SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi tribe holds camel beauty pageant

A camel beauty pageant was held in Saudi Arabia this week, with more than 700 camels competing for the best looks. The Utaibah tribe, Saudi Arabia's biggest tribe has been welcoming entrants from across the Middle East to the camel beauty competition in a desert region, 300 km north of Riyadh. More than 10,000 people gathered at the contest to see the camels as they were judged by different categories after going on display for a week. These categories include breed, colour, height, face texture and bone structure. But one of the organisers said, there is more to the event than just a beauty contest. "For those who do not know what the contest is about they think that it is only a camel beauty contest. It is true that there is a competition between the different camel owners, but it is not only for Saudis but for camel owners from the Levant (Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon) and the Gulf and also from the Kingdom. The camel contests depends on the different beauty characteristics of each camel - small ones, males and females. But there are other competitions during the week, like poetry, literature, and there are other media events. This mean that members of the Utaibah tribe (can compete) in different activities," Saleh Al Hamadi. After the competition, camel owners sell and buy camels and the camels that won the highest prizes at the contest could sell for a million or more riyals "A committee is chosen to evaluate the camels and this committee makes the decision according to different characters, measurements and categories" said Fawas Al Utaibah, one of the judges at the competition. And besides the valuing one their camels, camel owners win cars and camel food. Following the contest, camel-drivers took to the desert in jeeps, singing songs of praise to their prized possessions. Members of the tribe greeted them at their tents as they displayed their award-winning animals. "My feeling is that of anyone who is happy for winning. I thank God for what he rewarded us with. We were hoping for first prize but next time, God willing, we will reach this goal," said Shahman Al Mougeri who two camels won second prize each. While tremendous oil wealth has brought rapid modernisation to the desert state of Saudi Arabia, the camel remains celebrated as a symbol of the traditional nomadic lifestyle of Bedouin Arabs. Throughout history camels have served multiple purposes as food, friend, transport and war machine. They were key to the Arab conquests of the Middle East and North Africa nearly 1,400 years ago that brought Islam to the world. Camels are also big business in a country where strict Islamic laws and tribal customs would make it impossible for women to take part in their own beauty contest.

ITN Source | November 5, 2007

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