Compiled by: Kandiah
Thillaivinayagalingam
In the Tamil society during the Sangam age,the
women of the cattle rearing society grew up a bull of their own.Every girl of
the cattle rearing family would personally take care of a bull right from the
time it was born.She used to feed it well,dress it well,used to roam around
with this pet bull and even have a name for it.Anyone wanting to marry her must
enter into a duel with her bull.He must be able to catch hold of the horns of
the bull and climb the bull by hugging its hump and finally lie on the bull
with his face looking forward in between the horns while his hands were holding
the horns as though he
Over 2000 year old Sangam Tamil literature
Kalitokai,which is one of the eight anthologies of Sangam period sang by
Nalluruthtiranar [Mullai Kali] gave a graphic description of bull fighting in
the rich agrarian Tamil society of that time,in addition to the great
Epics,Silappathikaram (Epic of the Anklet),which account of the living
conditions of the Aayars (those who rear cows),for whom bullfight was not
merely a sport but a wedding-related testing ground to assess the calibre of
the youth.For the boy,a win in the event was a matter of pride and a symbol of
valour,and for the girl,it was a reassurance that she had chosen the right
partner.A pass in this test was a must even if a boy and a girl were in love
with each other.While in most cases of Eru Thazhuvuthal[bullfight] the village
head offered his daughter in marriage to the winner,mass bullfights were also
held to choose grooms for other eligible girls of the village.Although
bullfight has survived for many centuries, it has taken several forms and its
purpose has also changed,as it is no more wedding-related Instead,gifts in the
form of cash and jewellery.
A Mullai Kali poem,in Tamil literature.
Kalitokai,says an Aayar girl will not touch,even in her next birth,a person who
fails to humble the bull. as:
"Young herder women will not embrace the man
who fears
the horns of killer bulls, even in their next
birth. Other
than men who seize murderous bulls without fear, it
is rare
for those who have fear in their hearts to attain
them.
It is not possible to unite with the herder women
for men
who fear the horns of bulls and not consider their
lives as
wind.Our herder women do not ask for a bride price
from
those who jump without fear into the horns of
bulls, like
they would rest their heads between the breasts of
their
beloved."-[Kalitokai- 103 : 63-73]
Here the bride price or parisam totally different
from dowry or Varathatchanai,which was introduced by Aryans.Bride price,also
known as bride token,is an amount of money,property or other form of wealth paid
by a groom or his family to the parents of the woman he has just married or is
just about to marry.For example Akananuru 90,clearly says about parisam[bride
price] as:"Even if they were given the prosperous Niyamam town,her parents
will not accept it as a price for the young lady with fragrant brow and new
jewels." In another poem,The poet mentioned how the bulls tear the bull
fighters apart like the buffalo riding Yama, God of Death as:
"There are these and other bulls that enter
the arena like
Yaman and Death with an axe coming to take lives at
the end of time.
Musical instruments resound like the continuously
roaring thunderbolts of the monsoon season. Incense
smoke rises up like billowing clouds.
Young herder women, adorned with garlands with
flowers with stacks of petals, are standing in
rows.
Young herder men jump in eagerly with uproar and
rage, and fine dust rises up to the sky filling the
place.
The men are holding on to the horns of the bulls,
clasping them with their chests, holding firmly
their
necks, embracing their humps, ruining them,
pressing
them against their shoulders and moving close to
subdue
them. Not allowing the men to hold them, the bulls
attack those who go close to them with their long
horns."-[Kalitokai- 105:19-33:]
PART
:69 WILL FOLLOW
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