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Next: about 17 Jan 2027

Jallikattu at Alanganallur

The best-known jallikattu of Tamil Nadu, held near Madurai in the Pongal week, when young men try to hold on to a running bull's hump.

This picture taken in world famous jallikattu event held in palamedu. Amid tight security this event is happening every year the 2nd day of Thai Pongal which collectively called as Maatu Pongal..
Photo: Mahendrabalan, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cattle at Jallikattu at Alanganallur

Jallikattu is a bull-embracing contest of the Pongal season. Bulls are released one by one from a narrow gate, the vadi vasal, and young men try to hold on to the hump for a set distance or time; the bull is not killed, and many bulls are never held at all. The Madurai district hosts three famous events in the same week: Avaniyapuram, Palamedu and, on Kaanum Pongal, Alanganallur. The sport has been the subject of long court cases and animal welfare debate, and since 2017 it has run under a Tamil Nadu law with veterinary checks, registration and safety rules, which the Supreme Court of India upheld in 2023. Owners raise their bulls for years with care and pride.

The breeds

PulikulamThe breed most often raised as a jallikattu bull.KangayamA strong Kongu breed also seen at the vadi vasal.UmblacheryA delta breed kept and shown by many Thanjavur villages.
About this page

Written by the EveryCow desk with AI assistance. Background: "Jallikattu" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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