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Brief history and Language of the Bull Race

History

It is generally agreed that this « sporting » relationship between man and bull can be traced back to the Romans. Although at the time, this appeared in the form of circus racing. As a matter of fact, the oldest record of Camarguaise-style racing goes back to 1402 in Arles: a race was given in honour of Louis II, Count of Provence. It was only towards the end of the 19^th century that this circus sport, deemed too cruel and violent, evolved to become a joust between man and bull: attributs (flowers, scarves, tricolour cockades in the colours of the manade and even sausages or other victuals) are attached to the horns of the bull to be removed by daring young amateurs. It isn't until 1890 that bull breeders become aware of the inherent qualities of the « Camargue » bull, better suited to racing than labour or meat production. By the turn of the century, the games had become a confrontation between bull and man, who had become an expert in the art of the « raset » (removing the attributs or tokens from the bull's horns). A cockade is attached to the bull's horns and the participant that detaches it wins a prize: this is open racing.

The bull race

It is important to note that this sport does not involve the killing of the bull.
Before the race begins, the raseteurs parade in the arena and wave to the public. This pre-race parade is called la Capelado.
Next, six bulls are released into the arena and are, one after the other, allowed to run for 15 minutes. They all bear attributs: the cockade (attached to the horns by a ficelle or string and hung over the forehead), the glands or tassels, the ficelle and elastics. Each attribut represents a value according to the bull.
This "cockaded" bull is called a cocardier (the bull bearing the attributs) and may at times, during manade competitions, wear an array of coloured ribbons (the colours of the farm where it was raised) around its neck.
A drawn out trumpet blast signals the release of each bull (l'abrivado). The Jury announces the bull's name, the name of the manade or bull farm and the prizes awarded for the attributs (cockade, glands, etc.).
A shorter second blast invites the raseteurs to provoke the biou (bull). The raseteurs, the men in white, then attempt to detach the attributs using a hook. The third blast signals the return of the bull to the toril (enclosure) as soon as it has either run for 15 minutes or all of its attributs have been removed.
After the third bull, there is a fifteen minute intermission.
At the end of the race, a calf is sometimes released for young or trainee raseteurs. The bulls are then taken back to pasture. This is called la bandido (the breakaway).

Small glossary

Manade : herd of bulls or horses. Also designates the place where the bulls graze.
The Glands : the little pompoms attached to each of the bull's horns that the raseteur must detach.
Ficelle : a string twisted around each of the bull's horns, it must be completely removed by the raseteur.
L'Abrivado : Provençal term pronounced « abrivad ». L'abrivado already existed at the end of the last century. It is the herding of the cocardiers (the racing bulls) towards the toril by the gardians (herdsmen) on horseback. La Bandido: the opposite of l'abrivado. Return of the bulls, after the race, to the manade.
La Bandido : in Spain, country of origin for this event, the "toros" (bulls) that will be confronted in the arena are released in the streets. Not only do our bulls follow a previously defined and barricaded itinerary but they are not killed at the end of the race.
L'Encierro : en Espagne, pays d'origine de cette manifestation, les « toros » qui vont être combattus dans l'arène sont lachés dans les rues. Chez nous les taureaus empruntent un circuit préalablement ceinturés par des barrières et ils ne sont pas mis à mort à l'issue de la course.
La course camarguaise : a bull race involving the removal of tokens called attributs using a hook. For each attribut removed, the raseteur wins the sum of money at stake. It is a true show of agility that requires an enormous amount of courage on the part of the raseteur.
La Pégoulade : Provencal term designating the torchlit retreat or parade held at night and in which all of those that wish to carry a torchlight can participate. For several decades now, the term especially applies to the night processions of folk groups in which their member gardians, dressed in full pageantry, regularly participate.
La Bouvine : describes everything related to the Camarguais bull including related customs.
Carmen : name of Georges Bizet's famous opera, played every time the bull shows its worth during or at the end of the race. celebration of a village's patron saint. In bouvine villages, this term is inevitably associated with the presence of bulls.
Fête votive : Celebration of a village's patron Saint. In bouvine villages, this term is inevitably associated with the presence of bulls.

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