Bull-leaping (also
taurokathapsia, from Greek ) is a motif of Middle Bronze Age figurative art, notably of Minoan Crete, but also found in Hittite Anatolia, the
LevantThe Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by...
, Bactria and the
Indus ValleyThe Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization which centred mostly in the western part of the Indian Subcontinent and flourished around the Indus river basin....
. It is often interpreted as a depiction of a
ritualA ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers, or dictated purely by logic, chance, necessity, etc..A ritual may be...
performed in connection with bull worship. This ritual consists of an acrobatic leap over a bull; when the leaper grasps the bull's horns, the bull will violently jerk his head upwards giving the leaper the momentum necessary to perform somersaults and other acrobatic tricks or stunts.
Iconography
Younger (1995) classifies bull-leaping depictions as follows:
- Type I: the acrobat
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
approaches the bull from the front, grabs the horns, and somersaults backwards
- Type II: the acrobat approaches the bull from the front, dives over the horns without touching them and pushes himself with his hands from the bull's back into a backward somersault
- Type III: the acrobat is depicted in mid-air over the bull's back, facing the same way as the animal
The Type III depictions are often found in Late Minoan IIIB artwork (14th to 13th c. BC). Frescos in Tell el Dab'a dating to the 18th dynasty (16th to 14th c. BC) show similar designs besides genuinely Egyptian motives, for which reason they have usually been ascribed to Minoan-taught Egyptian craftsmen (rather than to Minoan ones directly).
Other examples of bull-leaping scenes have been found in
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
, such as a
cylinder sealA cylinder seal is a cylinder engraved with a 'picture story', used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally wet clay. First appearing in the Near East during the Uruk period, later versions would employ notations with Mesopotamian hieroglyphs...
impression found in level VII at
AlalakhAlalakh , is the name of an ancient Amorite city and its associated city-state of the Amuq River valley, located in the Hatay region of southern Turkey, now represented by an extensive city-mound.-History:Alalakh was founded during the Middle Bronze Age in the 2nd millennium BC, as one of the first...
(
Old BabylonianOld Babylonian may refer to:*the period of the First Babylonian Dynasty *the historical stage of the Akkadian language of that time...
period, 19th or 18th c. BC) showing two acrobats performing handstands on the back of a bull, with an
ankhThe ankh was the Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ˁ-n-ḫ...
sign placed between them, another seal belonging to a servant of
Shamshi-Adad IShamshi-Adad I was a Mesopotamic king. He rose to prominence when he carved out a large kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, the Old Assyrian Kingdom, although the Assyria was soon defeated by Hammurabi of Babylon and remained in the shadow of the Babylonian Empire throughout this period.-Rise to...
(ca. 1800 BC), besides other Syrian examples. Furthermore a vase was discovered in Hüseyindede in 1997, dating to the Hittite Old Kingdom (18th to 15th c. BC).
Minoan Crete
Thought to have been a key ritual in the religion of the
Minoan civilizationThe Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization which arose on the island of Crete. The Minoan culture flourished from approximately 2700 to 1450 BC; afterwards, Mycenaean Greek culture became dominant at Minoan sites in Crete...
on
Bronze AgeThe Bronze Age of a culture is the period when the most advanced metalworking in that culture utilised bronze. This could either have been based on the local smelting of copper and tin from ores, or trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere...
CreteCrete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea at 8,336 km²...
. As in the case of other Mediterranean civilizations, the
bullCattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
was the
subject of veneration and worshipAppearances of the Bull in mythology and worship are widespread in the ancient world. It is the subject of various cultural and religious incarnations, as well as modern mentions in new age cultures.- Paleolithic findings :...
. Representation of the Bull at the palace of
KnossosKnossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...
is a widespread symbol in the art and decoration of this archaeological site.
The assumption, widely debated by scholars, is that the iconography represents a ritual sport and/or performance in which human athletes literally vaulted over bulls as part of a ceremonial rite.
Contemporary Bull-Leaping
Bull-leaping is still practised in the
south west of FranceSouth West France or in French Sud-Ouest, is a wine region in France covering several wine-producing areas situated respectively inland from, and south of, the wine region of Bordeaux...
, where it is traditionally known as the
Course LandaiseThe course Landaise is an ancient form of bullfighting held in oval or rectangular arenas covered in sand, that does not involve any bloodshed. Experienced cows generally from the age of 2 and up to 14 years old are used instead of bulls. They are athletic animals selected from the same breed as...
(although young cows are used instead of bulls). The town of
Mont-de-MarsanMont-de-Marsan is a commune and capital of the Landes department in Aquitaine in south-western France.-Monuments and sites:* The Donjon Lacataye is the keep of a 14th century castle* Despiau-Wlérick Museum -Sport:...
in
GasconyGascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
is renowned for its fine sauteurs or "leapers" and écarteurs ("dodgers") dressed in brocaded waistcoats. They compete in teams, attempting to use their wide repertoire of skillful evasions and acrobatic leaps to avoid the cow's charges.
The cow is typically guided by the use of a long rope attached to its horns, so that it runs directly at the performers and is restrained from trampling or goring them should they miss a trick. Although there is little to no risk to the cow in this form of contest, it is a highly dangerous sport for the human participants; a prominent Montois, Jean-Pierre Rachou, was killed in 2001 when he fell on his head after being hit by a cow.
In France the courses Landaises are held from March to October at the occasion of festivals in many cities and villages, among which:
NogaroNogaro is a commune in the Gers department in south-western France.Nogaro is the site of Circuit Paul Armagnac, a motorsport race track....
,
Mont-de-MarsanMont-de-Marsan is a commune and capital of the Landes department in Aquitaine in south-western France.-Monuments and sites:* The Donjon Lacataye is the keep of a 14th century castle* Despiau-Wlérick Museum -Sport:...
,
DaxDax is a commune in Aquitaine in south-western France, sub-prefecture of the Landes department.It is particularly famous as a spa, specialising in mud treatment for rheumatism and similar ailments....
, Castelnau-d’Auzan and many other places. Of course there are also national championships.
A similar but even more dangerous tradition of non-violent bull-leaping is practiced in some parts of Spain. Known as the Recortadores, athletes compete at dodging and leaping over bulls without the use of the cape or sword. Some Recortadores use a long pole to literally pole-vault over the charging animal, which is both larger than the type used in the French sport, and unrestrained by any guiding rope or similar safety device.
Another example of related sport is
JallikattuJallikattu - ஜல்லிகட்டு is a bull taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebration. This is one of the oldest living ancient sports seen in the modern era. Although it sounds similar to the Spanish running of the bulls, it is quite different. In Jallikattu, the bull is not killed...
, a Pongal celebration related sporting event in
Tamil NaduTamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai . Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by Puducherry , Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh...
, India. In this sport, the participants are trying to leap onto a bull, specifically reaching for the money packets tied to the bull's horns as a prize. This ancient event has been depicted in rock art dated at least to 3rd C BC.
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