A Traditional Part of Pongal Celebration: Bullfight

In the Madurai district in the area called 'Sorinayagampati'(now it is Sorikampati), there is a wealthy person called Karuthamayan. He had a last son named called Alagudevan he recklessly wandered around the town with his friend Mayandi. So Karuthamayan thought that when he get marry he would become responsible. Karuthamayan found a bride for his son's name called Oyammal. She imposes a condition to Alagudevan if he wants to marry her he should control her seven bulls. Alagudevan accepts the condition and he started to work out. Every part of the village came to see a bullfight with Alagudevan he successfully finished controlling the game with the bull but the last bull hit in Alagudevan's stomach he had a war with his life to live but he died because of Oyammal's brother he got jealous with Alagudevan and he gave poison to Alagudevan. For Alagudevan's memorable village people bulleted a temple for him and his friend Mayandi. In the temple, the place called Karuvarai has an Alagudevan statue and in front of the temple his friend Mayadi's statue. From that year bullfighting practicing every year because of Alagudevan's memorable. Later it changed the game of selecting a groom for a woman if a girl baby is born in a house the father buys a bull and they feed them and give training for a bull. So the suitor of the woman was the winner of the event, whoever successfully tamed the bull was declared the would-be groom. So in ancient times bullfight is considered as a sport for just selecting a groom.

In today’s time bullfights become as a traditional part of the Pongal celebration. It is an ancient festival of south India, particularly Tamilians, it is fundamentally a harvest festival which is celebrated for four-day-long in Tamil Nadu in the month of January-February (Thai) during the solar equinox after harvesting of crops like rice, sugarcane, turmeric, etc. The history of the festival can be traced back to the Sangam age and is considered as the ‘Dravidian Harvest Festival’. India is a land of festivals it also represents our culture. Among other festivals, Pongal is also one of them the oneness of the festival reminds us of the importance of natural resources. According to the legends, during this festival season, unmarried girls prayed for the agricultural prosperity of the country, and for this purpose, they observed penance during the Tamil month of Markazi. They obtained from the consumption of milk and milk products and did not oil their hair throughout the month. The use of harsh words is strictly refrained by them. Ceremonial bath in the early morning as part of the ritual of penance. The importance of the Pongal, it is basically a harvesting festival or it can be considered as the ‘thanksgiving festival’ because this festival is celebrated to thank the sun god and lord Indra for helping farmers is getting better yielding crops. During the festival, people reject old belongings and welcome new stuff. As we know that India is an agricultural country and the majority of the festivals are inclined toward nature. Just like another festival, the Pongal is referred to as uttarayan punyakalam which bears special significance in Hindu mythology and is considered extremely auspicious. This festival is celebrated for four days, each day marked by different festivities. The first day is called the Bhogi festival. The second day is called Thai Pongal. The third day is called Mattu Pongal, and the fourth day is called as Khanum Pongal. It was celebrated as Thai niradal.

In mattu Pongal, people bathed their cattle and their horns and decorated with paintings. Flower garlands, tinkling bells, and multi-colored beads are tied in their necks, the cattle owners sprinkle saffron water with mango leaves on the cows and offer prayers to protect from all evils and they worship Lord Krishna and Lord Indra for the growth and prosperity of their cattle population. And people worship the cows by touching their forehead and feet, this is followed by an aaarthi. On this day there is a special dish known as Sakkara Pongal is prepared from moong dal, cooked rice, dry fruits, and jiggery it is first offered to the cows and later distributed among all as ‘cattle prasad’. And people worship Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, and Lord Ganesha during the Pongal celebrations. Several kinds of rice offerings are made to their god and later offered to the cattle. The significance of mattu Pongal is according to Hindhu Mythology, Lord Shiva once asked Basava (bull) to visit the earth and ask humans to have an oil massage and bath every day. But Basava announced that eats daily and has an oil bath once in a month. This makes Lord Shiva angry and he cursed the bull to live on the earth forever and said that bull has to plow the fields and help people produce more food. So cattle are considered as equal to god, in India villages stud bulls are maintained as part of the village commons it is said without bull praying shivan the puja is incomplete. 

