There Are No Winners Here – A Fight with Cow Dung (6 photos)

India has a million different traditions and beliefs, from the amusing to the absurd. The village of Gummatapura, where the largest cow dung fights take place on Diwali, is particularly chic.





This is our Gorekhabba.



You know what this pool is all about.

Gorekhabba is a dung fight, or rather, the part of the Diwali festival where "you must come armed." In Spain, they throw tomatoes, in Thailand, they might douse themselves with water on New Year's, but India has its own atmosphere. It's important to understand that cow dung in India isn't just dung. It's used to make fuel for the poor, bricks for village houses, and the devout use it for healing – both externally and internally.





This isn't some medieval jousting ring!

It's so revered that major global companies use it as an ingredient in cosmetics (in India only). And a couple of years ago, it was used to make amulets to protect against cell phone radiation. It's hard to imagine how many treatments they've used during pandemics. So when someone throws cow dung at you, you have to be in awe. That's why there's never a shortage of people willing to participate in cow dung throwing.

Who will win the dirty battle?



I used to clean up cow dung in the village as a child, and I can't say anything good about it.

Locals believe that one of their deities, Beereshwara Swami, was born in cow dung. The day before the battle itself, organizers go around to every house with a cow to collect fresh "material." All the collected dung is carried to the temple in buffalo-drawn carts, where a blessing ceremony is performed. Once all the rites are completed, the piles of dung are thrown onto a large field near the settlement. On the day of the great battle, the bravest must appear on the field, bare-chested.



A man is happy, that's what you can't take away from him.

In the morning, they begin preparing ammunition – making "snowballs," or cow dung. Who knows what they call it. The battle begins on the elder's signal. Everyone starts throwing dung at each other, without taking sides. Every man for himself! Each participant believes that simply touching the blessed dung with their hands can cure all illnesses and give them a good chance of never getting sick again. Therefore, they are happy to throw it and be the target.



And then the material is made into bricks.

Dung fights are held in various parts of India, where the population is predominantly Hindu. Moreover, unlike tomatoes, dung doesn't spoil in any way during the game. It can be collected after the fight and safely used (which is what everyone does, taking some with them from the festival).