WHAT
IS A BULLFIGHT?
Who doesn't know what goes on at a bull-fight ? Well, quite a lot
of people it seems. And particularily the anglo-saxon races so
let's hope they will give our following outline their very best
attention:
The very first movement
is when two horsemen, in all their
plumed finery, suddenly burst into
the middle of the ring at a gallop.
They turn aside in opposite directions
and gallop round the arena on each
side. When their paths cross the public
give a loud OOH ! to acclaim the possible
collision which never happens. (Just
another of those eternal little rites
of San Fermin !)
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Then comes the
parade of the bull-fighters and their entourage,
and all the other people who will have some part
to play in the event such as the "picadores" on
their horses and carrying their lance, the "banderilleros" who
are dressed like the bull-fighters but whose function
is to run at the bulls and stick darts into their
backs as a preliminary to the bull-fighters work.
There are others similarly dressed- the "Peones" -
but whose function is simply to play with the bull
with their coloured capes so that the bull-fighter
can watch the way that the bull charges and turns
with his horns. The "Mulillas" also take
part in the parade and these are the men and horses
which will drag the body of the dead bull from
the ring.
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After they salute
the balcony of the president, permission is given for
the bull-fight to begin. The same ritual which has
gone on for countless years. There are three bull-fighters
and two bulls for each one. The order is fixed: the
first bull-fighter fights the first and fourth bull,
the second one will fight the second and fifth, the
third will fight the third and sixth bull.
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Each bull-fight
has three standard movements, called "tercios".
The first "tercio" takes
place as soon as the bull is released into the ring. The "peones" tempt
the bull with their capes so that the quality of the bull charges
can be appreciated. They will lead him over different sections
of the ring so that his reactions can be carefully noted by the
bull-fighter. Then the "Picador" appears with his horse
and lance. He will pierce the back of the bull with his steel lance
to weaken it and to tame some of his fierce energy. This is known
as making a "puya" and is not popular with the crowd
as they don't want the animal to be made
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| too weak. On the other hand, the bull-fighter
does want him to be weakened. The bull-fighter then plays
with the bull with a yellow cape to learn more about
the way it charges and turns. |
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The second "tercio" begins
when the "banderilleros" take up their
running position with a dart in each hand and they
must run at the bull and stick these large darts,
with a small steel hook at the end, into the back
of the bull. There are usually three of these men
who act in quick succession making a total of six
darts in all.
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The third "tercio" is
when the bull-fighter uses his red and yellow cape
held by a wooden sword. He carries out several
different movements where he tries to dominate
the bull. When the bull is sufficiently tired,
he changes the wooden sword for a steel one and
with this sword he will give the final "estocada" where
he must bury the sword in a small area of the animal's
back to kill him.
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Once
the bull is dead, the president of the arena decides
if he will concede any award to the bull-fighter.
If he has done everything well, the public acclaim
him and appeal for an award (This could be one
ear, two ears, two ears and the tail, depending
on how well he has done everything). If the bull-fighter
has been bad, the crowd will boo and hiss and the
luckless bull-fighter will have to wait for another
better day.
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And the crowd await the
second bull and hope for a better fight. And that's the
ritual for all six bulls. And after that the show is
over for another day. |
