Skip to content

HerdingStarted by a grandfather in 1937, this Florida ranch now covers 50,000 acres, feeds local communities and...BreedsKasaragod Kullan set to be Keralam’s third indigenous cattle variety HistoryAncient cattle love affairs: East Asian cattle genomes reveal Tang-Song dynasty mixing and wild bovine introgression HealthState announces public comment period for proposed bovine tuberculosis testing areas ShowsNortheast 4-H Livestock Show celebrates 91 years of tradition ShowsAnnual Webster Parish 4-H Livestock Show set to begin next week BreedsA Leap Forward in Indigenous Breeding: ICAR–IVRI’s Breakthrough in Producing Sahiwal Calves through Advanced Reproductive Technologies BreedsBoyd Beef Cattle to Donate 2027 Angus Foundation Heifer Package BreedsU.P. State Fair dairy show highlights youth, dairy cattle and community BreedsHereford Cattle Society wins landmark court case over breed status HerdingStarted by a grandfather in 1937, this Florida ranch now covers 50,000 acres, feeds local communities and...BreedsKasaragod Kullan set to be Keralam’s third indigenous cattle variety HistoryAncient cattle love affairs: East Asian cattle genomes reveal Tang-Song dynasty mixing and wild bovine introgression HealthState announces public comment period for proposed bovine tuberculosis testing areas ShowsNortheast 4-H Livestock Show celebrates 91 years of tradition ShowsAnnual Webster Parish 4-H Livestock Show set to begin next week BreedsA Leap Forward in Indigenous Breeding: ICAR–IVRI’s Breakthrough in Producing Sahiwal Calves through Advanced Reproductive Technologies BreedsBoyd Beef Cattle to Donate 2027 Angus Foundation Heifer Package BreedsU.P. State Fair dairy show highlights youth, dairy cattle and community BreedsHereford Cattle Society wins landmark court case over breed status

EveryCow

Kambala

A buffalo race through flooded paddy fields in coastal Karnataka; it uses water buffalo, not cattle.

A tile drawn for this page, not a picture of Kambala.

Also: Kambla

Kambala is a race held in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in Karnataka, roughly from November to March. Pairs of buffaloes, yoked together and urged on by a runner who holds the ropes or stands on a wooden board, race along parallel tracks of waterlogged paddy field; in some classes the height of the splash is also judged. It began as a farmers' thanksgiving to local deities after the harvest. Kambala uses water buffalo, which this guide does not cover as a breed, but it belongs to the same family of animal races as Maharashtra's bullock cart races and the karapan sapi of Madura, and has faced similar court cases on animal welfare.

See also

Karapan sapi Bullock cart race Jallikattu

Find breeds that mention Kambala

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven cattle breeds you may not know, the cattle days of the week ahead, and one product explained step by step.