Advances Fusion, November, 2015 1 Vol. 5, #9, November 2015, No. 53 Entertaining the troops... During the most lucrative day in Midea’s history
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
1
Vol. 5, #9, November 2015, No. 53
Entertaining the troops...
During the most lucrative day in Midea’s history
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
2
ADVANCES
Contents
Midea Advances Newsletter is published monthly
by Midea International Business. We welcome all
comments, suggestions and contributions of
articles, as well as requests for subscription to our
newsletter. You can reach us by email at:
Address:
ADVANCES, Midea International Business
Midea HQ
No. 6 Midea Road
Beijiao, Shunde, Foshan, Guangdong
P.R.C. 528311
Web: www.midea.com/global
Quote of the Month:
“Proactive people
aren’t pushy. They’re
smart, they’re value
driven, they read reali-
ty, and they know
what’s needed. - Ste-
phen R. Covey
NEWSLINE
Most Lucrative Day in
Group’s History PAGE 3-4
National Campaign Pulls in
$785 Million in 1 Day PAGE 5-6
www.midea.com
TUNISIA: The Sahara Festival PAGE 20
TURKEY: The Mevlâna
Festival PAGE 19
Group Donates $47 Million
to the Poor PAGE 8
One of Asia’s Most Influential
Brands PAGE 7
Lighting up Lives in India PAGE
8
Group Receives A3 Issuer
Rating from Moody’s PAGE 12
K.I.S.S PAGE 13
BRAZIL: Réveillon Page 21
Midea Leads Overall
Production Automation in
China PAGE15
A Maintainer of Midea PAGE
16-17
Beautiful People Tested with
Beautiful Products PAGE 9
Love Is in the Air PAGE 11
Russian Opposition Leader
Visits Midea-Gorizont for 2nd
Time PAGE 10
CHINA: Christmas in the
Middle Kingdom PAGE 18
FUSION
PEOPLE
CAC Staff on Family Outing PAGE 14
USA: National Finals Rodeo Page 22
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
3
Most Lucrative Day in Group’s History
By Kevin McGeary
M idea Group‟s revenue on November 11, the big-
gest day for E-Commerce in China, was US$224.5 million, a
year-on-year increase of 102 percent. Named and timed for
the date that consists of four „ones‟, Singles‟ Day is pitched as
the antithesis of Valentine‟s Day and is an occasion for people
to celebrate single life, by participating in some retail therapy.
As the clock ticked midnight to mark the beginning of
Single‟s Day, Midea‟s e-commerce office resembled the floor
of the New York Stock Exchange on the first day of trading.
Preparation involved a two-month marketing cam-
paign.
By the time Single‟s Day was fifteen minutes
old, Midea had broken 100 million RMB (US$15.7
million) in sales. By 22 minutes past midnight, it had
broken 200 million RMB, by 1 a.m. it had broken
300 million RMB. By 0145 it had broken 400 million.
Though the nation presumably had to sleep at some
point, by 0745 it had broken 500 million RMB and
by 0915 it had broken 600 million RMB. The first
orders began to arrive at customers‟ homes by 5 a.m.
This was the first Single‟s Day to have a major
marketing campaign from overseas, with Alibaba
boss Jack Ma enlisting celebrities such as Daniel
Craig and Kevin Spacey to promote it. The coming
years will quite possibly see November 11 campaigns around
the world.
This meant that Single‟s Day was unprecedentedly com-
petitive, meaning that many sales staff did all-nighters to help
Midea be the best. However, it was not all backbreaking labour.
To entertain the troops, Midea hired finalists from New
Silk Road, China's most prestigious beauty contest to act as
cheerleaders.
NEWSLINE
Jack Ma with James Bond actor Daniel Craig
Staff in high spirits despite grueling workload
Go team
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
4
Most Lucrative Day in Group’s History
(Cont.) By Kevin McGeary
Five Facts about Singles Day 2015
1. On the eve of Singles Day, US actor Kevin Spacey,
reprising his role from the blockbuster TV series House of
Cards, encouraged Chinese customers to buy items such as
burner phones, presidential M&Ms or replicas of his class ring
from The Sentinel.
