KAMBALA - ART AND CULTURE
News: Racing
ahead
What's in the news?
● A
pair of buffaloes running in a slush field during the Surya-Chandra Jodukare
Kambala at Venoor in Dakshina Kannada on December 3.
● The
traditional race is a popular and unique
sport among the farming community in Karnataka.
Kambala:
● Kambala
is an annual traditional Buffalo
Race (he-buffalo) held in coastal districts of Karnataka to entertain rural
people of the area.
● Slushy/marshy paddy field
track is used for Kambala.
● The sports season
generally starts in November and lasts till March.
● The
contest generally takes place between two pairs of buffaloes, each pair race in
two separate wet rice fields tracks, controlled by a whip-lashing farmer.
● In
the traditional form of Kambala, buffalo racing is non-competitive and buffalo
pairs run one by one in paddy fields.
● Besides,
there is also a ritualistic approach as some agriculturists race their
he-buffaloes for thanks giving to god for protecting their animals from
diseases.
● But
in recent times, Kambala has become an organized rural sport.