Our form of bull-fighting happens all summer in the arènes of towns and villages across the eastern Languedoc. Teams of young men, raseteurs, pit their wits against a succession of bulls which have small trophies tied to their horns. The raseteurs have to get near enough to take each trophy in turn from the bull, and they do it by running past the bull and attempting to grab the appropriate thing as the bull turns. Then the raseteur has to escape as the bull chases him, and usually has to leap the barrier and grab the first tier of the balcony to do so. Just occasionally the bull leaps the barrier and runs round the passage at the bottom with spectators scattering rapidly behind barriers.
An afternoon's entertainment usually has 6 bulls for 20 minutes each. The best animals have competed for several seasons and are wily and agile, turning fast and keeping their trophies out of reach. A particularly successful bull will receive several Carmens, represented by snatches of music from the Bizet opera blaring over the loudspeakers, which for the rest of the time broadcast the mounting prizes donated by local businesses and associations which go to the raseteur who manages to grab each token in turn.
As the season progresses there are league tables of raseteurs, and various championships culminating in grand finals in the early autumn. There are also champion bulls, sometimes represented by statues like the one shown above on the roundabout near our house. Below are some photos of the Trophée du Muscat in Lunel yesterday.
An afternoon's entertainment usually has 6 bulls for 20 minutes each. The best animals have competed for several seasons and are wily and agile, turning fast and keeping their trophies out of reach. A particularly successful bull will receive several Carmens, represented by snatches of music from the Bizet opera blaring over the loudspeakers, which for the rest of the time broadcast the mounting prizes donated by local businesses and associations which go to the raseteur who manages to grab each token in turn.
As the season progresses there are league tables of raseteurs, and various championships culminating in grand finals in the early autumn. There are also champion bulls, sometimes represented by statues like the one shown above on the roundabout near our house. Below are some photos of the Trophée du Muscat in Lunel yesterday.
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