Jallikattu, the Indian equivalent of the Spanish bullfight
You must have heard about the famous Spanish bullfighting. If you thought you would have to go all the way to Spain to have a glimpse of this exciting sport, then there’s some good news for you. We have our own version of this bull-taming sport. Known as Jallikattu, it is held every year as part of the Pongal festival celebrations in Tamil Nadu. Want to know more? Read on!
The bull taming tradition
Jallikattu is a 2,000-year-old Indian sport in which contestants try to tame a bull for a prize. If they fail, the bull owner wins the prize. If you want to be a spectator, you will have to visit Tamil Nadu during the harvest festival Pongal in the second week of January.
The origin story
Jallikattu has been known to be practised during the Tamil classical period (400–100 BCE). In ancient Tamil, the practice is described as Eru thazhuvuthal, literally meaning 'bull embracing'. It was a common practice among the Ayar people who lived in the ‘Mullai’ geographical division of ancient Tamil Nadu. According to folklore, the sport was practised to select a bridegroom. It was seen as a way to win a woman’s hand in marriage. Later, it became a platform for the display of bravery, and prize money was introduced for participation encouragement. The modern term Jallikattu, however, is derived from salli (coins) and kattu (package), which refers to a prize of coins that are tied to the bull's horns and that participants attempt to win.
Rules of the sport
So how is this sport played? Though the sport has various variants, the most common is Vadi manjuviraṭṭu in which the bull is released from a closed space (called vadi vasal) and one person attempts to wrap his arms or hands around the hump of the bull and hold on to it to win the award. Some of the other variants are Vēli viraṭṭu and Vaṭam manjuviraṭṭu. In some variants, participants must hold the hump for as long as possible, attempting to bring the bull to a stop while in some others participants must ride long enough to remove flags on the bull's horns. Different variants are defined by their own rules.
Which bulls are used?
If you are wondering which bulls are used for this sport, they are Bos indicus bulls. Kangayam, Pulikulam, Umbalachery, Bargur and Malai Maadu are among the native cattle breeds used. Out of these, the Pulikulam cattle breed is popularly used in Jallikattu. These bulls are bred specifically by the people of the village for the event and the winning bulls are used as studs for breeding. Of course, these bulls also fetch higher prices in the markets.
Should it be banned?
As you can make out it is quite a dangerous sport. There have been incidents of injury and even deaths, both to the participants and the animals forced into it. Accordingly, animal rights organisations have called for a ban on the sport from time to time resulting in the court banning it several times in the past. However, with protests from the people against the ban, the sport was allowed to be continued. The protestors, mostly conservationists and peasants argue that Jallikattu is a way to protect these animals which are otherwise used only for meat if not for ploughing.