2. US$10 billion was spent on Single‟s Day, making it the
biggest one yet.
3. Mobile phone manufacturer Xiaomi was one of the
biggest winners, its Redmi Note 2 outselling other smartphones.
4. Many companies relied on this one day to boost their
Q4 income.
5. Single‟s Day is a 1990s phenomenon, before that the
notion of a dating pool in which people had a say in who they
ended up with was a foreign one. Therefore Single‟s Day can
reasonably said to be part of a sexual revolution in China.
NEWSLINE
The boys were treated to some delightful company... The ladies were not forgotten either
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
5
National Campaign Pulls in $785 Million in 1
Day By Kevin McGeary
NEWSLINE
O ver 10 million people in 300 conference halls in
over 50 Chinese cities attended Midea sales events on Novem-
ber 7, which has been named as Midea Products Day. This led
to sales of US$785 million as members of the world‟s largest
middle class came in search of bargains.
With the brand already being a household name in Chi-
na, there was a month of marketing campaigns ahead of the
event, which celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of Midea‟s
move into the air conditioning business. In Chongqing, the
historic metropolis in southwestern China, over US$125,000 in
sales were made in one hour.
Check out some of the scenes. You will see some similar,
if not even crazier ones, next year.
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
6
National Campaign Pulls in $785 Million in 1
Day (Cont.) By Kevin McGeary
NEWSLINE
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
7
One of Asia’s Most Influential Brands
By Kevin McGeary
C onsultancy
Brand Alliance Group
and its research arm
Influential Brands have
named Midea on the
2015 list of Asia‟s most
influential brands. Ac-
cording to the criteria,
an influential brand is
one that goes beyond
providing a product or
service to form a rela-
tionship with the con-
sumer.
“Brands that
influence and impact
consumers become
public property in a
way. That‟s why we are
celebrating brand lead-
ership,” said Amy Lim,
founder and director
of Brand Alliance
Group.
Based on a na-
tionwide study in Sin-
gapore derived from
three years of extensive
research, consumer
insight, field surveys
and assessment of
brand qualities,
Asia‟s most influen-
tial brands cover
over 100 categories.
These range from
food and beverages
to financial services
and property devel-
opment.
"Midea is honored
to be named as one
of Asia's most influ-
ential brands. To
ease the load of
consumers with
increasingly busy
lifestyles, Midea will
continue bringing in
innovative applianc-
es,” said Alex
Cheng, general man-
ager of Midea Elec-
tric Trading Compa-
ny.
Midea has long been
enriching the lives
of customers with
innovative home
and commercial
appliances, in addi-
tion to offering
manufacturing ex-
pertise to its busi-
ness partners
around the world.
Midea offers a full
range of exciting
appliances and is
dedicated to help-
ing people redis-
cover what home
means, Mr. Cheng
said.” Choosing
Midea means
choosing to make
your home a place
where your family
enjoys its best
moments togeth-
er,” he added.
NEWSLINE
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
8
Lighting up Lives in India
By Pankaj Yadav
D iwali, India‟s Festival of Light which falls on No-
vember 11, is a day on which clay lamps known as diyas are lit to
signify the destruction of all things negative. Ahead of this
year‟s Diwali, a stall was set up in the factory canteen of Carrier-
Midea India (CMI) for the sale of diyas which had been pre-
pared by mentally challenged children on November 6.
The millennia-old festival is about the banishing of all evils
such as
jeal-
ousy,
anger,
hatred
and
fear.
Thanks
to a
notice
from
Harish
Malik,
founder
of non-
govern-
mental
organiza-
tion Nan
Prerna,
the whole of CMI was
able to get involved and
show support. All of the
stock was sold out by
lunch time, leading to
more requests.
The staff at the
Bawal factory can know
that they did their bit to
help good triumph over
evil.
NEWSLINE
By Liu Degang
Group Donates $47 Million to the Poor
C hina's economic miracle has
mostly been felt in wealthy coastal areas
such as southern Guangdong Province,
where Midea is headquartered. For this
reason, the group is committed to giving
some-
thing
back and
has do-
nated
US $47
million over the past six years
to some of the country's
poorest areas.
