So much more than the ship of the deserts! How naming of camels preserves identity, cultural heritage, and well-being.

This paper examines the concept of camel naming in the context of the Omani Bedouin community. It goes beyond the existing research on camels, their owners, and the naming protocol and suggests that camel naming serves the purpose of shaping social structures, preserving identity, cultural heritage, and the community's well-being. The data have been collected through face-to-face interviews conducted with 24 camel owners and via the social media platform (Snapchat) used to gather the responses from 2000 camel owners. The findings confirm the significance of the role that the camel naming construct plays in shaping and sustaining the individual and collective identities of the Omani Bedouins. As a novel contribution, this study offers a nuanced perspective on the hidden mechanisms and logic pursued by the camel owners in their attempt to preserve ancestral heritage and social order within and across their neighboring tribes. This research could be of interest to the scholars of cultural anthropology and ethnography concerned with indigenous communities and human-animal interaction. Furthermore, this analysis underscores the significance of ephemeral social media platforms in shaping social and cultural identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]