BULL FIGHTING IN AFRICA

Bull fighting is prominent in counties like Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela and Spain (more recently); that is to say

it originated from the other countries but it gained highest recognition in Spain. Spanish bull fighting is called ‘corrida de toros’ done by matadores who are three in number which take on two bulls each.

 We are in bull fighting season for the Spanish as it is from March to October.

 Heading back to the bone of contention,
am sure its surprising that such a practice also takes place in Africa. Come on! There is nothing one wouldn’t see in Africa.

Bull fighting has been an age-old tradition in Luhya tribe in Kenya. Here bulls are reared from when they are calves till when they are between the ages of three to four years. Not all bulls are capable of

fighting. The bull keepers are usually men that have little interest in women. According to the people’s tradition women can’t lead a bull to the bull fighting court because they are still sexually active. Bull owners are not taken as common men, some people believe they are into witchcraft.

When a bull fighting match is set, a night before the owner of the bull feeds the bull well, sings for the bull and talks to it. Some bulls are prompted to fight by the smell of liquor or sound signals by the owner. Here the bulls go head to head, the ‘winner-bull’ is the last bull standing. The bull is celebrated and given large portions of food, of cause the bull owner earns his bragging rights.

Africa has beautiful traditions, practices, tourist attractions! One would think bull fighting started in Mexico; who knows! It may have actually started here in Africa. A great writer once said, “until the lions have their own historians, tales of the hunt shall glorify the hunter.”