The
city of
Ying-
de in
north-
ern
Guang-
dong has been a particular beneficiary, using
money donated by Midea to build new apartment
buildings, parks and a two-year refurbishment of a primary
school.
This apartment complex has improved the living standards of some of the city's least fortunate families
This newly refurbished primary school will save the children from having to commute for over 10 kilometres
This park can form the new centre of the community
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
9
Beautiful People Tested with Beautiful
Products By Advances
A s part of China's most prestigious beauty contest,
finalists have been required to put a range of Midea products
to use to prove their own worth. The New Silk Road contest
is sponsored by Midea and the latest round required the most
beautiful people in the world's most populous country to
show they could thrive during a task as unglamorous as pre-
paring and serving a meal.
At the Victory Hotel in the southern metropolis of
Guangzhou, contestants were examined on everything from
their posture, their patience, and their ability to serve with a
smile. Products that helped them serve customers included
Midea rice cookers, juice makers, hobs, and microwaves as the
country's biggest media organizations watched.
NEWSLINE
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
10
Russian Opposition Leader Visits Midea-
Gorizont for 2nd Time
O ne of the most recognizable politicians in the Rus-
sian diaspora visited Midea-Gorizont in Belarus on October 8.
Leader of the Communist Party of Russia Gennady Zyuganov,
opposition leader in the world‟s second most powerful country,
was visiting the joint venture for the second time in five years.
Zyuganov, who first ran to become President of Russia in
1996 and finished second in the last presidential election in
2012, was given a tour around the company‟s facilities by Gen-
eral Manager You Baofeng and CEO of Horizont Holding Man-
agement Company Yury Predka. They demonstrated some sig-
nificant changes that had been made to the manufacturing pro-
cess in the past five years.
Mr. Zyuganov was impressed by the organization and the
considerable modernization of the manufacturing process. He
also spoke directly with less senior employees about their life
and work. At the end of the visit Gennady Zyuganov and You
Baofeng presented gifts to each other as a token of friendship
between three countries: Belarus, China and Russia.
Mr.Zyuganov said that Midea and Horizont made the
right decision in establishing a Chinese-Belarusian joint venture
and expressed his belief that the company will continue its rapid
development.
NEWSLINE
By Advances
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
11
Love Is in the Air!
By Cheng Hang
A matchmaking activity was held for 70 factory
workers at Midea-owned brand Welling Motors on November
11. Activities included flower presentations, team jigsaw puz-
zles, barbecue and punishments for losing contestants such as
being required to sing.
NEWSLINE
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
12
Group Receives A3 Issuer Rating from
Moody’s Via Moody‟s
M oody's Investors Service assigned an A3 issu-
er rating to Midea Group Co., Ltd on November 18, plac-
ing Midea as China‟s number 1 appliances manufacturer
according to major credit-rating agencies.
"Midea's A3 rating reflects its large scale, geographic
diversification and leading position in China's durable
white goods markets," says Lina Choi, a Moody's Vice
President and Senior Credit Officer. "Such a leading posi-
tion is supported by its well-established brand, extensive
distribution network and strong operational efficiency."
Based on Midea's 2014 and 1H 2015 sales revenue,
Moody's estimates that the company commands above
20% of China's large white goods market, including air-
conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines, as well as
approximately 35%-40% of the small home appliances mar-
ket.
"Moody's expects Midea to maintain its market leader-
ship over the medium-term, backed by a stable market struc-
ture, its highly efficient production process, and a prudent
financial profile," says Choi, who is the lead analyst for Midea.
Moody's notes that Midea has proactively invested in
product upgrades with its energy-efficient and intelligent
home appliances becoming meaningful contributors to its
revenue.
The A3 rating also considers Midea's track record of
maintaining a highly efficient operation. It expanded its EBIT
margin by over 200 basis points to 9.7 percent in 2014 from 7.6
percent in 2012. Moody's expects Midea to further improve its
profitability to around 11 percent over the next two years.
