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 Henri Lalaisse, Exercice du Djérid |
It
should be interesting for the reader to know something about the
"Dscherid game" and the "Fantasia". These
activities served the Bedouin as training for both rider and horse, to
achieve the necessary condition and manœuvrability for hunting and
raiding. The games occasionally seem to be potentially lethal, but are
in fact no more dangerous than, for example, polo or three-day events.
Traditional games on horseback continue to be held today in the lands
of the Near and Middle East and in North Africa.
W. Georg Olms (1999) |
| The Arabs, with their white capes thrown over their left shoulders and their djerids held high in their right
hands, rush around on their small and slender mares between the beautifully prepared and richly decorated horses of the
Turks. The latter, splendidly clothed with their turbans and their red, blue and yellow
garments, make a very stately parade. The site is, of course, not one that we would choose, to ride horses on. It is completely covered with stones and scree. But nobody rides as recklessly as these people, and when you see how they career around, suddenly turning or stopping their horses in narrow spaces, you would never imagine that the animal often represents half, or even all of, their worldly possessions. Those assembled divide themselves, without further directions, into two parties, one opposite the other. Whoever has the nerve springs forward. As soon as he turns back, another chases him, tries to catch him, and standing high in his short stirrups, hurls his djerid at him with all his strength. The djerid is a kind of spear, but without the sharp point. It is a three foot long stick of about finger thickness, or slightly thicker, capable of giving a hard thump to the opponent. One seldom hears, however, of serious accidents occurring. Although the djerid is only thrown when giving chase, the danger of hitting ones opponent in the eye is not completely removed because the rider being chased often turns in the saddle so as to be able to avoid the spear, or to knock it sideways with the hand. Many catch the stick and throw it back at their follower. The horses seem to take an equally great pleasure in this game as their riders. As I was riding a horse belonging to the Pasha, which I did not yet know well, I thought it prudent not to mix in the mêlée. The animal stamped and neighed, and when I finally relented and gave it free rein it proved so obedient to rein and thigh that even the worst rider could have stood the test with honour. |
 Ch. Aubry, Mameluck, Equitation Orientale |
 J.H. Clark, Mameluckes Exercising the Sabre |
I myself witnessed a very peculiar
incident. I was present at a game of Djerid given by my host Ali Bey, Pasha of Tripolis. His brother Chedid Bey took part riding one of the Pasha’s stallions of the Em-Arkoub
breed. His turn came, Chedid threw his djerid but failed to hit his
opponent. Immediately the stallion rushed forward and rearing lashed the man with his forelegs until he fell from his horse
half-dead. Chedid was disconsolate, especially as his rival was a man of great reputation. He told his experience to his brother, and Ali Bey replied that such was the nature of that horse that he always tried to hit the target if his master had failed, and that the only way to stop him was to throw him to one side immediately. There is no end to all these extraordinary stories told in the East. The foregoing should give sufficient evidence of the outstanding development of the intelligence of a pure-bred horse. I only want to mention that such virtues are exclusively found in horses of noble breed. |
