Turkmen falconers share experience at the international festival in the UAE
The representative of the National Society of Falconers of Turkmenistan Enesh Eyeberdiyeva participates in the 4th International Festival of Young Falconers in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
More than 700 delegates from 90 countries take part in the festival, which has turned into a real celebration of the best traditions and culture of falconry, reports GulfNews.
Within the framework of the forum, organized by the Club "Falconers Emirates" from 4 to 9 December, more than 30 different side-events took place - international conference, discussion platforms, exhibitions of participating countries, seminars, horse shows. Guests have a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the trends of falconry hunting at the photo-exhibition, devoted to the almost forty-year history of development of the falconer movement in this country.
A separate part of the program was designed for the participation of children. Young visitors actively joined the general holiday - a specially designated pavilion they painted falcons, sculpted them from clay, made various crafts. And even computer games were devoted to falconry.
“Falconry is becoming more and more popular by the day. In our country, young people are very interested in this tradition. Falconry around the world is a unique art and culture. As falconers, we all want the same thing, which is to maintain these traditions to ensure they remain there for the future”, said Enesh.
“A festival like this is really great and we are so happy to be involved, because it gives us the opportunity to meet falconers from around the world - we get to talk to each other and learn from one another,” she added.
The history of Turkmen hunting traditions with birds goes back to the era of the great ancestor Oguz Khan and his sons. In the VII century, dividing the lands between his grandsons, he designated all 24 generic symbols - tamga - by species of birds of prey. Five of them were considered khan's symbols and depicted a golden eagle, peregrine falcon, hawk, gyrfalcon and a saker falcon, used from the earliest times in hunting.
In 2016, UNESCO included falconry on the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In Turkmenistan, the National Society of Falconers is engaged in preserving and developing the distinctive traditions of this kind of hunting.
