CHENNAI: Pongal, the harvest festival celebrated by Tamils across the world, came a week early this year for the people of Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province, which on Saturday hosted the bull-taming sport, Jallikattu, for the first time outside Tamil Nadu. Created history by doing this. ,
Organized by Eastern Province Governor Senthil Thondaman and the Tourism Bureau, the event saw the participation of over 200 bulls and 100 bull tamers. Hundreds of people were lining up as early as 7am at the Sambur public playground in Trincomalee, the capital of Sri Lanka’s eastern province, to watch Jallikattu in person for the first time.
Thondaman flagged off the event, after which first a bull from the temple was released through Vadivasal into the playground as dozens of youth jostled with each other to tame the bull. .
More than 200 bulls decorated with flowers, including at least half a dozen bulls reared by Tondaman’s family, were released one by one into the field and the winners received mixer grinders, rice cookers and ceiling fans among others. The house was returned with lots of valuables such as household appliances and goods. ,
Vadivasal is a narrow passage from where bulls are released into the ground to be tamed by humans. Although ethnic Tamils and plantation Tamils, whose ancestors were transported from many parts of Tamil Nadu by the British to work on coffee and tea plantations in Sri Lanka, celebrate Pongal every year, Jallikattu was never a part of the harvest festival.
“This is the first time that this game was held in Sri Lanka. More than 5,000 people participated in the Jallikattu event held on Saturday,” Eastern Province Tourism Bureau chairman A P Mathan told DH over phone.
Field experts from Tamil Nadu and members of the Jallikattu Protection Committee helped the organizers organize the event in Sri Lanka, while the Animal Husbandry Department ensured that the bulls were suitable for participation.
Jallikattu is celebrated with great enthusiasm during the Tamil month of Thai (mid January to mid February) in many parts of Tamil Nadu, especially in Madurai, Sivagangai and Pudukkottai districts.
Referred to in Sangam literature as Eru Thazhuvuthal (bull embracing), Jallikattu is deeply rooted in Tamil culture and is a symbol of Tamil pride and valor. Jallikattu is derived from the Tamil words salli kaasu (coins) and kattu (a package). This means that those who tame the bull will receive a package (prize money) tied on the horns of the animal.
Kalithogai, a rich Sangam era Tamil literature dating back to 200 BCE, mentions Eru Thazhuvuthal (bull hugging) as a game played in Mullai (forest) land. Historians say that Eru Thazuvuthal was a people’s game and has a deep cultural identity.
