starry sky, what more could a Saudi desire?
- 1molouk@gmail.com
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