Falcon hunting keeps Qatar’s Bedouin traditions alive

 

Doha, Qatar: (December 31): Falconry offers a glimpse at how Qatar used to be. The millennia-old sport remains extremely popular amongst Qatar's elite and is keeping Qatar’s Bedouin traditions alive. Centuries ago, Bedouin tribesmen used falcons to hunt for meat in the winter. These days, falconry is a popular sport and hobby for many Qataris and the falcon is also the country’s national bird

Come Sunday 1st January 2023, one will get know the sport from close quarters during the 14th edition of the Qatar International Falcons and Hunting Festival (Marmi 2023) will starts at Sabkhat Marmi in Sealine and will end on 28 January 2023.

Held annually under the patronage of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the festival is being organised by the Qatar Al Gannas Society and is one of the largest festivals in the specialized field of falcons and hunting in the region.

Al Gannas, a cultural association for hunters was founded in 2008 and is dedicated to promoting traditional Arabic hunting.

Marmi Festival is one important event as falconers were registered in the 2011 World Heritage list. It is regarded as one of the key components of the original Qatari culture as it displays a variety of characteristics of history and legacy and works to preserve them for future generations.

It represents Arab hunters in international and regional contests, organising events and providing support. The association includes the best facilities and equipment required for hunting, and encourages research and studies in the field.

There will be two tournaments each day, 8 am and 11 am and also contest for Young Falconer and the Promising Falconer.

Ali Khatim al-Mehshadi, head of the Organising Committee of Marmi 2023 and chairman of Al Qannas Society, said that the Festival will have a total of 44 groups competing at a rate of five groups a day. He stressed that the society is keen on supporting Qatari falconers and farm owners to produce the best breeds of falcons as the Festival hosts the most beautiful falcons contest every year. This year's contest will have more categories to encourage falconers, the official added.

Last year, around 1,400 falcons participated during the 13th edition of the festival. The event has also become a tourist attraction for visitors as it gained a wide audience.

The sport of falconry began over 5,000 years ago in Iran, and spread over the centuries to East and West. The sport was introduced to Qatar through Bedouin tribes who used the birds as a tool for hunting. They discovered that it was much easier to allow the raptors to take down birds migrating across the Arabian Peninsula than it was to shoot them down themselves. This Bedouin method of falconry set the basis for the modern version of the sport practiced in Qatar.

Although, over the centuries, falconry has virtually disappeared from the European continent, the sport lives on in the Middle East. In Qatar, you can still purchase falcons in downtown Doha at falcon souqs or through private dealers. The best raptors can cost thousands of dollars and may even be issued their own Qatari passports to ensure they are not stolen or taken out of the country without the owner's permission. Due to these elaborate methods of theft prevention, it is not uncommon for you to be seated beside a full-grown falcon when travelling on a Middle Eastern airliner.

Once you have purchased (or caught and trained) your falcon, you proceed to enter a very competitive sport. Many Qataris spend fortunes on their falconry equipment, which can include radio monitors, 4x4 trucks, communication devices, and other high priced items. The reason for the high-tech equipment is so that the hunters can arrive right when the bird is taking down its prey, so they may separate the animals and kill the prey according to Islamic customs.

But if you are considering participating in this ancient sport, remember that a large amount of time must be invested in training the birds, especially if they are caught in the wild. One of the techniques involves keeping the bird on one's arm for several hours a day, which, aside from being painful, would obviously prove problematic to anyone who has a regular job.

The most popular prey is the Houbara bustard, a large, fast bird, which lives throughout the Middle East. That being said, the bird has been hunted to the point of being endangered in Qatar. So falconers must constantly travel the globe to search for new hunting grounds. It is said that the best hunting grounds are found in the Iraqi desert.

Falconry offers a glimpse at how Qatar used to be. The millennia-old sport remains extremely popular amongst Qatar's elite and new efforts to restock the Qatari desert with Houbara bustards will ensure the sport continues.