MAKKAH, 3 January 2007 — Banners, badges, flags and signs were highly visible on ways used by group leaders to shepherd their hajis amidst the crowding millions of pilgrims.
It is common in the middle of the swarming pilgrim crowds to see a leader at the head of a pilgrim pack raising his hand high up in the air — making it easier for those in his group to follow and not lose track.
At certain sites such as the Jamrat or at the entrance and exit of the Grand Mosque, the group leader will stand raising his flag, banner or call out through the loudspeaker until the entire group has gathered together.
“Carrying a flag for our group makes the entire process easier,” said Azizallah, an Indonesian man who was the leader of his pilgrim group. “Such a method made the performance of all the Haj rituals easier for the organizers and the pilgrims themselves. Nobody gets lost this way.”
There are some pilgrim groups that take it a step further; women wearing head covers of a specific bright color, for example. Group members also wear large badges that bear their names, nationalities and the name of their Haj group on their backs, while their leader will wear a certain colored top and carry a loudspeaker as a means of keeping the group together.
They then proceed variously. At times, if the pilgrim group includes men and women, the men would then make a chain, hand in hand, around the women. Or at times the entire group will walk in pairs or sub-groups under supervisors following the leader.
In all cases, if a pilgrim happens to fall behind or get lost in the crowd away from his group, the raised banners and flags are a great help in drawing the pilgrim back to the group.
While pilgrim groups from Indonesia and Malaysia have a preference for colored head flags worn by the women in the group, Iranian and Turkish pilgrims’ preferences are inclined toward wearing one uniform and color for the entire group. This is addition to them wearing huge badge-like surfaces on their backs that includes personal identification details.
“Malaysian pilgrims were pioneers in using these methods,” said Mohammad Ishaq, the leader of a Malaysian Haj group.
Pilgrims coming from America, Europe or Australia are rarely seen using any of these methods. “I don’t see any need for it,” said Kareem Al-Jawwad, a pilgrim of Iraqi origin from America. “It could just draw unwanted attention and cause unwanted commotion.”
As for pilgrims coming from inside Saudi Arabia, they rarely wear any signs or badges or colors for practical purposes, although at least one said she and her friends distinguished themselves for the occasion of Haj.
“We wore yellow glittery scarves around the collar,” said Samia, a Saudi woman who had performed Haj with a pilgrim group from Kuwait. “It was much more convenient and efficient, not to mention ‘bonding’. It made us feel like a group, as one.”
