Bull Fighting  among the Chinese Ethnic Minorities

Bull fighting events are much loved by the Chinese Miao Minority and they are held at most festivals.  It is strictly a spectator sport with audience participation in the form of gambling, lots of gambling.   A bull is an expensive animal and frequently one bull  will be owned by an entire village.  The bull is marked on the side with white paint for identification and decorated with red ribbons about the horns and neck.  It is  proudly taken to the festival area by many of the men of the village. 

The bulls fight each other.    The bull that "runs away" is clearly the loser, causing lose of both face and money to the village.    Sometimes, the bulls will  lock horns, neither one will "give up" and audience participation is necessary to separate them.   A rope is  tied to one  rear leg of each bull.  Then the men as a group pull on the ropes until the bulls are separated.    This leads to much debate as to which bull is the winner.     

Additional Notes from Jessy 

Qiandong Miao (South of Guizhou prov.), they like bull fighting, which is held in most of the festivals. 

There are several saying of the source of the Bull Fighting in the folk.

 Saying one.

This custom is traced by the Old Miao Group.   Miao was attacked by the foreign group, Miao King ordered his troops to feed bulls with wine, tie knives on the horns, beat the bulls forward to the enemy. Miao won this battle. But soldiers quarreled each other in order to show that it was his bull fought the enemy and won the battle. Miao King did not have the clue to whom he ought to be awarded, so he invented the bull fighting, in order to award the winner. And bull fighting has been kept as an important program in festivals since.

Saying two.

To celebrate the birthday for the Bull King, because bulls are one of the most importance in their daily field work.    No matter which, to pry to bulls, is to worship the spirit of being indomitable, brave, struggling, and enterprising. Well these are the spirits of Miao Culture indeed, the soul of Miao Groups. 

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