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Des dromadaires et des hommes au Moyen-Orient
Identité et modernité
in Anthropology of the Middle East
Abstract
Regarded as an animal of the past and supporting the eternal image of the ‘ship of the desert’, the dromedary camel is facing deep changes in its rearing system, causing significant changes in human relationships. A somewhat idealized virtuous animal among the nomad with which it shares the rough life of deserts, it becomes only one cog in the intensification process of settled production systems where it needs to better express its potential of production to avoid the risk of being marginalized, its utilitarian function becoming predominant. However, the urbanized Middle East likes to remember the virtues of the animal and its products, the dromedary returning this animal idealized for a weekend where the city dweller looking over its lost emotional proximity, rather than the economic benefits of its products.
Contributor Notes
Bernard Faye is a French veterinarian (Lyon University), PhD (Paris 12 University and HDR, Montpellier University), scientific project manager at CIRAD-Montpellier, international camel expert for FAO and OIE. He has more than 35 years of experience in camel farming, production and biology in more than 30 ‘camel countries’ in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. He has been an FAO consultant for the past five years in Saudi Arabian camel project. He is author of more than 500 scientific papers and communications, 15 books and 24 chapters. He is the founder of the International Society of Camelid Research and Development (ISOCARD). E-mail: faye@cirad.fr
