“It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.” For 40 years, Mahmoud Hawsawi and Abdullah Haroon have carried pilgrims on their shoulders.
Mahmoud, 53, and Abdullah, 66, are among the most experienced Shabriah men in Makkah, carrying elderly and sick pilgrims around the Holy Kaaba in a Shabriah — a bed made of braided rope tied around wooden legs — for most of their lives.
Now semi-retired (and keeping an eye on the Shabriah queue in the Holy Mosque), they told Arab News they enjoyed serving pilgrims and want their sons and grandsons to follow in their footsteps.
“I have carried thousands of pilgrims on my shoulders in order to enable the elderly and sick to perform tawaf — the circumambulation of the Kaaba. Although I am old, I would like to carry on, but it requires the muscle of a younger man to do that,” said Mahmoud, who was recently elected the sheikh of Shabriah men.
Abdullah’s sons are already working as Shabriah men themselves. He says he misses carrying those elderly pilgrims on his shoulders, and sometimes when the need arises he still helps out.
“I love the job,” he said. “It is a way to win Allah’s reward. I have been in this field for almost 40 years, and I can’t count the pilgrims I carried during all these years but thank God I was able to continue doing the job and convince my sons to do the same,” he said.
Sheikh Abdul Razaq Al-Harithy, in charge of carriers and wheelchairs, said the service is provided to pilgrims for a reasonable charge.
“We have offered it for 45 years. It continues to be the main service for elderly and sick pilgrims,” he said.
There are some 650 Shabriah, and the fees vary from SR150 to SR200.
“The Shabriah is a wooden bed designed to be carried by four people so that those who cannot walk can perform tawaf,” he said. The Shabriah has become smaller over the years but is still very comfortable.
“It still has the padded floor and sides to provide the maximum comfort to pilgrims through the seven rounds around the Kaaba.
“The fee depends on the weight of the pilgrim. If he is fat, he ends up paying more,” he added.
Most of the 2,500 porters originally come from various parts of Africa.
Al-Harithy said it was natural that fees increase during Ramadan and Haj, when there is great demand for the service.
According to Mahmoud, making a Shabriah costs around SR480.
“That is SR200 for the sedan wood, SR30 for ropes, SR160 for the covered bag and SR50 for each worker,” he said.
Some pilgrims say that the Shabriah men create a ripple effect resulting in a lot of pilgrims getting pushed. But Al-Harithy asked for understanding. “These people are working hard to do their job and help pilgrims who are unable to complete the tawaf by themselves,” he said.
“A lot of people describe the porters as human bulldozers, and we are always receiving complaints. But people should realize that this is really a tough job and it requires them to move fast on the mataf,” he said.
“Nonetheless we always make sure to instruct them not to push or harass others who are also performing tawaf,” he added.
Mahmoud and Abdullah, and the other porters, believe that serving pilgrims from all over the Muslim world is an honor that every Saudi citizen should be proud of.
