Jallikattu - The Indian Bull Fighting

Petrut Calinescu

Freelance/ Panos Pictures

jallikattu - the indian bull fighting. A bull painted and greased ( in order to make the participants effort harder) with coconat oil, is released in the arena. Every year, at the harvest celebration, over 100,000 Indians in Tamil Nadu state participate in the Jallikattu, the Indian version of the bull fighting. Over 200 bulls are released gradually into a crowd anxious to prove its manhood. Apparently, the rules are easy: wins the one able to stay on the back of the bull or hang from its horns for more than 50 metres. This year (2006) there were 5 casualties and over 300 severely injured participants.

Petrut Calinescu, "Jallikattu - The Indian Bull Fighting," in POYi Archive, Item #45270, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/45270 (accessed April 21, 2025).