Biill-baiting, Bidl-raciitg^ Biill-fights. 149
Bants of Kanara " the proceedings commence with a pro- cession, which is not infrequently headed by a couple of painted dolls in an attitude suggestive of reproductiveness, which the races really give thanks for." ^^ Among the Parayans of Cochin, buffaloes belonging to different owners are made to run in competition in an open space round a temple. The contest, we are told, is intended to gain the favour of the Mother goddess, Bhagavati, the giver of fertility to men, animals and crops, and to keep the animals strong and healthy. This is the national festival in Mala- bar, known as Pothu-ottal, or " Buffalo Race." ^^ So in Kanara, on the day of the Diwali, or feast of lights, at which the family ghosts revisit their houses and a rite of expulsion of evil is performed, the Halvakki Vakkals, a cultivating caste, eat a hearty breakfast, make an image of Balindra, god of cattle, and place it in the cowshed with some rice and a coconut tied round its neck. The fiercest bull and heifer of the village are decorated with garlands, and are driven through the streets, followed by a crowd of boys. The boy who succeeds in snatching a garland from the bull or heifer as they rush along, is loudly applauded, and is thought to be a fit match for the best girl in the neighbourhood.^^
A parallel to this method of bull-baiting comes from Nigeria. Here the bull's horns are not protected in any way, nor is the animal let loose, as in the Portuguese form of bull-baiting. " Two men hold a rope tied to a hind foot, and one, the catcher, holds another rope fastened to the neck or to the horns. The animal, after having been maddened by tugging at the rope, drumming and shouting, is allowed to dash about, being brought up at will by a pull on one rope or on the other. After a time the catcher begins shortening his rope, and in consequence advancing
-' Thurston, op. cit. i. l6o.
" L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer, Cochin Tribes and Castes, i. 84.
-•' Bombay Gazetteer, xv. part i. 207.