Moody's believes that the company has strong financial
strength, as reflected in its reported net cash position, strong
operating cash flow, and healthy liquidity profile. Moody's ex-
pects adjusted debt/EBITDA will stay around 1.5x over the
next two years.
The stable outlook reflects
Moody's expectations that Midea
will maintain its leadership posi-
tion in China's durable white
goods market with stable profit
margins; and will continue to
pursue its growth strategy in a
prudent manner and maintain a
strong financial profile.
Moody's Investors Service pro-
vides international financial re-
search on bonds issued by com-
mercial and government entities
and, with Standard & Poor's and
Fitch Group, is considered one of
the Big Three credit rating agen-
cies.
NEWSLINE
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
13
K.I.S.S
By Advances
M ebel, the
largest furniture industry
fair in Eastern Europe,
was held in Moscow
from November 23-30,
with 742 exhibitors from
31 countries. There were
approximately 76,000
visitors and the catego-
ries included Style; Com-
fort; Components;
Kitchen; Office; Dream;
Decor; Doors.
Midea had a stand
under the kitchen catego-
ry and its slogan was
Kitchen Integrated Solu-
tions System (KISS). To
commemorate the event,
Midea prepared kitchen
towels, chopping boards
and oven gloves with its
own brand name to commemorate the event.
About Mebel
Every autumn Expocentre brings together leading global
brands and manufacturers, designers and interior decorators
to showcase new collections and the best items of the furni-
ture industry. Participating in the exhibition everyone gets a
great chance to enjoy business communication and find new
opportunities for development.
The exhibition presents the latest trends of the furniture
market and brings together manufacturers and distributors
with customers. The exposition includes a great variety of elite
and budget furniture for bedrooms, dining rooms, living
rooms, nurseries and kitchens, as well as couches and arm-
chairs, fittings, finishing materials and various decor items.
NEWSLINE
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
14
CAC Staff Taken on Family Outing
By Li Yi
S taff from the headquarters of Midea Commercial
Air Conditioning (CAC) and their families joined an annual
teambuilding trip in November. The workers were treated to a
trip to Jiangmen, a historic city that neighbors Shunde, the
group‟s global home.
During the day they were taken to the stunning village
of Enping which boasts a petting zoo, a manmade lake and a
canal on which visitors are free to row. At night they were
treated to live music performances.
NEWSLINE
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
15
Midea Leads Overall Production Automation
in China By PR Newswire
This article was originally published in PR News-
wire on November 20
A s a global leader in residential and commercial air
conditioning industry, Midea's Industry 4.0 strategy has suc-
cessfully transformed and upgraded the company's manufac-
turing bases to improve the production efficiency by reducing
70 percent of total labor costs.
Midea achieved a four percent worker-machine ratio by
deploying over 800
robots in all produc-
tion bases for the
whole group also
guaranteeing a 99.9
percent pass rate.
Midea's central
air conditioning base,
major core compo-
nents production
lines including main
boards, compressors,
metal plates as well as
condensers and evap-
orators have been
upgraded to robotic
assemblies.
"The pioneer-
ing fully automatic bending machine developed by Midea
broke through the limit of manual bending in the production
of condensers and evaporators, the machine can deliver Auto-
mated Guided Vehicle to the loading zone to realize compre-
hensive automation from loading materials to bending and
discharging," explained Tian Mingli, general manager of
Midea Central Air Conditioning.
Inefficient tasks requiring significant physical strength
such as installing compressors and fluid reservoirs have also
been completed automatically by robot Charge Coupled De-
vices (CCD) developed by Midea. Another refrigerant oil fill-
ing robot that employs CCD visual identification system and
robotic arm merge the robot into an oil filling machine to
achieve full automation in the filing process.
Midea has invested USD 21.34 million to import the origi-
nal production line from Eisenmann to build
a manufacturing platform of water heaters.
Eisenmann is a leading international supplier of produc-
tion systems in fields ranging from material flow automation to
environmental technology. The production center Midea imple-
mented features the core technology called E+ Blue Diamond.
