Monday 8 June 2009

Course Landaise in Gascony



The south western corner of France known as Les Landes or Gascony has it's own take on bovine pastimes. Whilst Spain and other parts of France have bullfighting and Pamplona has its bull running, Gascony proves that the female can be as deadly as the male with its traditional sport of Course Landaise. The sisters of the fighting bulls get their chance of revenge in the arenas of the little towns in the region as competitors dodge or jump out of the way whilst they charge. The cows are not hurt or injured in any way and may take part in contests for several years though there is an element of goading to make them angry enough to charge. The humans have several roles in the proceedings. A more experienced man known as the cordier holds the rope that ensures that the cow charges straight, entraineurs get the cows attention and encourage it to charge. The competitors or sauteurs clutching a white handkerchief stand in front of the charging cow until the last minute before dodging to one side and the sauters leap or somersault over the top of the cow. One of the jumps with arms spread out is known as the angel.



Mes images de Course Landaise sont ICI

1 comment:

  1. Hi Tony, why not get your reports like this one into the Journal over at the Makronika website. Get the links going to build traffic to your site.

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