Words From Adelaide: Falconry With Sakers And Salukis
John Powell tells of falconry and hunting gazelle in the deserts of Syria and Iraq.
A photograph of a sparrow hawk took me back to youthful years witnessing falconry and hunting gazelle with the Bedouins in the Syrian and Iraqi deserts.
Once, the monotony of driving along the dusty desert tracks was broken for a wonderful moment when our vehicle disturbed two gazelle. The beautiful animals streaked off into the desert, side by side and then, as if by a mutual signal, with perfect, synchronized timing, they changed direction simultaneously, leaning over as they banked to the left. I watched the graceful animals until their light fawn coats blended with the desert into invisibility.
Gazelles are the fastest of the antelope class, reaching speeds of 40 to 50mph but their numbers have been reduced by hunting, much with Falcons. Being curious to discover how falconry was done, my first attempt near Banias on the Syrian coast ended in failure. There the falcon took off and perched in a tree; we spent hours trying to coax it down by throwing lumps of meat, tied to long strings, in its direction, but without success.
My second attempt in Syria was with Sheik Souan of the Spa'a tribe, near the ancient desert town of Palmyra. To the embarrassment of Sheik Souan it would not take off. Well fed, it remained on the falconer's fist.
Success was with the Albu Nimr tribe in Iraq. Sheik Muneef invited me to a hunt for gazelle. I love gazelle but curiosity prevailed. Not all falcons will hunt; some are scavengers, others choose carrion: the type of hawk used varies according to the type of game hunted. For gazelle a falcon known as a 'saker' was used. Strangely, it does not build a nest but uses somebody else's or a protected place. It is an aggressive bird and has been known to injure itself in violent contact with the prey.
Soaring into the sky, the birds plummeted down in spectacular, thunderbolt dives upon the gazelle, attacking its head and eyes and confusing it with beating wings, while saluki hunting dogs were released and racing towards the quarry pulled it to the ground. Following on our horses we galloped to the spot, the Bedouins dismounting and dragging off the dogs killed the gazelle with a knife to the throat.
The salukis, used by Sheik Muneef, had one ear lopped off. He explained that in the heat of the chase the dogs are pulled off the gazelle by the ears: with two ears there is indecision as to which ear to grab as sometimes, in the confusion of barking, snarling dogs, two men each grabbed an ear of the same dog. He also claimed that it improved a dog's hearing. I wondered if he had ever asked the dogs.
The saluki is similar to a greyhound and possibly faster being able to run in excess of 40mph; they would have to be to have any hope of catching a gazelle. salukis are hunting dogs, sometimes described as an Arabian gazelle-hound. The saluki has long fringes on the tail and on its drooping ears and when sprinting all four feet may leave the ground together; unusual for a dog. Their ancestry can be traced back to 5000BC and they are pictured in tomb and cave paintings as are falcons held on the wrist.
Falconry is believed to have originated in China and Asia, and then spread to the Middle East. Marco Polo described how Kubla Khan went on a hunt with 10,000 helpers. The Crusaders took it to Britain where it became a popular fad at one time, and people, including women, would walk out with a hawk on their gauntleted arm just as today they walk their dog. In the USA today, an intending falconer has, in some States, to serve a two-year apprenticeship, pass an exam and obtain a licence before being permitted to practice the hunting sport.
I think the hunting cry of 'Tally Ho!' may have an Arabic origin, brought back by the Crusaders. A Bedouin scouting ahead and sighting the prey may well have yelled to the waiting Crusader huntsmen, in his Bedouin dialect, 'Ta'alu hone' (Come here!). The Crusaders may have jumped on their horses and galloped off for the chase, repeating with inaccurate, excited shouts of 'Tally Hone' which, over time, became 'Tally Ho!'
Today, falconry is still practised in the Middle East; trained falcons can still be purchased in Damascus markets, but, sadly, even in my day, fifty years ago, gazelle had been almost hunted out.