The fully automatic Eisenmann sand blasting machine has
adjustable internal parts to meet the requirements of different
workpieces,
while the more
intelligent Eisen-
mann coating
machine uses
imported materi-
als that are com-
monly applied to
rocket and mis-
siles to achieve
even coating
automatically
with top level
adherence.
"From the cur-
rent developing
trends in central
air condition
industry, Midea is now at the forefront to lead Chinese compa-
nies into Industry 4.0 era with advanced integration in equip-
ment network, intelligent logistics, production transparency and
information management," Tian said.
About PR Newswire
PR Newswire is a news agency based in New York City .
Founded in 1954, it is currently owned by The Fuel Team.
The PR newswire database includes
10,700 syndicated websites and has 543,379 journalists and in-
fluencers in its network.[
NEWSLINE
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
16
A Maintainer of Midea
Zhi Yang
Electrical appliances, like people, age with eve-
ry day. Just as a football team needs a goalkeeper,
an appliances manufacturer cannot survive without
its repair and maintenance professionals.
This month, I caught up with Ren Pengfei,
maintenance stalwart
at the Hefei factory of
Midea Commercial
Air Conditioning
(CAC). Here is what
he had to say.
Zhi Yang: You have
been at the Hefei factory
for about a year right?
Why did you choose this
place?
Ren Pengfei: Actu-
ally, I have been with
Midea since 2008, though
I spent most of my time in
the refrigerator division. I
joined CAC in April 2014
so I have been at this fac-
tory for a year and a half
now. Why did I choose
this factory? Well, I have
been at Midea for a long
time so this felt like a logi-
cal next step.
I am used to this company. I am used to its culture. I am
used to my brothers and sisters who work here.
Zhi Yang: You are involved in motor maintenance?
How long have you done this work?
Ren Pengfei: I have worked in motor maintenance since
I graduated from university in 2006. My entire career has been
spent doing this.
Zhi Yang: Having been involved with motors for all these
years, you must have some stories to tell about challenges and
obscure equipment. Can you think of any examples?
Ren Pengfei: When the 4/2 was first released, we figured
that a fault was caused by
burned relay contacts. When
we replaced the relay contacts,
the problem reoccurred.
When we put the problem
down to the solenoid valve
pull current being too large,
we addressed it but the prob-
lem kept coming back once or
twice a month.
After finding that the operat-
ing frequency was too fast, we
switched to a non-contact pull
SSR. This finally solved the
problem.
Zhi Yang: What are some of
your most memorable experi-
ences in this job?
Ren Pengfei: In one of my
first projects at the company,
I found that one of the cham-
bers in a motor was faulty. I
had no choice but to admit
that I needed help. The sup-
port that I received from everybody around me made me feel
that I was part of a family and that this was something that
could last a number of years.
Zhi Yang: As an experienced professional, what qualities
do you think are required to do what you do?
PEOPLE
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
17
A Maintainer of Midea (Cont.)
Ren Pengfei: I
think anybody with the
professional training can
do it. When you are
learning the craft you
need to have a proactive
attitude and eventually
you will develop a sixth
sense for when some-
thing is amiss.
Zhi Yang: How
would you describe
yourself in one word?
Ren Pengfei:
Persistent. You only
really get the measure of
a person when you see
them face seemingly insurmountable challenges. The thing that you need most in this job is persistence.
Zhi Yang: Do you have any
big plans about the future of
your career?
Ren Pengfei: Electrical
equipment ages by the day.
Most needs repairing after
three years and replacing after
five years. Through facing new
challenges at Midea, I have
learned a lot about myself and
my own limitations. I have
also grown a lot.
Going forward, I am deter-
mined to be my own harshest
critic. I still have a lot to do to
fulfill my potential at this
company.
PEOPLE
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
18
CHINA: Christmas in the Middle Kingdom
By Kevin McGeary
FUSION
places.
Activities
Though not a national holiday, Christmas Day in China
has a similar status to St. Patrick‟s Day in America. It is a day
for going out and having a good time rather than staying home
with family.
