Jallikattu

For other uses, see Jallikattu (disambiguation).
"Manju virattu" redirects here. For the 1994 film, see Manju Virattu (film).

Jallikattu
Highest governing bodyTamil Nadu Jallikattu Federation
Local organising committees
NicknamesSallikkattu; ēru taḻuvuṭal; manju virattu
First played400–100 BCE[1]
Characteristics
ContactYes
Team membersNo teams, single competitors
Mixed-sexNo
TypeTraditional sport
VenueOpen ground
Presence
Country or regionTamil Nadu, India
OlympicNo
ParalympicNo

Jallikattu (or Sallikkattu), also known as Eru Taḻuvuṭal and Manju-virattu,[2] is a traditional event in which a zebu bull (Bos indicus), such as the Pulikulam[3] or Kangayam breeds,[4] is released into a crowd of people, and many human participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull's back with both arms and hang on to it while the bull attempts to escape. Participants hold the hump for as long as possible, attempting to bring the bull to a stop. In some cases, participants must ride long enough to remove flags on the bull's horns.[5][6]

Jallikattu is typically practised in some regions of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (particularly in Southern and Western Tamil Nadu) as a part of Pongal celebrations on Mattu Pongal day, which occurs annually in January.

Because of incidents of injury and death associated with the sport, both to the participants and to the animals forced into it, animal rights organizations have called for a ban on the sport, resulting in the Supreme Court of India banning it several times over the past years. However, with protests from the people against the ban, a new ordinance was made in 2017 to continue the sport.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference jallikattu_ebook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Ramakrishnan, T. "Governor clears ordinance on 'jallikattu'". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  3. ^ Valerie Porter; Lawrence Alderson; Stephen J.G. Hall; D. Phillip Sponenberg (9 March 2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding, 2 Volume Pack. CAB International. p. 275. ISBN 9781845934668.
  4. ^ Ramesh, C.; Mariayyah, P.; Senthilkumar, A.; Rajendran, K. (2014). "A Study of Sports and Recreational Activities of Pura Village People and their Attitude Towards these Activities". Journal of Recent Research and Applied Studies. 1 (7): 89–94.
  5. ^ Anugula, Himakiran. "Banning Jallikattu Will Decimate India's Indigenous Cattle Breeds – The Wire". Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  6. ^ "What is Jallikattu? - This 2,000-year-old sport is making news in India. Here's why – The Economic Times". Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  7. ^ Safi, Michael (23 January 2017). "Tamil Nadu passes order to lift bull-taming ban after angry protests". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 March 2020.