For example, people believe that if the temple bull grazes from one’s farm, then that family would have a bountiful harvest. If the temple bull visits one’s house seeking water or feed, then that household would receive some good news, etc. In Tamil Nadu, we can see statues of jallikattu bulls and temple bulls, erected inside temples. Pujas are performed for the bulls along with the puja for the god. In fact, the statues of the temple bulls sport the real horn of the bull. The temple bull serves the village cows during its youth and when it is old, the village lovingly is for the bull its last breath. When a temple or jallkattu bull passes away, it is given a grand ceremonial burial after performing its last rites similar to that of the village head. It is usually buried in the temple grounds or farm of the owner. After one year, the horns are exhumed and placed on the statue built in the village Temple. The Temple bull is considered sacred during its lifetime and considered as a village god after its death. So people after harvesting celebrate this festival with crops and, cattle. An integral part of Mattu Pongal, that is an important village sports celebration is ‘Manju virattu’ or ‘Jallikattu, this activity is observed with full expectations and enthusiasm in the villages of Tamil Nadu. 

It is played during the evening of Mattu Pongal day, in a few villages it is held on kaanum Pongal, a day following Mattu Pongal. It is mainly played in Avaniyapuram, Palamedu, and Alaganallur this place comes under the Madurai district. For the game, the bull has been trained before 40 days of Pongal. When bull wakes up in the morning they are tied in the sunlight for two hours. Then a walking session for one to two kilometers is given. After the walk, they are fed soaked raw rice. Then they are given rest till evening, and again a walking session is given. A solid mix of cotton seeds, urad dal, and maize are fed to the bulls before they are allowed in the stable. Two swimming sessions are given per week in the morning, at last, the tamers play with the bull and give the practice to facing the tamers in the bullfight sport. In the main game, the bull was decorated and kept in vadivasal, no bull tamers were allowed to touch the bull. In particular time bull was released from vadivasal the participant try to hold the hump of the bull and no group of participants allowed to tame the bull at a single time. A participant has to catch the large hump on the bull’s back with both arms and hang on it while the bull attempts to escape or the participant old the hump for as long as possible, attempt to bring the bull to a stop, in some game participants must to remove flags on the bull’s horns. 

They are three different versions of the bullfight, the first version is Vadi Manju Virattu this type of bullfight take place mostly in the districts of Madurai, Pudukottai, Theni, Tanjore, and Salem. This type of sport is popularized by television and movies. It involves the bull being released from the enclosure (vadivasal) through an opening. As the bull exits the enclosure, one person holds on tightly to the hump of the bull. The bull then attempts to shake him off by running or using its horns or any other means to get the person off its back. According to the rules, the person is supposed to hold the hump of the bull to control it to win the prize. This version of the game is more like one match wherein only one person attempts the feat of holding on to the bull. The enforcement of this rule is strictly dependent upon the village where it is being conducted. The second version is Vaeli virattu, this version is more popular in the districts of Sivagangi, Manamadurai, and Madurai. 

In this version of the sport, the bull is released into an open field without any barricades restrictions. The bulls once released, start to run in any direction they feel like. Most bulls try to run away from the human population, but there are a few bulls that stand their ground and attack anyone who tries to come near them. These bulls play for a while and provide an entertaining spectacle for the viewers. The last version is Vadam Manjuvirattu, ‘vadam’ means rope in Tamil. The bull is tied to a 50ft long rope and the bull is free to move within the space. A team of 7 or 9 members must attempt to control the bull within 30 minutes. This version is very safe for watchers as the bull is tied and the spectators are shielded by barricades. In all versions of bullfight subdue is very important who tame the bull is the winner of the game and gets a prize, the prize is taken from bull horns or bike, car, etc. If no tamers win the prize goes to a bull(bull family). In the game, the men separate from boys, and it considers as a test of masculinity, male powers, and virility, so this game is only for men, not a woman.