Santa
Claus is eve-
rywhere dur-
ing the holi-
days, alt-
hough for
some reason
he is often
portrayed,
with startling
frequency, as
jamming out
on a sax, Bill Clinton-style. Sometimes he is playing a trumpet
or French horn. It is unknown why this is.
A tradition that's becoming popular on Christmas Eve is
giving apples. Many stores have apples wrapped up in colored
paper for sale. People give apples on Christmas Eve because in
Chinese Christmas Eve is called 'Ping An Ye' (which means
quiet or silent night) and the word for apple in Chinese is 'Ping
Guo' which sounds similar.
Some people go Carol singing, although not many peo-
ple understand the lyrics or know about the Nativity Story.
Jingle Bells is a popular Carol in China. People who are Chris-
tians in Chi-
na go to
special ser-
vices. Going
to Midnight
Mass ser-
vices has
become very
popular.
T hough Christmas is nominally a religious festival and
China is officially an atheist country, the holiday is inescapable
throughout the People‟s Republic every December. The south-
eastern city of Yiwu produces 60 percent of the world‟s Christ-
mas presents, and whatever present you receive this year was
probably made in China, however the Chinese are not averse to
an excuse for a party and a shopping spree of their own.
Origins
Christmas may be the second-most-celebrated festival in
China after the Spring Festival among young Chinese, accord-
ing to research conducted by the China Social Survey Institute
(CSSI), which found that 15- to 45-year-olds are the most likely
to observe it. The holiday‟s popularity is an outgrowth of study-
abroad
pro-
grams,
Sara
Jane Ho
from
Institute
Sarita
told The
Atlantic.
Eighty-
five
percent of wealthy Chinese send their children to countries like
the U.S., U.K., and Canada for higher education. Around
275,000 Chinese students enroll annually at American universi-
ties, accounting for more than 30 percent of all international
students in the country. When the holidays cause their Ameri-
can peers to go home to family and friends, Chinese students
often turn to each other for companionship. Nicknamed “sea
turtles”, these students often bring their own version of Christ-
mas back home.
Christmas is “an excuse to party” whereas Chinese festi-
vals are comparatively “solemn, serious, and spiritual,” accord-
ing to Jane Ho. Instead of gathering around the family table for
a turkey dinner most go to “entertainment places”—movie
theaters, bars, or karaoke clubs—or out to eat. Christmas is just
an excuse to go shopping, as there are many big sales at a lot of
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
19
TURKEY: The Mevlâna Festival
By Kevin McGeary
FUSION
Do not claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be
silent...”; and "You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl
through life?"
Activities
Throughout the festival, the dervishes dance their fa-
mous whirl, but it‟s the night of the seventeenth that‟s truly
special. The dance is subdued and trance-like. The dervishes
dress in long white robes with full skirts that represent their
shrouds. Their black cloaks symbolise their worldly tombs,
their conical felt hats their tombstones.
The ceremony begins when the hafiz, a scholar who has
committed the entire Quran to memory, intones a prayer for
Mevlâna and a verse from the Quran. A kettledrum booms
out, followed by the plaintive sound of the ney (reed flute).
Then the seyh (master) bows and leads the dervishes in a circle
around the hall.
After three circuits, the dervishes drop their black cloaks
to symbolise their deliverance from worldly attachments. Then
one by one, arms folded on their breasts, they spin out onto
the floor as they relinquish the earthly life to be reborn in mys-
tical union with God.
By holding their right arms up, they receive the blessings
of heaven, which are communicated to earth by holding their
left arms turned down. As they whirl, they form a
„constellation‟ of revolving bodies, which itself slowly rotates.
The seyh walks among them to check that each dervish is per-
forming the ritual properly. The dance is repeated over and
over again. Finally, the hafiz again chants passages from the
Quran, thus sealing the mystical union with God.
M evlâna, also known as Rumi, was a Persian poet,
jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rumi's influ-
ence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions: Iranians,
Tajiks, Turks, Greeks, Pashtuns, other Central Asian Muslims,
and the Muslims of South Asia all appreciate his spiritual lega-
cy.
