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  • Essay / A traditional part of Pongal celebration: bullfight

    In Madurai district, in the area called “Sorinayagampati” (now Sorikampati), there is a rich person called Karuthamayan. He had one last son named Alagudevan. He was roaming around the city recklessly with his friend Mayandi. So Karuthamayan thought that when he gets married, he will become responsible. Karuthamayan found a bride for his son's name called Oyamamal. She imposes a condition on Alagudevan: if he wants to marry her, he must control her seven bulls. Alagudevan agrees to the condition and he started training. Every part of the village came to watch a bullfight with Alagudevan, he managed to control the game with the bull but the last bull touched Alagudevan's belly, he had a war with his life but he died because of the brother of Oyamamal, he became jealous of Alagudevan. and he gave poison to Alagudevan. For the memorable memory of Alagudevan, the people of the village destroyed a temple for him and his friend Mayandi. In the temple, the place called Karuvarai has a statue of Alagudevan and in front of the temple the statue of his friend Mayadi. From that year onwards, bullfighting is practiced every year due to the memorable memory of Alagudevan. Later, it changed the game of selecting a groom for a wife. If a baby girl is born in a house, the father buys a bull, feeds it and provides training for a bull. Thus, the woman's suitor was the winner of the event, the one who managed to tame the bull was declared the future groom. So, in ancient times, bullfighting was considered a sport of simple selection of a groom. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Nowadays, bullfights are becoming a traditional part of Pongal celebration. It is an ancient festival of South India, especially of the Tamils, it is basically a harvest festival which is celebrated for four days in Tamil Nadu in the month of January-February (Thai) during the solar equinox after harvesting crops like rice. , sugar cane, turmeric, etc. The history of the festival dates back to the Sangam era and is considered the 'Dravidian Harvest Festival'. India is a land of festivals and it also represents our culture. Among other festivals, Pongal is also one of them. The unity of the festival reminds us of the importance of natural resources. According to legends, during this festive season, unmarried girls prayed for the agricultural prosperity of the country and for this purpose, they observed penance during the Tamil month of Markazi. They got milk and dairy products consumption and did not oil their hair throughout the month. They strictly refrain from using harsh words. Early morning ceremonial bath as part of the penance ritual. The importance of Pongal, it is basically a harvest festival or it can be considered as the "thanksgiving festival" as this festival is celebrated to thank the sun god and lord Indra for helping the farmers to get better yields. During the festival, people reject old goods and welcome new things. As we know, India is an agricultural country and the majority of festivals are nature-oriented. Just like another festival, Pongal is called uttarayan punyakalam, which holds special significance in Hindu mythology and is considered extremely auspicious. This festival is celebrated for four days, with each day marked by different festivities. The first day is called the Bhogi festival. The second day is called Thai Pongal. The third day is called Mattu Pongal and the fourth day is called Khanum Pongal. Hewas celebrated under the name Thai niradal. On mattu Pongal, people bathed their cattle and horns and decorated them with paintings. Garlands of flowers, tinkling bells and multi-colored beads are tied in their necks, cattle owners sprinkle the cows with saffron water with mango leaves and offer prayers to protect them from all evils and they worship.Lord Krishna and Lord Indra for the growth and prosperity of their cattle herd. And people worship cows by touching their foreheads and feet, this is followed by aaarthi. On this day, there is a special dish known as Sakkara Pongal. It is prepared using moong dal, cooked rice, dry fruits and jiggery. It is first offered to cows and then distributed to all as “cattle prasad”. And people worship Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati and Lord Ganesha during Pongal celebrations. Several kinds of rice offerings are made to their god and then offered to the livestock. The meaning of mattu Pongal is according to Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva once asked Basava (bull) to visit the earth and ask humans to have oil massage and bath every day. But Basava announced that he eats daily and takes an oil bath once a month. This angered Lord Shiva and he cursed the bull to live on the earth forever and said that the bull should plow the fields and help people to produce more food. Thus, cattle are considered equal to God. In Indian villages, stallions are maintained as part of the village commons. It is said that without the bull praying shivan, the puja is incomplete. For example, people believe that if the temple bull grazes on their farm, that family will have a bountiful harvest. If the bull of the temple visits your house to seek