Within hours the dirty grounds of Mina were thinly carpeted in hair, much of it black and wiry, and light winds swirled the debris up and on to the clothing and faces of pilgrims. Thousands of dazed looking men emerged from makeshift shacks, rubbing their scalps.
Shaving the head, or halq, is a fundamental act for all male pilgrims during the hajj: the prophet Muhammad prayed three times for men who removed all their hair and only once for those who trimmed it. But blessings were the last thing on the minds of many of those who glimpsed the Mina barbers at work on Wednesday.
The set-up for the 1 100 haircutters was basic: rows of white plastic garden chairs, disposable yellow aprons and frothing toilet soap.
They plied their trade through agents wielding coupons for the masses.
There were no hot towels, designer products, privacy or small-talk — and certainly no requests for individualised styles.
”I know Islam says I can cut my hair,” said Senad, from Bosnia. ”My head is not the right shape for being bald. I saw a guy who was taking some scissors out of a drawer and I just positioned my head in front of him and gestured at him to snip.”
Men who were too impatient, or nervous, sought help from friends with razors and nail scissors, only to be reproached by security officials for not using the recommended barbers.
Not everyone was pleased with the ad-hoc salons.
”I paid 10 riyals [$2,60] for my coupon,” said Farhad, from Tehran. ”I paid another 10 to have it shaved clean and tipped him an extra five. Look at it.” He pointed to his patchy scalp. ”I pay less at home and get a better result.
”[The barber] said I had a bumpy head, which is why it doesn’t look smoother. But of course I’ll move around if someone is digging clippers into my skull at a million miles an hour. Now I know how a sheep feels.”
Not, though, the thousands of sheep held in warehouses in Muaissem, outside Mina, ready to help pilgrims fulfil another part of their hajj.
The slaughter of an animal — qurbani — is carried out in remembrance of the prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael at Allah’s command. As in the Old Testament, a ram or sheep was substituted for the boy.
Two million sheep, goats, cows and camels were imported from Djibouti, New Zealand, Australia and Somalia for this year’s hajj. Most pilgrims ask state-approved butchers to kill the animals.
The Saudi government encourages pilgrims to buy coupons instead of buying and sacrificing an animal themselves, to avoid meat being wasted. Sheep sacrificed through coupon sales are frozen and then distributed among the needy in Muslim countries.
As the day wore on and live animals became a rarer commodity, prices rose.
But for many Muslims the rising price of haircuts and sacrifices was a secondary concern. Some waited cautiously for confirmation that their animal had been killed before shaving their heads, traditionally the preferred order.
”I got a call saying that my sheep would be slaughtered by noon,” said Sami, from Canada. ”I would rather do it that way because then I know for sure it’s accepted. Some people rush off to have their heads done before sorting out their animal, so there could be doubt about whether their hajj is valid.”
His wife, Noor, was more flustered about the stone throwing, when Muslims re-enact Abraham’s rejection of the devil by throwing stones at three walls.
”As the crowds built up people started throwing their stones from further away and I got hit in the back of the head,” she said. ”It’s such a big wall I don’t know how they can miss. I guess some people have a bad aim.” – Guardian Unlimited Â