On December 17, Mevlâna Festival is celebrated, a night
of dancing and recitals of the Quran. The date is to mark the
anniversary of the poet‟s death, a subject on which he offered
much wisdom, with lines such as “When we are dead, seek not
our tomb in the earth, but find it in the hearts of men”.
Origins
Mevlâna (Our Guide) is one of the most translated and
biggest-selling poets around the world. He famously believed
that union with God was possible through dance.
He lived most of his life under the Persianate Seljuq Sul-
tanate of Rum, which was one of the most advanced civiliza-
tions in the world. He was buried in Konya and his shrine be-
came a place of pilgrimage. Following his death, his followers
and his son Sultan Walad founded the Mevlevi Order, also
known as the Order of the Whirling Dervishes, famous for its
Sufi dance known as the Sema ceremony. He was laid to rest
beside his father.
Today, the chance to witness this sema draws more than
one million people to the Anatolian city of Konya for the
Whirling Dervishes Festival, which commemorates Mevlâna‟s
death, a date which is now known as his „wedding night‟ with
Allah.
Though most of his work gets somewhat lost in transla-
tion, his famous quotes include “Paradise is surrounded by
what we
dislike; the
fires of hell
are surround-
ed by what
we desire”;
“Observe the
wonders as
they occur
around you.
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
20
TUNISIA: The Sahara Festival
By Kevin McGeary
FUSION
huge celebra-
tion that at-
tracts over
50,000 people
every year,
from no-
mads, to po-
ets, artists,
camel racers,
and even
sand-hockey
players.
Activities
Most of the events take place in the H‟naiech stadium on
the outskirts of Douz. One of the most popular events is cam-
el wrestling where two strong, heavy camels attempt to knock
each other to the ground. It's mating season so two males
from rival herds compete for the attentions of the female.
Gurgling loudly to assert their prowess, they face off, each
using their necks to knock the other off its feet.
Traditional plays tell the story of a brave Bedouin warrior
called Mandour. He falls in love with a beautiful young girl
from a rival tribe. This leads to dangerous encounters and
rivalry. Meanwhile, the nakh (hair dance) is performed by a
group of local girls wearing bright-colored dresses and veils.
They rhythmically swing their long hair in unison to the music,
which was once used to hypnotize men and trick them into
marriage. As the tempo increases they swing their hair in wider
circles before
collapsing to
the ground.
There is
also a craft fair
and nearby
vendors also
hang around
to offer some
traditional
local cuisine.
W hile the Christian world is occupied with Christ-
mas, Saharan nomads flock to Douz, Tunisia‟ for a celebration
of their culture. The sandy town hosts camel races, hunts, and
performances. In these military displays, riders on Arabian
horses skillfully canter, turn, stop and shoot their rifles.
Up to 50,000 turban-wrapped visitors pitch their Bedouin
tents on the outskirts of town. In the evenings, there are dances
by Tunisian, Algerian and Palestinian companies and recitals of
poetry, which is still a primary method of communication in
the desert.
Origins
The festival, called the Camel festival, began in 1910
when Tunisia was under French rule. In 1967 it took on its
modern identity according to the will of Habib Bourguiba, Tu-
nisia's first post-colonial president and is now the country's
oldest and best-known festival.
Scholar M'hammed Marzougui, who dedicated his life to
making people aware of and appreciating the nomadic way of
life and traditions, was mainly responsible for the festival's
foundation. Since then, every year at from December 23-27,
thousands of people, mostly from all over Tunisia and other
Maghrebien countries, flock to Douz.
Since 1981, the festival has been international, and has
given visitors from neighboring countries a taste of Tunisia‟s
uniquely evolving culture. The festival has now grown into a
President Habib Bourguiba
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
21
BRAZIL: Réveillon
By Kevin McGeary
FUSION
beach. From about 8pm, bands perform on stages strung out
along the 4km-long beach, pumping out a variety of Brazili-
an and international music. At midnight, a fireworks display
lights up the night sky for up to 20 minutes. The hardiest of
revellers keep things going all night long, then watch the
sun rise the next morning.
