Folklore and beliefMiddle East
Camel Heda'a
In its own language: حداء الإبل
Camel herders' calls that speak to the herd, kept across the Arabian Peninsula
Camel Heda'a is a way of calling camels by voice, used by herders in Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates and handed down through families and herdsmen. The herder shapes sounds and tones that the animals learn to answer, and the practice was recognised by UNESCO in 2022.
When is Camel Heda'a kept?
Camel Heda'a is kept on all year round, whenever herders work with their camels.
Across the Arabian Peninsula, people who keep camels call to them with the voice. This is Camel Heda'a, a set of sounds and phrases that a herder directs at the herd to carry a message, whether the animals are grazing, moving or being gathered. Herders pass it down to those who work alongside them, and camels learn to answer particular tones.
What the call is
Camel Heda'a is a vocal practice, not a written text. A herder produces a run of sounds and words aimed at the animals in his care, and the meaning depends on which sound is used and how it is pitched. Different calls suit different moments: bringing the herd together, setting it moving, settling it, or marking an occasion. Because camels are raised alongside these sounds, they come to link a particular tone with a particular instruction and answer it.
How herders learn it
Knowledge moves between generations among people who work with camels. A young herder hears the calls every day, copies them, and keeps adjusting until the herd answers. Nothing is written down; the practice lives in the voices of those who use it. Camels are part of this learning as well. A tone only works when the animals have grown used to it, so the training of the herd and the training of the herder go on side by side.
Where it is kept
Practitioners live wherever camels are raised, which here means the Arabian Peninsula and the country around it. The sources name three states: Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Inside Saudi Arabia, herders who keep the practice are found in many regions, a sign of how long camel keeping has shaped life there. The tradition belongs to the animals, so it travels with the herds rather than staying with one town or one family.
Recognition in 2022
On 30 November 2022, UNESCO entered Camel Heda'a on its register of living heritage, after a joint nomination from Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. These are the three states where the sources place the practice. For the communities involved, the listing is outside recognition for a skill that herders had long carried without writing it down. It sets the calls beside other living practices the same body has recorded around the world.
How Camel Heda'a is kept
A herder stays with the herd and watches it. When he wants the animals to move, to gather, to slow, or to be marked for a particular occasion, he voices a set of sounds aimed at them. Tone, length and repetition carry the message. The camels, familiar with the calls from their training, react according to what they hear. The practice continues among the families and workers who keep camels, passed on by listening and copying rather than from a book.
When and where
There is no single date for Camel Heda'a. The calls belong to the working day of a herder and are used whenever a message needs to reach the herd. The sources speak of different occasions rather than one season, so the practice is heard through the year wherever camels are kept and handled.
Camel Heda'a is kept wherever camels are raised, and the sources point to the Arabian Peninsula. Within it they name Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates as the countries where it lives. In Saudi Arabia, practitioners are described as spread across many regions, which matches the long history of camel herding there.
What Camel Heda'a means
The calls carry more than instruction. They are a working bond between a herder and the animals that support a household, and a sign that knowledge of the desert has been handed on. Recognition in 2022 turned a private daily skill into something a country can point to as part of its identity. For those who keep it, the value lies in being understood by the herd.
Questions people ask about Camel Heda'a
When is Camel Heda'a kept?
Camel Heda'a is kept on all year round, whenever herders work with their camels.
What is Camel Heda'a?
It is a way of speaking to camels by voice. Herders in Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates use particular sounds and tones to give the herd a message, and the camels learn to react to what they hear. It is carried on by word of mouth.
Where is it practised?
Wherever camels are kept, according to the sources, which places it across the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates are named as the countries tied to it, and inside Saudi Arabia it is found in many different regions.
Does it fall on a fixed date?
No. Camel Heda'a is not tied to a festival or a season. Herders use the calls as the working day requires, for different occasions and different tasks with the herd, so it can be heard at any time of year.
How did UNESCO come to record it?
The three countries nominated it together, and on 30 November 2022 it was added to UNESCO's register of living heritage. The listing records the calls as a practice handed down between generations rather than as a written art.
Do the camels understand the calls?
The sources say the animals respond to the sounds, depending on the tone and on how the herder has trained them. The link is built over time, so a call works when the herd has grown familiar with the voice making it.
See also
Eid al-FitrThe feast that ends Ramadan, opened with morning prayers, sweets and visits home
KhareefThe monsoon season of Dhofar and Al Mahrah, welcomed with a festival in SalalahFann at-TanburaA Gulf song and dance of drums and tanbura, born in healing, now staged
IhramA sacred state and simple dress that Muslims enter for Hajj and UmrahGood reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Camel Heda'a", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryParampara rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.
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