The great Tunisian (Abu Dhabi) Afra Abdullah Ali Al-Mansoori (70 years old), grew up in the desert and among the prairies, in an atmosphere that refined her talent and increased her strength and solidity. She has excelled in falconry since her childhood, within the authentic customs and traditions, and she still carries and preserves this legacy, and does not delay participating in various festivals, exhibitions and events to introduce a cultural and heritage heritage linked to the collective memory of the people of the Emirates, to confirm that this sport is fine, and will be passed on to future generations. .
desert love
More than 65 years, the Emirati Afraa Al-Mansoori spent in the sport of falconry since she was a child playing in the desert.
It is still practiced today and actively participates in various events, the most recent of which was its participation in the President’s Cup for Falconry in the 2021 and 2022 season, organized by the Abu Dhabi Falconers Club. A heritage atmosphere, recalling the most beautiful memories of childhood and youth, which are represented in synergy, brotherhood and tolerance within a beautiful heritage and cultural atmosphere, said that falcons received great attention in the local community.
She was the companion of the people of the Emirates wherever they went and traveled, and she accompanied them in the hunting seasons and in the days of heat, and on their trips from Abu Dhabi to Liwa on camel “passengers”.
She indicated that the first thing to be built in the “wake” is the place of the bird, and it was called “the nest.” Once the place was sprayed with water and cooled, then the bird that could not stand the high temperature was placed in it, explaining that most families owned birds, which is a habit rooted in society. . Sixties Afra, who practices her great passion for falconry, indicated that the falconry season in the sixties began in late September, after two and a half months of the “warmer”, when the birds rested inside refrigerated nests so that the high temperature did not affect them, while the matter differed in The seventies and eighties, when she went on a sniping trip to Saudi Arabia and some countries famous for this sport.
Pride
Afraa Al-Mansoori, who is proud of her talents and abilities to deal with the bird and impose her personality on it, tells stories from her memory and important aspects of women’s life and work alongside men from the history of the country and the years before the establishment of the state, where she excelled in the arts of hunting in the wilderness and imbued the concepts of Bedouin She has noble values and taken responsibility from her childhood.
She said: Life was difficult, and it was dominated by all the meanings of nobility of courage, magnanimity, solidarity, interdependence and synergy with the neighbour, stressing that the woman was taking care of “halal” sheep and goats, as well as going out to search for her livelihood, especially since the falcon was one day supporting families, where he used to go out The man hunts and brings what he catches to his children, so there is a strong historical relationship between the falcon and the family. responsible.
She added, “Life in the past was simple and beautiful, never tainted by emptiness.” It begins before sunrise and ends with sunset, and despite the fatigue caused by housework, grazing, watering, and caring for livestock, the dirt was enough to absorb the pain of my feet. We did not feel tired or bored, we worked non-stop, and it was not an easy period.
I used to take care of halal bushes and sheep, and take care of the house from cleaning, fetching water, and preparing food, and the houses depended on the woman from the very young age of her nails, and the women worked to prepare the hair house from sheep’s wool, and after the wool passed in several stages, it might take work on a house One hair an entire year, and it extended 20 metres. Nevertheless, we found time for joy and happiness, and falconry was one of my favorite hobbies. I practiced it and I am still keen to attend various events and go to hunting trips that we organize inside and outside the country.