Bull-leaping
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Bull-leaping is a term for various types of non-violent bull fighting. Some are based on an ancient ritual from the Minoan civilization involving an acrobat leaping over the back of a charging bull. As a sport it survives in modern France, usually with cows rather than bulls, as course landaise; in Spain, with bulls, as recortes and in Tamil Nadu, India with bulls as Jallikattu.
The Bull-Leaping Fresco from the Great Palace at Knossos, Crete
The bull-leaper, an ivory figurine from the palace of Knossos, Crete. The only complete surviving figure of a larger arrangement of figures. This is the earliest three dimensional representation of the bull leap. It is assumed that thin gold pins were used to suspend the figure over a bull.
Bull-leaping scene in Hüseyindede vases belongs to Early Hittites, approximately 1650 BC.
The Minoan Bull-leaper sculpture at the British Museum.
Jallikattu
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Jallikattu, also known as Eru Taḻuvuṭal and Manju-virattu, is a traditional event in which a zebu bull, such as the Pulikulam or Kangayam breeds, is released into a crowd of people, and many human participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull's back with both arms and hang on to it while the bull attempts to escape. Participants hold the hump for as long as possible, attempting to bring the bull to a stop. In some cases, participants must ride long enough to remove flags on the bull's horns.
An inscription on eru thazhuvuthal at government museum in Tamil Nadu
Indus Valley seal depicting Eru Thazhuvuthal
Jallikattu at Tamil Nadu in 2019