The main reason of bullfighting is to develop breeds of cattle, the important breed is the Pullikulam breed, Malamadu, Bargur bulls, and Umblachery bulls and the main one is Kangayam bulls. Kangayam breed is used for both sport and agriculture, this breed in its native area is also known by other names of kanganad and kongu though the name kangayam is well known. They are two varieties of kangayam cattle, one small and the other large. Both varieties of this breed are very powerful and active. Kangayam and Umblachery breed both are similar to each other, this kind of bulls are fear temperament. They are used for plow and bullfight this calves are red in color when born and become grey in color after six months of age and it is good for good for hard work. The next breed is pulikulam breed derives its name from the village from where it originated pulikulam in sivagangi district. It is that this village derived its name ‘pulikulam’ is tiger pond because a few centuries back, the tigers in the forest that used to quench their thirst in the pond. These bulls were capable of fighting ferociously with tigers. It is also bred in Madurai, virudhunagr, and Theni districts in Tamil nadu. Malamadu and Bargur is very active is maintained to carry out agriculture operation. For bull fight stud bulls are reared by people. They need to be virile, alert, and agile. The ones that win are much in demand for servicing the cows. Selective breeding is done to spread the species. Male calves are in demand only in regions with a tradition of sports like bullfights. Male calves are sold and taken to slaughter in other regions it leads to the extinction of native breeds. Bullfight also provides an opportunity for bulls to be exhibited after the winter harvest. Cattle markets are held from December till April all over Tamil Nadu to enable spectators to see the best bulls on display. To service all the cows of the settlement, villages in Tamil Nadu buy a common temple bull since small farmers cannot afford to keep stud bulls. The genetic pool of the breed will not be healthy if they are not bred and reared in the in-situ region. In the absence of native bulls, farmers resort to artificial insemination. This results in the creation of cross-bred cattle. For native breeds, artificial means are not adopted if there is no bullfight.

The main reason for bullfighting is bull is key of agriculture. Bullfights inspired people to hold onto their bulls. Farmers provided extra care for the animal since the bull represents the pride of their family and community. If their is no bullfight, there will be no encouragement to hold on to the bulls, if it happens also their is no agriculture. Agriculture is the backbone of any country, everyone works hard day and night mainly for food, and other things come next. If a nation has enough food to feed its people, then it is one of the safest places to a location in the world. Agriculture is the culture of Tamil Nadu. When we talk about agriculture, it's not a one-man army, it's a work where both animals and humans work together sharing a brotherhood. One of the inseparable partners in agriculture is cattle, to be particular “ the bull’. cattle is a pride of a farmer, and it considers every animal in his farm as his own blood. The rich Tamil culture, says to respect the cattle as a god, this is why every cow is worshipped as Goddess Laksmi and every bull is respected as God Nandhi. Every bull is the honor of farmers. That's why bullfighting is considered a very important sport because it well supports of agriculture.

As a bullfight is a key to the farmers, it is a chance for them to reveal their personal strength, the strength of their bulls, love for their cattle and how well they have looked after them, and a chance to find out the most potent bull to breed with their cows. Bullfight is not a leisure sport of tamilians, but a tradition that establishes the identity of hard-working, self-sufficient, powerful tamilian. As a tamilian, courage and bravery are infused in their blood. Ordinary things never the interest of tamilians, they need is adventure, thrill, and spirit. Tourists like to see the culture of Tamil Nadu mainly in Madurai because it is one of the important features of Tamil culture like temple, pongal celebrations mainly bullfights at the main venue in Alanganallur. These sports show bravery to the world, even from the beginning of the society lots of bravery sport has been practiced. One such ancient valor sport is a bullfight, which is known by many names such as Erthalzuthal, erukol, Manjuviratu, and Madu pidithal. Eru, manju, madu all these three refer to bull. This game is exclusively designed to show the fighting nature of the Tamil bull and the best valor of the Tamil men who men tame it and it stands as the cultural identity of Tamil Nadu, particularly in the district of Madurai.