Kambala: The Indian tradition of buffalo racing 

You must have seen horse racing on TV or at least heard about it. Ever got to know of buffaloes racing with each other to win a prize?  Well, to most of India, this sport remains unknown. However, the recent Kannada movie ‘Kantara’ brought it to the limelight. So, what exactly is Kambala? Let us unravel the story behind this Indian festival. 

The festival of Kambala  
Kambala is actually an age-old festival dedicated to Lord Kadri Manjunatha, an incarnation of the Hindu God Shiva, in coastal Karnataka. The festival takes place every year, after the paddy harvest, where the villagers offer gratitude to the god for a year of a good harvest.  

Wondering how buffaloes come into the picture? Well, buffaloes are a big part of farming life and therefore villagers have long been conducting buffalo races during this festival as the sport is supposed to bring good health to buffaloes. There are multiple beliefs and versions about the history of how the races started. According to popular folklore, it was a form of entertainment or recreational sport for the farming community. The winner of the buffalo race was rewarded with a coconut and similar things. According to another belief, however, it was the Kings of the Hoysala dynasty who started the tradition for their pleasure and to see if the buffaloes could be trained and used in war. The tradition was continued by the feudal lords of those regions and it exists to date.  

So where does the Kambala buffalo race take place? Actually in many places. As many as 45 different Tulu-speaking regions in coastal Karnataka villages celebrate Kambála and in many of these villages the races are held between November and March.  

The rules of the race  
Kambála venue is truly a sight! You can see hundreds of buffaloes and their caretaker teams prepping for their show. Seen those F1 motor races so many race cars and their crew? Yes, like that! Infact, a well-organised Kambala sees the participation of 130 to 140 pairs of buffaloes and a crowd of around 20,000 spectators. The races continue overnight and the grand finale is generally held in the afternoon of the second day. The swiftest pair of buffaloes is declared the winner of the race and the farmer controlling these massive beasts is awarded the prize. The prize for the winner can be anything from the choicest of fruits to cash to gold coins.  

Kambala is performed by two teams on two parallel race tracks, filled with slushy water. The jockeys or runners, standing on a wooden plank, race a pair of buffaloes, held together with ploughs and ropes, towards the finish line controlling the buffaloes with a whip or ropes. At the same, the runner keeps splashing water as high as possible making it a visual treat.  

Like you have those junior and senior categories for athletic championships, the same goes for this race. Races take place under various categories such as Negilu, Hagga, Adda Halage and Kene Halage depending on the expertise of the buffaloes. Negilu is meant for entry-level beasts who generally do not have any prior experience in racing while in Kene Halage only the most experienced farmers and buffaloes participate to make a win. Hagga and Adda Halage are mainly for in-between buffaloes. There are also differences between various categories based on the wooden block used during the race and how the winner is determined.  

Protests and ban  
The races are not all goody-goody though. Accidents do occur while the races are in progress. When buffaloes run at such speed, sometimes they skid or topple. Even the runner falls and gets hurt. Also, the whiplashing of buffaloes has come under a lot of protests from animal lovers. In fact, for the same reason, the practice was discontinued for a while until the Supreme Court permitted the races to be continued in 2017.