water or food, then that household will receive good news, etc. In Tamil Nadu, we can see statues of jallikattu bulls and temple bulls, erected inside the temples. Pujas are performed for the bulls along with puja for the god. In fact, the temple's bull statues feature the real bull's horn. The temple bull serves the cows of the village during his youth and when he is old, the village lovingly takes his last breath for the bull. When a temple or jallkattu bull dies, it is given a grand funeral ceremony after performing its last rites similar to those of the village chief. He is usually buried within the temple grounds or on the owner's farm. After a year, the horns are exhumed and placed on the statue built in the village Temple. The Temple bull is considered sacred during its lifetime and considered a village god after its death. So after the harvest, people celebrate this festival with crops and livestock. An integral part of Mattu Pongal, which is an important village sports celebration, is 'Manju virattu' or 'Jallikattu', this activity is observed with full anticipation and enthusiasm in the villages of Tamil Nadu. It is played on the evening of the day of Mattu Pongal, in some villages, it takes place on kaanum Pongal, a day after Mattu Pongal. It is mainly played in Avaniyapuram, Palamedu and Alaganallur, this place comes under Madurai district. For the game, the bull was trained before 40 days of Pongal. When the bull wakes up in the morning, he is tied to the sun for two hours. Then a walking session of one to two kilometers is proposed. After the walk, they are fed with soaked raw rice. Then they rest until the evening, and again a walking session is organized. A solid mixture of cottonseed, urad dal and corn is fed to the bulls beforebefore they are admitted into the stable. Two swimming sessions are given per week in the morning, finally the tamers play with the bull and train to face the tamers in the sport of bullfighting. In the main game, the bull was decorated and kept in vadivasal, no bull tamer was allowed to touch the bull. At the particular time when the bull was released from the vadivasal, the participant tried to hold the bull's hump and no group of participants was allowed to tame the bull at the same time. A participant must grab the large bump on the bull's back with both arms and hold on to it while the bull tries to escape or the participant holds the bump as long as possible, tries to stop the bull, in some participants in the game. it is necessary to remove the flags on the bull's horns. These are three different versions of bullfighting, the first version is Vadi Manju Virattu this type of bullfighting takes place mainly in Madurai, Pudukottai, Theni, Tanjore and Salem districts. This type of sport is popularized by television and cinema. This involves releasing the bull from the enclosure (vadivasal) through an opening. When the bull comes out of the enclosure, a person holds on tightly to the bull's hump. The bull then tries to shake him off by running or using his horns or any other means to knock the person off his back. According to the rules, the person is supposed to hold the bull's hump to control it and win the prize. This version of the game is more like a match in which only one person attempts the feat of hanging on to the bull. The application of this rule strictly depends on the village where it is applied. The second version is Vaeli virattu, this version is more popular in Sivagangi, Manamadurai and Madurai districts. In this version of the sport, the bull is released into an open field without any barricade restrictions. Once released, the bulls begin to run in the direction that suits them. Most bulls try to run away from the human population, but there are a few bulls that stand their ground and attack anyone who tries to approach them. These bulls play for a while and provide an entertaining show for the spectators. The latest version is Vadam Manjuvirattu, 'vadam' means rope in Tamil. The bull is tied to a 50-foot-long rope and the bull is free to move around in space. A team of 7 or 9 members must attempt to control the bull within 30 minutes. This version is very safe for observers since the bull is tied up and spectators are protected by barricades. In all versions of bullfighting, it is very important who tames the bull is the winner of the game and gets a prize, the prize is taken on bull horns or on a bicycle, car, etc. If no tamer wins, the prize goes to a bull (family bull). In the game, men separate from boys and it is seen as a test of masculinity, male powers and virility. This game is therefore reserved for men and not women. The main reason for bullfighting is to develop breeds of cattle, the important breed is Pullikulam breed, Malamadu, Bargur and Umblachery bulls and the main one is Kangayam bulls. The Kangayam breed is used for both sport and agriculture. This breed in its native region is also known by other names of kanganad and kongu although the name kangayam is well known. These are two varieties of Kangayam cattle, one small and the other large. Both varieties of this breed are very potent and active. Both Kangayam and Umblachery breeds are similar, this type of bulls have a fearful temperament. They are used for plowing and bullfighting. The calves are.