Young falconers keep tradition flying
DUBAI — One early morning at a desert camp in the Ruwayyah area off Emirates Road, Emirati kids as young as three years old were busy — not running around enjoying the cool weather nor thumbing their smart gadgets — but preparing their own falcons for a competition.
These boys are not ordinary kids: They keep the tradition of falconry flying by following in the footsteps of their fathers and grandparents who passed on their love for falcons and falconry as a sport steeped in Emirati tradition.
In falconry, these boys learn their history, find friendship and camaraderie, develop a love for nature, and expound a deep bond between fathers and sons, according to Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Centre (HHC), organisers of the Fazza Falconry Championship.
The boys who competed at the championship included three-yearold Hamad Rashid bin Mijrin and Ahmed Juma Al Falahi, and 10-year-old Sultan Ahmed bin Mijrin. With falcons weighing at least 1kg each perched on their gloved hands, they first checked if the hoods on their falcons were carefully placed before the flight. One by one, they unbound their falcons from their hooded state and the birds’ heightened hunting instinct instantly locked on to the prey hundreds of metres away.
After the dust has settled, Hamad’s falcon landed in second place in the Tabaa Wahish Car event after Sultan’s who won the race, and Ahmed, one of the youngest in the brood, also had a strong finish for his falcon.
“Falconry is steeped in our tradition and to become masters of flight through these birds is such a big honour,” Rashid bin Mijrin, Hamad’s father who is a champion falconer himself, told Khaleej Times.
Speaking of the Emirati kids, he said: “These boys see the birds in a different way. They don’t think about being afraid, they just love the birds and think awesome.
“I’m very proud of my son. Prior to the race, he told me that even if he landed in fifth place, he would be happy. I don’t believe in teaching my son only about winning; participating is more important,” added Bin Mijrin, who started taking Hamad to the desert when he was just two-and-a-half years old.
Bin Mijrin, however, describes his son Hamad like any other Emirati kid who “loves football, cycling, swimming and shooting.”
“But he loves falconry more. He comes to the desert in the afternoon for two hours and watches me train falcons. Because of his young age, for the time being, all he does now is release the falcon,” Bin Mijrin added. Ahmed also started to love falcons at a very young age. In fact, according to his father Juma Abdullah Hareb Al Falahi, Ahmed “started racing falcons even before he has started schooling”.
“He is just about to join kindergarten next season. When I have falcons, he is watching what I am doing. When he saw me on television during a competition, he got excited and said he wanted to do like me. I brought him to participate in Dubai first time. He liked it. He started talking about it every day to our family and friends,” Al Falahi said.
“Ahmed named his falcon ‘Awsad’ which means black in Arabic. It’s (falconry) something that you want for the kids to make them happy. We are here not for the win but for the happiness of those kids. The smile is more valuable than whatever he wins,” he underlined.
“In reality, at his age, he (Ahmed) is not handling bird every day. He is holding the bird in training and sometimes he releases the bird. It is still early for him to do falconry from A to Z but soon he will be more involved and more confident how to handle the birds,” Al Falahi added.
For 10-year-old Sultan Ahmed bin Mijrin who won the Tabaa Wahish Cash race, his secret to success was to train the bird himself. It’s not a cheap sport. He said his parents bought his falcon for over Dh15,000.
“I love falconry because it is our culture. I find falconry more exciting
These boys see the birds in a different way. They don’t think about being afraid, they just love the birds and think awesome.” Rashid bin Mijrin, father of young falconers
I love falconry because it is our culture. I find falconry more exciting than doing sports in schools. You have to train the bird by yourself.” Sultan Ahmed bin Mijrin, 10-year-old falconer
than doing sports in schools. You have to train the bird by yourself. Don’t let anyone train it for you. Then you have a connection,” Sultan, who named his winning falcon ‘Rashid’ after his younger brother, proudly said.
“Enjoying and doing it right are very important. Every weekend I am with my falcons and during school holidays, I’m also with my falcons. And when I’m with my falcons, I feel like I’m with my ancestors,” Sultan concluded.