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Contrary of the Aidi, that in Islam belongs to the
foul dogs, the noble Sighthound is respected. It is
reported, the Prophet himself had owned a Sloughi or
Saluki. The breed, except for the Aidi, is well known
in Europe, so a description is not necessary. The term
is also used with animals in Morocco, that would not
fulfil the expectations of European breeders. "You
recognize a Sloughi by its eyes", a Moroccan told
me once. He thought that the nature of the Sloughi mirrors
in its eyes, whereby the outward appearance sometimes
doesn't do justice to the FCI rules.
They are kept in the whole country, watched over behind
protecting walls, so a traveller scarcely has opportunity
to meet them. Unowned Sloughis are really rare, in over
20 years I met only one. In Nomad-Regions you car can
meet some free running animals occasionally, but because
of their state of care they clearly have an Owner.
In the south-west of Morocco the Sous-Region and the
bordering coaststrips there live many Sloughis. Here
you can also meet the "Sloughiblooded" crossbreeds.
A further Sloughi-Centre is the Chaouia-Plain between
Marrakech and the Atlantic. Famous is also the region
about Sidi Harazem in the North of the country, where
there are particularly standard-accurate hounds bred.
Even if the Europeans don't think so, it is true that
the Sloughis are indeed used when hunting wildboar.
A Moroccan university man told me about his black male-dog
that died 40 years ago. A wildboar had torn his belly
and the animal couldn't be saved. The proud "Berber"
had moist eyes when he was telling me that in his first
pain he even didn't want to live any longer without
his hound.
Also in the region of Massa, south of Agadir, Sloughis
are used for boar-hunting. There is a very big, bully
type to be found, too, that is especially used for it.
Overthere I also saw my first Sloughi consciously: in
the morning the whole small camping-site got in motion,
admiring shouts rang out from the wall with the view
onto the shore, where a young man was walking with 2
nice, muscular hounds.
The animals jumped about elegantly, though they were
big and of heavy weight, really an aesthetic view, a
ballet. Strong athlete , clearly bigger than the standard,
with an incredibly deep reaching chest and impressing
muscular in light-sand with a black coat and mask so
I think to describe them glancing backward.
The Northafrican Expert and Sloughi-Breeder Xavier
Przezdziecki, generally known as XP, would have marked
these animals as "near-the-blood-standing-Sloughis".
He thinks the Sloughi to be a hybridized Saluki, that
had come with the Arabian Conquest into the Maghreb
and there hybridized with watchdogs to find use for
the herd-protection. It fits in as quoted in the BLV-encyclopaedia
by ALDERTON with the use as a Herd-protection-hound,
for which no other Sighthound-breed was used, as the
above mentioned book says. So I wonder: Is the Sloughi
the most able-bodied Sighthound? The answer is still
open.
The thousands of years old rock-cave-paintings that
prove the existence of sighthound-looking hounds in
the Central-Sahara contradict to the adoption of XP.
He also speaks about a more intensive purity of the
animals in the Sahara. In the "empty" quarter
between Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria is the hunting-area
of the Nomadis, the SaharaHunters with hounds. Their
animals are described by the British explorers of the
19 century to be "very tough Sloughis", they
also seem to be stronger and less "noble"
than the Moroccan animals of that time. In spite of
studying several books by GABUS and MONOD, who are supposed
to be known as Nomadi-experts, I have not yet found
a photo of these hounds.
That is why I questioned travellers to Mauritania during
my latest Morocco tour and I was lucky that some Italian
travellers had met a group of Nemadihunters with hounds.
Unfortunately, there were no photographs taken, as the
Mauritanians are very aloof from strangers. The animals
were described to be a kind of big Cirneco del Etna,
thus clearly like Sighthounds, with erected ears. Shoulder
hight about 65-70, estimated.
Erected ears have also some four legged creatures which
are together with ostriches cut into a rock face south
of Smara. Gandini presumes hounds. Interesting in this
connection, as this place lies a little north of the
border of the Nomadi hunting territory of the recent
centuries but the engraving is at least several thousand
years old.
There is very reason to believe that we would find
Sighthounds in the Maghreb today also without the import
of Salukis. The XP's aim, to rebreed the Sloughi in
a "pure" Saluki similar standard, doesn't
correspond with my own priorities as an admirer of the
breed, like I got to know them in Morocco. It is the
diversity, the visible toughness and strength of the
Sloughi that I estimate face to face the very neat Salukis.
As the origin I think an indigenous breed with a Saluki-blood-donation
possible. Exactly like with the Aidis different breeds
are called Sloughis in Morocco - and treated as such.
The local rating breaks up every FCI-Standard.
On the same beach in South-Morocco, where I saw my
first Sloughis and where, by the way, the Whale spat
out Jonah, Oqbar Ibn Nafi, the Arabian leader of the
Arabian Conquerors rode into the sea to prove that farther
west no country was to be conquered for Allah and then
on the end of all days Messiah will appear - and on
that significant beach I also found the only stray Sloughi.
The young male-dog, yellow slime running from his nose
and being so weak, that he permanently collapsed, had
chosen our tent to be his home. His body was so weak,
but his eyes implored with such a zest for life, so
the following day we drove to Agadir to buy medicine
and food for him. I couldn't be on vacation restfully
and watching inactively how this wonderful animal dies
close to me.
