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Festivals: the breeds

Mattu Pongal, Pola, Gopashtami, Govardhan Puja and the cattle festivals of the year.

Many festivals of the farming year give cattle a day of their own. In Tamil Nadu, Mattu Pongal is the cattle day of the Pongal festival. In Maharashtra, Pola honours the bullocks after the season's ploughing. Govardhan Puja and Gopashtami remember Krishna as cowherd. In Nepal, Tihar gives a day to the cow and a day to the ox. In Europe, the Alpine descent from summer pasture and the blessing of animals on saints' days bring cattle into the village square in garlands and bells.

Mattu Pongal

Pongal is the Tamil harvest festival of mid-January, and its third day, Mattu Pongal, is for cattle. Farmers wash their cattle, paint their horns in bright colours, hang bells and garlands on them, and feed them pongal, the dish of new rice cooked in milk with jaggery. The animals are worshipped, and in some villages they are led in procession or run through the streets. Jallikattu, the bull-embracing contest, is held in many villages in the days around Mattu Pongal.

Pola

Pola is the bullock festival of Maharashtra and parts of Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh, held on the new moon day of the month of Shravana, usually in August or September. The bullocks are rested from work, bathed, their horns painted and their bodies decorated with paint and cloth, and they are fed sweet puran poli. In the evening they are led to the village temple. In some villages children celebrate with small clay or wooden bulls the next day.

Govardhan Puja and Gopashtami

On the day after Diwali, many Hindu families mark Govardhan Puja, remembering how Krishna lifted the hill of Govardhan to shelter cowherds and cattle from Indra's storm. A small hill is shaped from cow dung or food, and cattle are decorated and worshipped. Gopashtami, eight days into the bright half of Kartika, marks the day the young Krishna is said to have first taken the cows out to graze. Gaushalas across north India hold special feeding and worship.

Nepal and the Alps

During Tihar in Nepal, one day is Gai Tihar, when the cow is worshipped as a form of Lakshmi, and another is Goru Tihar, when oxen are honoured. In the Alps, the autumn return from summer pasture brings the herd down through villages with the lead cows in headdresses of flowers and large bells. In many Catholic regions of Europe, priests bless farm animals on 17 January, the feast of Saint Anthony the Abbot.

Worth knowing

  • Mattu Pongal: Cattle day of Pongal, Tamil Nadu
  • Pola: Bullock festival of Maharashtra
  • Govardhan Puja: The day after Diwali
  • Gopashtami: Krishna's first day as a cowherd
  • Gai Tihar: The cow's day of Tihar, Nepal
  • Alpabzug: Decorated return from the alp
  • Feast of Saint Anthony: Blessing of animals on 17 January

Sources and further reading

About this page

Original text by the EveryCow desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs are described as tradition, not as advice. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Festivals on EveryCow

The breeds written up so far, best known first.

PurposeDairyBeefDraughtDual-purposeTriple-purposeSportCeremonialGrazingHeritageMiniature
LineageTaurineZebuSangaCompositeYakMithunBantengWild
TraitHeat-tolerantCold-hardyDrought-hardyDisease-resistantThrifty foragersDocileSpiritedQuick and strongPolledLong-hornedRich milkMarbled beefLong-livedEasy calving
🇵🇹 PortugalRamo GrandeRaça Bovina Ramo Grande A large red-brown cattle breed from Terceira in the Azores, once used for work and milkTaurine · Triple-purpose · Thrifty foragers

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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