FUJAIRAH: There are no matadors or picadors, but bulls locking horns with each other draw big crowds to bullfights in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Hundreds of fans gather in the eastern emirate of Fujairah to watch bulls fighting, or perhaps more accurately, headbutting, with honour rather than money at stake.
Unlike the Spanish tradition which pits man against beast, the UAE sport involves two bulls locking horns in a three-to-four minute Sumo-wrestling-like fight that usually ends with no bloodshed.
“In the 20 years I’ve been watching bull fights, we’ve only had to put down two bulls,” said Hamad bin Hamdan Al Matrooshi, who owns 15 bulls.
He said that the fight usually isn’t long enough for the animals to seriously harm one another — but the bull’s sharp horns can lead to cuts and injuries.
But the spectators are diligent when it comes to separating them should the fighting get too intense.
The fights also can prove perilous to the spectators, with men and boys seated on plastic chairs in the ring itself always ready to spring to safety as the animals can easily smash into their seats.
“It’s exciting for people to sit near the fight,” said 29 year-old Fahad Mohammad. “But once the bull’s blood gets hot, it’s hard to calm him down. They will just want to fight and it doesn’t matter against whom.”
Under the rules, the first animal to disengage and walk away is declared the loser. If neither backs away it is a draw and about a dozen men separate them, dragging them apart with ropes.
“Here, we do it for pride. If a bull runs away, then the other one is the winner,” said Al Matrooshi, 68, from the emirate of Ajman.
There is no cash prize for matches in Fujairah, where betting is not allowed. But bulls are investments and their value increases the more they win.
With entertainment in the UAE leaning toward extravagance and conspicuous consumption, bull fighting in Fujairah provides a free and family-friendly weekend activity.
About 40 bulls are brought into the fenced Fujairah arena once a week. The more cautious spectators, including women and children, take seats in the rings or sit perched atop SUVs eating ice cream or chopped mangoes sold during the event.
The origin of the sport is contested. Some believe it to be an import from the Portuguese who captured parts of the Arabian Peninsula in the 16th century. Others say it had existed in the area long before the Portuguese conquest.
REUTERS
