In essence, the Liwa Date Festival has the feel of a massive village fete – only UAE-style. In place of jam tasting and livestock parades, read ‘date beauty contests’ and Nabati poetry competitions. Instead of blue ribbons and Virgin gift certificates, winners walk (or drive) away in new cars, lugging sacks of dirhams in their wake. ‘The first winner gets a car; the second one gets a car, the third get a car, until number 15,’ explains Mubarak Malnoursi, the man responsible for deciding who wins the prestigious title of ‘best date’.
Last year, in the prestigious Mazayin al Ratab contest (ratab means half-ripe), successful growers scored up to Dhs250,000 in prize money (only in the UAE). The rules are understandably strict; a host of conditions must be met in order to enter. ‘First they must be of local production; second they must be clean,’ says Mubarak, before rattling off a litany of requirements. ‘We are looking for taste, size, weight and many things,’ he also adds.
He is keen, though, to direct the conversation towards the role dates play in the history of the UAE. ‘It’s our heritage. Over 100 years ago, the people produced dates in Liwa and they knew how to deal with them.’ The competition is not the lifeblood of the event, but a matter of local pride. The 60 villages and 52 oases that dot the Mezaira’a contribute to around half of those grown in the UAE every year. That’s about 380,000 tonnes of fruit. This year, as the number of entrants to the festival rises to over 12,000, expect the atmosphere to be even noisier than usual.
At its heart, the festival is a business, though. On the opening weekend of last year’s event, producers raked in over Dhs60,000. For visitors, it is a chance to see a more traditional side of the UAE; to witness the colour, bustle, tastes and sounds of the kind of markets that have become almost extinct in the country’s major cities, all too often replaced by sanitised versions.
With each passing year this becomes more true. Five years ago, the festival was just a one-day event, an everything-must-go date market, wherein leather-faced gentlemen gabbling in Arabic would thrust their wares into your bemused hands. For the outsider, it was simply confusing, but more recently, it has become something truly unique in the UAE calendar.
In the past, this was a meeting point for around 20 tribes across the western region. This tradition has continued, with locals flocking in large numbers to the festival, but in recent times it has become popular with outside visitors. In 2008, it began with the mass wedding of over 140 couples. There was even a world record attempt to achieve the biggest plate of ratab dates (nearly derailed after someone brought the wrong plate).
This year, the focus is very much on family events. In addition to a children’s tent, keeping the kids happy while the adults have a wander, across the festival are a number of handicrafts, competitions, poetry evenings, stalls and games for all the family. But the main joy comes in sampling the wares of the region – the 80-plus varieties of dates that were grown locally.
In the end, the Liwa Date Festival is something you don’t see very often in the UAE. While Dubai and Abu Dhabi compete to put on the biggest, the shiniest and the loudest events, it offers something different; a slice of life which might otherwise go unnoticed among expats and city-dwelling locals. It is also an experience unlike anything else in the country and a chance to taste the freshest dates you’ll ever eat. It’s certainly a date worth making.
Important dates
There is evidence of date cultivation in Arabia going back to 6,000 BCE. Hence, dates are often used in a number of old Arabic treatments, albeit largely to do with the bowels. It has been said that dates soaked overnight in fresh goat’s milk then ground into a mixture of milk, honey and cardomom could aid sterility.
Dates not only provided food to the Bedouin, but the palm tree trunks supported the roofs of the mudbrick castles and towers; the ribs of the leaves were used to weave the walls of the huts and bulk out their fishing boats (or shasha); while the fibre from the bark was used to make rope and baskets.
The Abu Dhabi municipality owns around 270,000 roadside date palms; but, while it is not illegal for the public to pick dates from roadside trees, as of last year, those caught being ‘greedy’ will now receive a verbal warning.
Liwa Date Festival takes place from July 17-26 in the city of Liwa.
