Camel Racing: a Yemeni historical sport [Archives:2005/907/Last Page]

By:Saddam Al-Ashmouri & Adel Al-Hadad
Camel racing (Al-Hagen) is one of the historical and traditional sports that is practiced by Arabs, especially Yemenis. The relationship between Camel and Arabs is more than that between an animal and jockey; it is, rather a stronger friendship. For Arabs, the camel is a symbol of the strength that overcomes all hard challenges of the harsh desert environment, and for that, the camel is known in Arabic as the ship of the desert. Camels can travel vast distances in desert, drink from waterholes far more bitter or saline for others and eat almost anything, regardless of how tough or how thorny they are. For Bedouins, the camel can be considered as a member of the family that transport them, and feed them with milk, meat and hair. It is always said that Bedouins bones and body are very strong because they drink camel's milk every day.

Camel racing is a very long tradition in Arabian Peninsula, especially in Yemen. However, what distinguishes Yemen from other Arab countries in this regard is that Yemen has many kinds of camels' races and a variety of festivals. Camel racing in Yemen includes many activities. For example, in Al-Husineah Festival, which is the most famous festival in Yemen for Camel racing, the high jump over camels is one of the most interesting sports of the festival.

Al-Husineah Festival:

Although camel racing (Al-Hagen) is very old sport, the government started to take care of it officially only in March 1987 when the first camel racing in the town of Al-Husineah, located at Al-Hudaydah province, took place. Nevertheless, it is said that Al-Husineah Festival had been running for centuries. The main aim of this festival is to rebirth historical sports, such as; camel racing, horse racing, long distances races, high jump up over a row of camels. The latter sport is the most popular one where a number of camels are lined up and a sportsman runs and jumps high over them. Although this sport could be hazardous, no safety precautions are usually taken. In fact the sportsmen performing this kind of jump prefer not to wear a crash helmet.

It is a pity that Al-Husineah Festival was stopped for four years. As a result, the town of Al-Husineah's dreams were also stopped. Nevertheless, Al-Husineah people are still practicing this sport since it is well rooted in their traditions. It is worth mentioning that the Fifth Camel Race Festival was held in Thamoud area in Hadramout governante on the 16th of November, 2005.

Al-Husineah Festival again:

After being postponed, preparations for Al-Husineah Festival are under way. The festival is expected to take place in the near future. The coming festival will focus on historical sports of Al-Husineah area. Nevertheless, many governorates will take part in the festival such as, Haja, Shabwa, Hadramout, Marib, Taiz, Abin, Al-Maharah, Lahj, and AL-Gawf. Nabil Al-Hubishi, the manager of Youth and Sport office in Hudaydah, told the Yemen Times that the preparations of the festival are continuing in order to assure its success and distinction. He also stated “the festival will gather more than 192 participants form different governorates of the Republic””. As for making the festival unique