Beaches throughout the country have bands, DJs and
parties with free admittance. Earlier on in the evening be-
fore the party gets into full swing, people flock to the
beaches and waterfronts to throw flowers into the ocean
for Mamãe or mother Iemanjá, the Orixa Goddess of the
sea, an African-
Brazilian deity from
the Candomblé and
Umbanda religions.
The flowers are for
blessings. They then
jump seven times over
seven small waves to
ensure good luck in the
coming year.
Because of the
potential for crowd
trouble, glass is not
allowed except for
those who are drinking
champagne. It is tradi-
tional but not mandato-
ry to wear white.
T hroughout the Portuguese and French-speaking
worlds, New Year‟s Eve is known as Réveillon. The name of
this dinner is based on the word réveil ("waking"), because par-
ticipation involves staying awake until midnight and beyond.
Brazil is particularly associated with parties, beaches,
dancing, and celebrations that combine both the religious and
the secular. Those lucky enough to see in the new year in
South America‟s largest country get the chance to enjoy a
unique carnival atmosphere.
Origins
Civilizations around the world have been celebrating the
start of each new year for at least four millennia. Since 1582,
festivities have begun on December 31 in countries which use
the Gregorian calendar.
As a former Portuguese colony, Brazil takes many of its
traditions from Europe. On this day, champagne is drunk and
rice, grapes, pomegranate seeds, and lentils are eaten. The num-
ber seven is considered lucky so it is recommended to eat
things in quantities of seven. Turkey and crab are bad luck food
on this day.
Activities
Rio Di Janeiro‟s biggest holiday after its Carnaval sees
around two million people pack the sands of the Copacabana
The Copacabana Beach
Iemanjá
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
22
USA: National Finals Rodeo
By Kevin McGeary
FUSION
not have any equipment to compensate for errors of balance
or skill.
Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo
event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops
from the horse to the steer, and then wrestles the steer to the
ground by twisting its horns. Team roping also known as
heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a steer and
two mounted riders. The first roper must rope the front of the
steer, usually around the horns, but it is also legal for the rope
to go around the neck, or go around one horn and the nose
resulting in what they call a "half head". Once the steer is
caught by one of the three legal head catches, the roper must
wrap the rope around the rubber covered saddle horn and use
his horse to turn the steer to the left.
Bronc riding involves a rodeo participant riding on a
horse (sometimes called a bronc or bronco), that attempts to
throw or buck off the rider. Calf roping features a calf and a
rider mounted on a horse. The goal is for the rider to catch the
calf by throwing a loop of rope around its neck, dismount
from the horse, run to the calf, and restrain it by tying three
legs together, in as short a time as possible.
In barrel racing, a horse and rider attempt to complete
a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In
bull riding, a rider gets on a large bull and attempts to stay
mounted while the animal attempts to buck off the rider.
T he National Finals Rodeo, organized by the Profes-
sional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), is the premier
championship rodeo event in the United States. It showcases
the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money-winners in each event
as they compete for the world title.
The rodeo is held each year in the first full week of De-
cember, at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Events include bareback rid-
ing, barrel racing, and bull riding.
Origins
The NFR was established in 1958 and the first one was
held in Dallas, Texas in 1959. In 1984, Las Vegas, bid for the
event. Although the Oklahoma City Council considered build-
ing a new $30 million arena at the State Fairgrounds, the Las
Vegas bid won. Since 1985 the NFR has been held in the
Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The NFR has become
Thomas & Mack Center arena‟s biggest client, bringing in more
than 170,000 fans.
Many casinos carry the events live in their sports books or
host special parties to accommodate all of the fans in town who
cannot get tickets for the events. Most of the major hotels and
casinos book special entertainment into their showrooms with
a country theme offering many of the regular shows an extend-
ed break.
Activities
The finals is an attempt to win seven events and the over-
all winner is decided by the average. Bareback riding is a form
of horse-
back rid-
ing with-
out a sad-
dle. It
requires
skill, bal-
ance, and
coordina-
tion, as the
rider does
Barrel racing
Bull riding
Advances Fusion, November, 2015
23
SNAPSHOT
Love is in the airLove is in the airLove is in the air