Cow Fightings
Spain has its bullfights with toreros whose style and bravery even Ernest Hemingway, Federico García Lorca and Pablo Picasso admired. In the Americas, it’s rodeo and the cowboys. Even in the Roman Empire, gladiators used to entertain their audiences with fightings against bulls. In Switzerland, bovine fightings are different. In the Alpine Canton of Valais, cow fightings are a century-old tradition. Every year, the cows fight for the title of the Queen of Cows.
Cow Fightings
Everything is a bit smaller than abroad. The fightings aren’t as athletic as a rodeo or as heroic as a Corrida. Actually, there is no torero at all. The Swiss prefer to stay neutral and not to interfere with the fighters. Certainly the fightings aren’t as bloody as the Roman gladiator Circuses. And there is yet another important difference: the fightings involve cows, not bulls.
Cow Fightings
Cows wait for their fights at the National Herens Cow Festival on May 6, 2012 in Aproz in the Alpine Canton of Valais, Switzerland.
Cow Fightings
An owner talks to his cow before a cow combat at the National Herens Cow Festival in Aproz in the Alpine Canton of Valais, Switzerland May 5, 2012.
Cow Fightings
A breeder holds his cow at the National Herens Cow Festival in Aproz, Switzerland May 5, 2012.
Cow Fightings
During the fightings, the cows push forehead against forehead. The winner of a duel is she who does not back off. The one cow remaining undefeated after all duels is the queen.
Cow Fightings
Cows fight for the title of the Queen of Cows Combat in Aproz, Switzerland May 5, 2012.
Cow Fightings
Cows fight for the title of the Queen of Cows Combat at the National Hérens Cow Festival on May 6, 2012 in Aproz in the Alpine Canton of Valais, Switzerland.
Cow Fightings
Spectators react during a cow fight for the title of the Queen of Cows Combat at the National Herens Cow Festival in Aproz in the Alpine Canton of Valais, Switzerland May 5, 2012.
Cow Fightings
A cow retreats at a fight for the title of the Queen of Cows fights at the National Herens Cow Festival on May 6, 2012 in Aproz, Switzerland.
Cow Fightings
A beater holds back a cow at the annual cow fights on May 6, 2012 in Aproz in the Alpine Canton of Valais, Switzerland.
Cow Fightings
A cow bleeds from the nose after a fight for the title of the Queen of Cows at the National Herens Cow Festival on May 6, 2012 in Aproz, Switzerland.
Cow Fightings
A breeder and his son examine their cow after a fight for the title of the Queen of Cows at the National Herens Cow Festival on May 6, 2012 in Aproz in the Alpine Canton of Valais, Switzerland.
Cow Fightings
A breeder rewards his cow with a piece of bread after a fight. The fighters are Herens cows named after the alpine Val d’Herens region of Switzerland. The cattle breed is known for the high aggression of its females. In a herd, the cows instinctively challenge each other to establish a hierarchy.
Cow Fightings
A breeder hugs his cow after winning a fight at the National Herens Cow Festival in Aproz, Switzerland May 5, 2012.