Jallikattu 2023: Date, venue, significance, history behind Tamil Nadu festival, all you need to know

The festival of Pongal is celebrated with fervour, especially in Tamil Nadu. The cattle stock is worshipped and Jallikattu is observed. For those who are unaware, Jallikattu is a sport where a bull is left open in the crowd, and individuals partaking in the sport are supposed to take possession of the bull by clasping onto its hump for as long as they can. 

Jallikattu is derived from two terms - "salli" which means coins and "kattu" which means package. In older times, a bundle of coins was also tied to the bull's horns which the participants had to take to tame the bull. 

Jallikattu 2023: All about its history and significance 

To protect the indigenous, pure-bred bulls, Jallikattu was used as a traditional method by peasants. Jallikattu reportedly originated in the Tamil Classical Era, which lasted from 400 to 100 BC.

READ | From Thalapathy Vijay's Varisu to Hrithik Roshan's Vikram Vedha, Ajith Kumar's Thunivu: Upcoming movie releases on OTT

Indus Valley civilization's seal depicting Jallikattu is still preserved in the National Museum of New Delhi. A cave painting in Madurai also shows a solitary man trying to control a bull. The cave painting is estimated to be about 1,500 years old. 

For the unversed, Jallikattu is also known as 'Eru Thazhuvuthal' and 'Mancuvirattu'. A practice called 'Mann Kuthal' also happens where bulls are trained to expand their skills by digging their horns in the wet earth. 

Jallikattu allows farmers to preserve the indigenous breed of bulls. 

Jallikattu 2023: Date 

This year, in 2023, Jallikattu will be held between January 15 and 17 Tamil Nadu's Madurai. The festival is mostly celebrated in three villages -Avaniyapuram, Palamedu, and Alanganallur. 

READ | Tamil Nadu issues new guidelines for Jallikattu – Details inside

The Jallikattu 2023 event will take place on three dates in these three villages - January 15 in Avaniyapuram, January 16 in Palamedu, and January 17 in Alanganallur. 

Jallikattu 2023: Venue 

The Jallikattu 2023 event will take place in three villages of the Madurai district in Tamil Nadu - Avaniyapuram, Palamedu, and Alanganallur. 

Avaniyapuram is 6 km from Madurai city, while Palamedu is around 22 km from the city. Alanganallur, on the other hand, is 15-16 km from the city. Reportedly, Alanganallur attracts larger crowds than the other two.