Saudi Tribe Holds Camel Beauty Pageant

[Demure]

Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:23AM EDT

By Andrew Hammond

GUWEI'IYYA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - The legs are long, the eyes are big, the bodies curvaceous.

Contestants in this Saudi-style beauty pageant have all the features you might expect anywhere else in the world, but with one crucial difference -- the competitors are camels.

This week, the Qahtani tribe of western Saudi Arabia has been welcoming entrants to its Mazayen al-Ibl competition, a parade of the "most beautiful camels" in the desolate desert region of Guwei'iyya, 120 km (75 miles) west of Riyadh.

"In Lebanon they have Miss Lebanon," jokes Walid, moderator of the competition's Web site. "Here we have Miss Camel."

While tremendous oil wealth has brought rapid modernization 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.

Delicate females or strapping males who attract the right attention during this week's show could sell for a million or more riyals. Sponsors have provided 10 million riyals ($2.7 million) for the contest, cash that also covers the 72 sports utility vehicles to be will be awarded as prizes.

"Bedouin Arabs are intimately connected to camels and they want to preserve this heritage. The importance of this competition is that it helps preserve the pure-breds," said Sheikh Omair, one of the tribe's leaders,

"We have more than 250 owners taking part and more than 1,500 camels," he said inside a huge tent where the final awards ceremony takes place.

RESTLESS BEAUTY QUEENS

Over at the camel pen, the contestants are getting restless as the desert wind howls and whips up swirls of sand in the hot afternoon sun.

Amid a large crowd of Bedouin who have gathered to watch, the head of the judging committee emerges to venture into an enclosure with some two dozen angry braying camels.

Camel-drivers sing songs of praise to their prized possessions as they try to calm the animals down.

"Beautiful, beautiful!" the judge mutters quietly to himself, inspecting the group. Finalists have been decorated with silver bands and body covers.

"The nose should be long and droop down, that's more beautiful," explains Sultan al-Qahtani, one of the organizers. "The ears should stand back, and the neck should be long. The hump should be high, but slightly to the back."

The camels are divided into four categories according to breed -- the black majaheem, white maghateer, dark brown shi'l and the sufur, which are beige with black shoulders. Arabic famously has over 40 terms for different types of camel.

Some females have harnesses strapped around their genitalia to thwart any efforts by the males to mount them. One repeat offender called Marjaa has been moved away.

"This one would fetch a million!" says Hamad al-Sudani, a camel-driver, admiring the heavy stud, or fahl.

Source - Reuters.

[Koronto91]

Arabs with money...what did we expect?

[Advocatar]

I wont be suprised if they shag the camel after the contest!

[Sadaam_Mariixmaan]

Somali Mentality with Money

[Demure]

Advo, that's very disturbing.

Koronto, I'm still getting over sheekadee oo Somali men with their neighbors animals

[Koronto91]

Camels used to be prized posessions during the Prophet's time (saw), and some companions were attached to their riding mounts, it is good to show compassion to animals, but bragging rights are just forbidden!

[e!]

Saudis are notorious for fuking camels, while yemeni fuk donkeys, they too short for the camel

[Koronto91]

[quote="Demure"]Koronto, I'm still getting over sheekadee oo Somali men with their neighbors animals [/quote]

LOL. You still remember? Some people are NASTY! I had a friend from St. Lucia once, he told me the police once found a man in a chicken cage doing the nasty, it made national news, the freak had to flee St. Lucia by the time the ordeal was over! But then, St. Lucia is pretty small, Somalia was a different story.

[Nabeelah]

Humping animals? That is very disturbing.

[Koronto91]

Nabeelah,

Humping has always been a human obsession!

[Advocatar]

ina geelwase accompanied by his dad the real geelwase probably booked their ticket already.

[Sadaam_Mariixmaan]

thats Muzikman Job AKA Ina-Geel-Wase

[Demure]

Koronto, I doubt I will forget it anytime soon. In fact from here on I fear I will always look suspiciously at any geeljire with his camels or cows or whatever.

[Advocatar]

fact: 1 in 10 camels are shagged everyday by geeljire

[Koronto91]

[quote="Advocatar"]fact: 1 in 10 camels are shagged everyday by geeljire[/quote]


LOL