Posted on 09/02/2006 11:21:31 AM PDT by Former Fetus
ARLES, France (AFP) - Lesser known internationally than its Spanish cousin, southeastern France has its own version of bullfighting with a vast following and a major difference: the bull is king and never killed.
In the Provencal-style bullfights, known as the "courses camarguaises" or Camargue races, the beast is not only adversary but also star, even hero. Many towns and villages have erected statues to bulls with the sort of honor the Spanish-style corrida would grant a toreador.
The confrontation of man and bull -- mythical symbol of raw force and virility -- is at the heart of all forms of bullfighting in Europe.
But "between the Andalusian corridas and the Camargue races, the relationship between man and beast is completely reversed," said French sociologist Frederic Saumade.
In corrida-style fights, the bull is put to death by a triumphant matador. In the courses camarguaises, the spectators identify with -- and applaud -- the bull.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Hard to kill the bull when you are constantly running from it!
This story is full of bull.
I'd call it bullfighting. What they do in Spain I'd call bullkilling.
Sorry. The Spanish sport is bullfighting (haven't you ever seen a matador gored, maybe killed?), what the French do is bullrunning (and it has NOTHING to do with the running of the bulls).
Just imagine that the bull is Hezbollah and the bullring is Lebanon!
It's actually the opposite. The bullfighter runs towards the bull, jumps and lays between the horns. Other fighters get on top of him until eventually the bull is unable to move. I always found it boring, but at least the Portuguese have more cojones than the French!
I always cheer when the bull gets the Matador. Kind of a reminder that it is a dangerous sport.
I'm pretty sure the Frenchman is submissive, and the goal is to tire the bull out to the point where he can then be serviced in some manner for twisted thrills by muslim onlookers.
Ah yes, surrendering to the cow!
I had the occasion to watch part of a bull fight in Mexico many years ago. Its an experience I will never forget......
"For there is surely nothing more beautiful in this world than the sight of a lone man facing single-handedly a half a ton of angry pot roast!..."
--Tom Lehrer, "In Old Mexico"
Clearly, Tom never considered the beauty inherent in the same half-ton of angry pot roast chasing a Frenchman around a bullring.
It's wrong to say it's one man alone against the bull. There are a host of other actors who weaken the bull before the Matador ever appears. By the time the Matador faces the bull it has been bled and is winded. If the Matador had to face a fresh bull the outcome would sometimes be a lot different.
The Portuguese bullfight can be very dangerous. Getting hit head on by a bull is a sport best played by orphans, which, if I am not mistaken, was a requirement at one time in order to qualify to play the game.
I don't know. Wouldn't the question of how far someone could go in this "sport" depend on just how hard the bull hits him and his resulting trajectory?
Future NIKE commercial?
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