Bull-leaping (Ancient Greek:ταυροκαθάψια,taurokathapsia[1]) is a term for various types of non-violentbull fighting. Some are based on an ancient ritual from theMinoan civilization involving an acrobat leaping over the back of a charging bull (or cow). As a sport it survives inSpain, with bulls, asrecortes; in modernFrance, usually with cows rather than bulls, ascourse landaise; and inTamil Nadu,India with bulls asJallikattu.
Ritual leaping over bulls is a motif inMiddle Bronze Age figurative art, especially inMinoan art, and what are probably Minoan objects found inMycenaean Greece, but it is also sometimes found inHittite Anatolia, theLevant,Bactria and theIndus Valley.[2] It is often interpreted as a depiction of a rite performed in connection withbull worship.
Younger (1995) classifies bull-leaping depictions in Bronze AgeAegean art as follows:
The Type III depictions are often found inLate Minoan IIIB art (14th to 13th centuries BC). TheMinoan frescoes from Tell el-Daba (Avaris, Egypt) dating to the18th dynasty (16th to 14th centuries BC) show similar designs besides genuinely Egyptian motifs, for which reason they have often been ascribed to Minoan-taught Egyptian craftsmen rather than to Minoan ones directly, though this is disputed. They could also have been included as palace decorations because the palace was built for an Aegean princess diplomatically married to aHyksos pharaoh.[3]
Other examples of bull-leaping scenes have been found inSyria, such as acylinder seal impression found in level VII atAlalakh (Old Babylonian period, 19th or 18th century BC) showing two acrobats performing handstands on the back of a bull, with anankh sign placed between them, another seal belonging to a servant ofShamshi-Adad I (c. 1800 BC), besides other Syrian examples. Furthermore, arelief vase was discovered inHüseyindede in 1997, dating to theHittite Old Kingdom (18th to 15th centuries BC).
Bull-leaping is thought to have been a key ritual in the religion of theMinoan civilization inBronze AgeCrete. As in the case of otherMediterranean civilizations, thebull was thesubject of veneration and worship. Representation of the Bull at the palace ofKnossos is a widespread symbol in the art and decoration of this archaeological site.[4]
The assumption, widely debated by scholars, is that the iconography represents a ritual sport and/or performance in which human athletes—both male and female[5]—literally vaulted over bulls as part of a ceremonial rite. This ritual is hypothesized to have consisted of an acrobatic leap over a bull, such that when the leaper grasped the bull's horns, the bull would violently jerk its neck upwards, giving the leaper the momentum necessary to perform somersaults and other acrobatic tricks or stunts.[6]
Barbara Olsen, associate professor of Greek and Roman Studies at Vassar College, adds that the sport was probably not especially dangerous for participants. "From the images it looks like they [leaped over the bulls] successfully—the Minoans tend not to give us too much violent imagery, so the bull-leaping usually ends pretty well,"[5] but the goring scene on the "boxer's rhyton" found inHagia Triada suggests that injuries were not unknown.
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Bull-leaping is still practiced in southwestern France, where it is traditionally known as thecourse landaise, although usually aggressive cows are used instead of bulls. They are the female stock of the fighting bulls bred for thecorrida in Spain. However, once per year bulls are used, in the Festival of Art and Courage.[7] The town ofMont-de-Marsan inGascony is renowned for its finesauteurs or 'leapers' andécarteurs ('dodgers') dressed in brocaded waistcoats. They compete in teams, attempting to use their repertoire evasions and acrobatic leaps to avoid the cow's charges.[7]
The cow is typically guided by the use of a long rope attached to its horns, so that it runs directly at the performers and is restrained from trampling or goring them should they miss a trick. Although there is little to no risk to the cow in this form of contest, it is a highly dangerous sport for the human participants; a prominent competitor fromMontois, Jean-Pierre Rachou, was killed in 2001 when he fell on his head after being hit by a cow.[8]
Thecourses landaises are held from March to October on the occasion of festivals in many cities and villages, includingNogaro,Mont-de-Marsan,Dax,Castelnau-d'Auzan, and many other places. There are also national championships.[7]
Bull-leaping is also practised inTamil Nadu state of India by theTamil people, and is calledjallikattu, sallikkattu, eru thazhuvuthal and manju virattu. It is a traditional spectacle in which a bull, such as the Pulikulam or Kangayam breeds, is released into a crowd of people, and multiple human participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull's back with both arms and hang on to it while the bull attempts to escape. Participants hold the hump for as long as possible, attempting to bring the bull to a stop. In some cases, participants must ride long enough to remove flags on the bull's horns.[9]
Jallikattu is typically practised in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebrations on Mattu Pongal day, which occurs annually in January.[9]
As there were incidents of injury and death associated with the sport, both to the participants and to the animals forced into it, animal rights organizations have called for a ban to the sport, resulting in the Supreme Court banning it several times over the past years. However, with protest from the people against the ban, a new ordinance was made in 2017 to continue the sport.[10]
A similar but even more dangerous tradition of non-violent bull-leaping,Recortes is practiced in some parts of Spain. Specialisttoreros (bullfighters), known asrecortadores, compete at dodging and leaping over bulls without the use of the cape or sword. Somerecortadores use a long pole to literallypole-vault over the charging animal, which is both larger than the type used in the French sport, and unrestrained by any guiding rope or similar safety device.[11]
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