Bull wrestling, cow fighting or bull fighting is a non-lethal

bloodsport A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities characte ...

between

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

s or

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

s found in some parts of the world.

Balkans

''Korida'', from ''corrida'', or ''borbe bikova'' ("fights of bulls") is a traditional sport in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Grmeč Grmeč ( sr-cyrl, Грмеч) is a mountain in north-western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is more than 60 kilometres long, stretching between the city of Bihać and the town of Ključ. The highest peak of Grmeč is ''Crni vrh'' ("Black Peak") ...

, a mountain in the extreme west of

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

, is the best-known site of bullfights in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. They are called the ''Korida of Grmeč'' (''Grmečka korida'') and have been organised on every first Sunday in August for over 200 years, attracting thousands of visitors. These are fights between bulls themselves and there is no death of a bull. Fights happen in an empty field. The korida of

was depicted by the sculptor

Slobodan Pejić Slobodan Pejić (19 June 1944 – 25 August 2006) was a Bosnian sculptor and painter who lived for most of his life in Slovenia. He is best known after having transformed a 300-year-old oak tree that fell in the storm in Tivoli Park in Ljubljana in ...

. The sculpture of two bulls in a fight, made in bronze in 2004, has been compared to a confrontation of the oppressor and the oppressed or of the Bosnian people and the

Austrian Emperor The Emperor of Austria (german: Kaiser von Österreich) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A hereditary imperial title and office proclaimed in 1804 by Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the Hous ...

Croatia

In Croatia, koridas are traditionally organized in

Dalmatian Hinterland The Dalmatian Hinterland ( hr, Dalmatinska zagora; it, La Morlacca or ) is the southern inland hinterland in the historical Croatian region of Dalmatia. The name ''zagora'' means "beyond (the) hills", which is a reference to the fact that it is t ...

region.

Turkey

Bull wrestling in Turkey is known as '' boğa güreşi'' (literally "bull wrestling"). Each year in the third week of June, the Kafkasör (Caucasus) festival takes place in the city of

Artvin Artvin (Laz language, Laz and ; hy, Արտուին, translit=Artuin) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea. It is located on a hill overlooking the Çoruh, Çoruh River near the Deriner Dam ...

. At the beginning of the festival, certain rules are applied in order to save the bulls from injury. For example, if a bull retreats from the fight, it means defeat, etc.

East and Southeast Asia

*''

Tōgyū also known as ''ushi-zumo'' or Bull sumo, is a spectator sport native to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan (Okinawa Prefecture and the Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture). It is also held in other regions of Japan, such as Iwate Prefecture, Niigata ...

'', or "Okinawan bullfighting", is the traditional sport of the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

, in which two bulls attempt, as in

sumo wrestling is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

, to push one another out of a ring. *''Sossaum'' ( ko, 소싸움) is a traditional sport of Korea, in which two oxen are pitted against each other. *Bullfighting is also observed by the ethnic Hmong/Miao minority in China, Vietnam and Laos. Bulls are selected by age, horn length and size. They are enticed to fight usually after new year's or summer events. They are usually non-lethal events and bulls that carry the opposing bulls will get the most points if it is a draw. The loser is usually the bull that flees first even if winning.

Western Asia

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

two Brahman bulls are presented to each other and allowed to lock horns and fight, while their handlers hold ropes to separate them if necessary. The origins of bullfighting in Oman are unknown, though locals believe it was brought here by the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

who had conquered Spain. Its existence in Oman and the UAE is also attributed to Portugal, which colonized the Omani coastline for nearly two centuries, and also introduced bullfighting to Omani

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

South Asia

India

''Dhiri'' or ''Dhirio'' ( Konkani: धिरी,धिरयो) is a popular form of traditional bull wrestling in the state of

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

Coastal South West India Coastal South West India is a geo-cultural region in the Indian Subcontinent that spans entire Coastal South Western India.Studies in , By Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare, Published 1996 Motilal Banarsidass, The region was referred as ''Sapta Konkan'' reg ...

. It was the weekend entertainment staple for most villages. Many families lived off the earnings made on appearance money and bets alone. The

Panaji Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river estuary ...

Bench of the high Court vide order dated 20.12.96 directed the State Government to take immediate steps to ban all types of animal fights including Dhiri organised in the State of Goa, which was finally banned in 1997. Dhiri bullfights are still very popular in Goa despite the ban. There have been demands for legalizing Dhiri.

Nepal

Every year on the day of

Maghe Sankranti Maghe Sankranti (, , Nepal Bhasa: ) is a Nepali festival observed on the first of Magh in the Vikram Sambat (B.S) or Yele calendar bringing an end to the winter solstice containing month of Poush. Tharu people celebrate this particular day as ...

in different districts of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

bull wrestling is organized. The most oldest and popular bull wrestling of Nepal is of

Taruka Taruka was a Village development committee (Nepal), village development committee in Nuwakot District in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 4845 people living in 912 individual househol ...

, Nuwakot, 75 km away from Country's

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

. It is believed to be started more than 200 years ago as source of entertainment. Many people from around the country visit Taruka to witness this event. Other than Nuwakot bull wrestling is also organized in

Dhading Dhading Besi ( ne, धादिङ्ग बेसी) is a town (neighborhood) and the district headquarter of the Dhading District of Nepal. The town is located within Nilkantha Municipality. It is also administrative centre of Nilkantha Munic ...

and

Rasuwa Rasuwa District ( ne, रसुवा जिल्ला is one of 13 districts of Bagmati Province and one of seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Dhunche as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a population (2 ...

Kenya

The Luhya community in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

practices a bull-on-bull sport.

Views of the Muslim World League

On 17 October 1987, the

Muslim World League The Muslim World League (MWL; ar, رابطة العالم الاسلامي, Rabitat al-Alam al-Islami, ) is an International Islamic NGO based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of Islam by advancing moderate v ...

issued a

fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...

declaring bullfighting and animal pits to be forbidden under

Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

.حكم الملاكمة ومصارعة الثيران والمصارعة الحرة ,
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Gallery

References

External links

* {{Bullfighting Baiting (blood sport) Bull sports Animals in sport Animal combat sports Animal festival or ritual Sports festivals Wrestling Animal combat organized by humans