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Jallikattu

A bull-taming contest of Tamil Nadu, held around Pongal, in which participants try to hold on to a running bull's hump.

The hump: a mound of muscle and fat over the shoulders of zebu cattle, and on the neck of the African sanga.

Also: eru thazhuvuthal, manju virattu

Jallikattu is held in Tamil Nadu in the weeks around Mattu Pongal in January. Bulls are released one by one from a narrow gate, the vadivasal, into an open run, and young men try to grab and hold the hump for a set distance or time; if no one manages it, the bull is declared the winner. The bulls are not killed. Well-known events take place at Alanganallur, Palamedu and Avaniyapuram near Madurai, and native breeds such as the Pulikulam and Kangayam are favoured. The sport has been through long court cases over animal welfare; after protests in 2017 Tamil Nadu amended the law to allow it, and the Supreme Court upheld the change in 2023.

See also

Mattu Pongal Hump Kambala Bullock cart race

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