After 3 days he began to clean his skin like the cats
do, after 5 days he followed the fair sex with his eyes
and after 10 days he accompanied me to the beach. When
I had left him after 3 weeks he was in a good state,
and the tourists didn't turn away disgustingly from
the sick animal, that had begged for food. He had a
prospect again. Later I learnt he was poisoned by the
veterinary-police a week after my departure. All free
running Sloughis share the same fate even if the owners
are known, thus a friend of mine in the Antiatlas lost
his bitch.
Unfortunately the camping site at this wonderful place
was abandoned for the benefit of a deluxe hotel. But
also there the dog friendly tradition seems to live
on: At a visit in 2003 two whelps of a village bitch
were walking about in the restaurant. Their mother obviously
Sloughi blooded, fed herself in the garbage of the hotel.
Also in 2004 my black Sloughi brought good luck: When
I was photographing a similar animal I was approached
whether I would not like to see good hounds instead
of these street crossbreeds. And so I had the pleasure
to watch a Sloughi breeder at the morning feed. Raw
fish heads, chicken legs and junk from the butcher's
were distributed among the big, strong and well fed
animals.
The hounds are kept in different houses in small groups,
sorted out according to age and harmony. The Sloughias
themselves are allowed to choose their partners when
mating. Possible mistakes are tolerated, after birth
the whelps will be offered at a certain level of prices
as Sloughis of different quality or purity.
A small group was shown to us. The pride of the two
gentlemen was a 5 years old sand coloured male dog,
a successful wild boar hunter. A 3 years old bitch was
obviously very much attached to the younger breeder.
An one and a half year old black male dog had proved
to be a hopeful talent. And a brownish young hound with
totally strange ears gave reason for further hope. At
the end the kindergarten came: a small brindled pure
bred and a brown Sloughi crossbreed, both about 4 5
months old.
After the Sloughia, again on a non authorized cats
hunt, was fetched by a joyful help of the teen agers
of the ward the feed gegan. Contrary to many keepers
here you could feed from the hand. The 6 animals were
obviously used to be fed in group, of course, just only
the whelps had to have a playful food quarrel.
By a talk with the gentlemen a further riddle was cleared
up. On our latest journey early in 2003 we were looking
for a sleeping spot in this region in the twilight.
Not an easy job in this thicket of cactus and treelike
spurge growths. A ruinous track led us to a seeming
abandoned village, where we wanted to camp in the leeside
of the houses. Then at the end of the village the meeting
in the latest light: 3 grown up, noble Sloughis stood
there not impressed at all. A light sand coloured with
a black mask, a "Fox" red sand light sand
and a brindled one.
Unfortunately we saw only a woman and a little girl,
so we drove on. The region is well known for preservation
of their traditions. This could have become an embarrassing
or at least an unpleasant situation for the woman. Beyond
that we know the Moroccan hospitality well enough to
know what circumstances our stop would have meant for
the woman.
As our way led us across country to the coast that
day, we didn't want to return the following morning,
to look for the place on our next journey from the same
direction once again. We wanted to do this just on that
day. When we asked the breeders whether there were some
more breeders in the vicinity, and when we talked about
the deserted village, we learned that the hounds are
only partly kept in the main village, and because of
the better running conditions, they live distributed
with the people who take care of them, in the hamlets
of the region. And exactly these hounds, we had seen
the year before, belonged to our conversation partners.
Travelling with hounds unfortunately also means some
restrictions. And after not quite an hour we departed
in spite of the friendly invitation to tea. As the breeders
perhaps didn't trust the hounds they asked us to keep
our bitch in the car.
The continuation of the journey made up amply. In the
next hamlet a black Sloughi male dog lay sleeping on
the edge of the road, a child drove on his bike almost
over his ears, he dozed on relaxed in the early noon
sun of January. A great number of Sloughis and crossbreeds
made the edge of the road busy, we had to brake repeatedly.
The nicest meeting was with a joyful and young hound,
light beige that jumped from behind a wall in front
of the car. About 7 months old, ears much too big, legs
too long and full of high spirits he ran over the track
into the next garden. A picture of pure joy of living.
The incredible density of Sloughis in this region will
animate us to continue driving this stretch of road
though the landscape is boring.
A special feature in the literature known to me is
not recorded: the scent of the Sloughi. I have known
the typical smell of hounds, and so I was sniffing constantly
distrustfully at the beginning of living together with
my Moroccan foundling. The more surprised I was to find
a sesame nut, and reminding of Basmati rice scent. Also
my present bitch has this scent that I had not noticed
yet with European hounds. I talked with the Sloughi
breeder, Patricia Lauer, Sheik el Arab, about it. She
was delighted of the scent of her pure breed animals
the same way I was. "If there were a perfume...."
was our common motto.
This lady, by the way, owns also my German favourite
Sloughia, Rais Siyanda Rainine. It is not only my special
liking for the brindled Sloughis, to make this choice.
As the character is more important to me than the outward
appearance. And Rainine shows a wonderful balanced,
instinctive secure attitude and a friendly sovereignty.
She has the qualities clearly marked, by which the Sloughis
and their offspring with their Sloughi souls conquered
my heart.
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