Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI AND MUDHI ALOBTHANI (ABU DHABI)
A shared reverence for falconry runs deeper than the auction block at ADIHEX 2026, as multiple pavilions showcase their own piece of the heritage and how it's passed between generations.
The Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority (ADHA) and Japan's pavilion, for example, have each dedicated part of their exhibit to how the ancient practice continues to be celebrated today.
Amal Bin Daiban, Heritage and Sanaa Education Division Director at the ADHA, said falconry is being kept alive through education programmes designed for the youth, including interactive games and summer and winter camps.
"These programmes help them learn about the sport, the skills they need, how they can preserve it and how they can pass it on to other generations," Bin Daiban said, adding that the authority also upholds hunting regulations and supports conservation efforts such as houbara breeding to protect the tradition long-term.
The authority's work extends well beyond falconry, encompassing Sadu weaving, poetry, Sanaa etiquette, majlis traditions and Arabic coffee culture — all documented and passed down through workshops, lectures and interactive programmes, with experts helping safeguard the knowledge through archival records and written publications.
At the Japanese pavilion, falconry is represented by the Suwa Falconry Preservation Society, whose traditions stretch back more than four centuries within a practice that is itself over 1,650 years old in Japan.
Central to it, as with its Emirati counterpart, is the relationship between falconer and bird — built on patience, discipline and respect for nature.
The pavilion places that tradition alongside other markers of Japanese craftsmanship: Katana swords forged using techniques from Seki, a historic centre of Japanese blade-making, including the centuries-old Tatara method of producing carbon steel; and Samurai armour crafted by Marutake, a workshop specialising in the art since 1958.
Taiko drumming and the Shakuhachi bamboo flute round out a programme meant to introduce visitors to the precision and continuity that Japan prizes in its cultural heritage.
Masato Kamiya, Country Chair, Abu Dhabi and Managing Director of Japan Oil Development Company Ltd (INPEX), said the parallels between Japanese and Emirati approaches to heritage go beyond falconry alone.
"We share the same way of seeing how important our history is — the history of our people and our country, as well as our relationship with nature and the land," Kamiya said. "Japanese people try to preserve and maintain these things, and I think people in the UAE also place great importance on maintaining their own traditions, culture and history. That is one of the similarities between the two countries."
