The camels choose the route, a Muthanna herder says

MUTHANNA — Camel herders in the Muthanna desert still move with the seasons between the Salman Desert and the area around Samawah, and Abu Qasim says it is the animals that decide when and where.

“During the winter and spring we head to the Salman Desert, where grass is available,” he told 964media. “When summer arrives, we return to al-Jaraa because the camels are accustomed to staying there during the hot weather.” The herds lead the way, he said: “The camels guide us to their grazing areas in winter, and in summer they return to the places they know. We endure the hardship of raising them because they are part of our lives.”

In summer the animals drink twice a day, in the morning and around midday, and cope with desert temperatures that reached 50°C in Muthanna this week.

Herders keep the traditional names for each stage of a camel’s life. A newborn is a hiwar, then a makhloul, then a mafroud. After a year, once its mother has another calf, it becomes a laji. Camels are also given individual names, chosen on the spot — Sheikha, Turfa — and coat colors are a matter of pride, with yellow and red among those breeders favor.

Abu Qasim said he had not seen herders from Najaf or Diwaniyah this season, and thought they were busy supplying livestock for Arbaeen. Some tribal processions prepare and serve camel meat to pilgrims walking to Karbala.

Muthanna is one of Iraq’s main camel-breeding areas, with herds living mainly on natural grazing.