HAJ PILGRIMS PICK SACRIFICAL ANIMALS AT KAA'KIA LIVESTOCK MARKET

By Zainal Abdul Jalil

MECCA, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Every year during the haj season millions of
Muslims from all over the world conduct the haj pilgrimage, the fifth pillar of
Islam, at the holy city of Mecca.

One of the obligatory ritual in completing the haj is that those who could
afford should sacrifice an animal like goat, cattle or even camel.

At the same time the haj pilgrims undertaking the tamattuk haj (conducting
the umrah before the haj) must pay the dam (penalty) by sacrificing an animal or
by fasting or providing food for the poor.

KAA'KIA MARKET

In fulfilling this obligation pilgrims will normally take to several
livestock market at the fringes of the sacred city to look for the sacrificial
animal.

One of them is the Kaa'Kia Livestock Market that offers small animals like
goat to big ones like camel. The pilgrims can see for themselves and choose the
animal of their choice whether it's for dam or Aidiladha.

Located 20 minutes drive from the heart of Mecca, the market covering 500
square metres could accommodate hundreds of goat, sheep, cattle and camel.

They are kept in pens with the size of the pens depending on the animals.
The pen for the goat is smaller than the one for the camel. The Kaa'Kia
Livestock Market has its own abattoir.

The business is owned by Saudi citizens but managed by foreigners from
various races.

This writer who was covering the 1431 Hijrah haj season with the
Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) (Malaysian hajj pilgrims fund board) Malaysia media
team had the opportunity to see and get to know how the animals are traded here.


WORKERS AND SLAUGHTERERS

As soon as the media team stepped out from the Coaster, they were
immediately approached by several workers who offered their animals for sale.

After buying, the animals must be slaughtered and we learned that this is no
problem here as the slaughterers donning red uniform are ready with their
sharpened knives and skills.

The team managed to overcome the communication problem with the workers
there through the help of Coaster driver, Muhammad Abdul Mutalib who acted as
the translator.

TAME ANIMALS

The general observation here is that the animals in Kaa'Kia Livestock Market
- goat, sheep, cattle and camel - are tame.

The goat were not locked up in enclosures but were kept in groups by the
shepard.

The animals are brought from various places, fed with grass and water within
the pens or where they are held in groups in the market.

Visitors are definitely awed by the way the shepherds manage their flocks
and it looks like the animals seem to understand their orders.

SALES PRICE

The price of the animals here depend on the size and type. Most of the
buyers who make their way here are from Asia.

Ahmad Tahir Babikin, 53, from Saudi Arabia, who has been in business in this
market for the last 20 years pointed out that he could sell up 3,000 goats
during each haj season and this season the goats were priced between SR250 and
SR700 (RM200-RM600).

Off season, he remarked, the sales were unpredictable but did not give any
indicative figures.

Meanwhile, another livestock trader Abdul Wahab Abdul Kadir, 33, noted that
he sells eight types of goat priced between SR200 and SR400 each (RM160-RM330).

As for a camel trader, Jaafar Abdul Rashid, 50, the haj season is the
busiest time for him and the best time to reap the fruits of his labour.

"Within this two months I'm expecting to sell about 1,000 camel priced
between SR3,000 and SR3,300 (RM2,500-RM2,750) per head compared with an average
of 60 outside the haj season," said this trader who has been in the business for
22 years.

Ali Hashim, 55, noted that the demand for cattle priced from SR2,800
(RM2,300) per head has been very good during this haj season with the bulk of
his clients originating from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

The scene, the cacophony caused by the animals and the smell that permeates
the air at the Kaa'Kia Livestock Market is a new experience that the writer and
his friends in the TH media team will never forget.

-- BERNAMA