Jallikattu 2024 to Begin in Tamil Nadu on January 15

Context: The Jallikattu 2024 event in Madurai will be held for three days, beginning on January 15.

Jallikattu 2024 to Begin in Tamil Nadu

• It is a 3 day event featuring the traditional bull-taming sport, Jallikattu.
• Background:  
  • The Supreme Court, in May 2023, lifted the Ban on Jallikattu.
  • It upheld the Tamil Nadu government’s law allowing the cultural event.

    

About Jallikattu

• Location: it is celebrated mostly in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka  as part of Pongal celebrations on Mattu Pongal day, in January.
• Bull Breed:  Pulikulam or Kangayam breed is used
• Traditional Practice: It is an age-old practice, wherein a bull is released into a crowd of people and participants of the event try to grab the large hump on the bull’s back, attempting to bring the bull to stop. 
• Historical References: Jallikattu is known to have been practiced during the Tamil classical period (400–100 BCE)  among the Ayar tribes who lived in the ‘Mullai’ geographical region of ancient Tamil Nadu.
  • A seal from the Indus Valley civilization depicting the practice is preserved in the National Museum, New Delhi.
  • A cave painting in white kaolin discovered near Madurai depicting a lone man trying to control a bull is estimated to be about 1,500 years old.

News source: The Economic Times