History of Bull Fighting - Essay Example

The history of Bullfighting in Spain is not precisely known. However, historians largely agree that the practice of bull fighting was introduced by the Moors from North Africa (Hangrove, 2013). The Moors were a Muslim tribe that lived in the plains of the present day Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Algeria (Pennell, 2013). They invaded and conquered the Andalusia region of Spain in 711 AD after the fall of Roman Empire (Hangrove, 2013).Moors introduced bullfighting on horseback to the people of the Iberian Peninsula in Spain. The community reared special horses that were trained on bull fighting. They turned bullfighting into ritualistic sport watched by many people on special days. At around 1000 AD, the Moors grip on the region began to decline as they were fought by the Christian rulers who were Catholics. They were finally expelled out of the region by Christian rulers, Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492 AD (Navarro, 2008). By the time they were defeated the bull fighting was already entrenched in Spanish culture.

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Bullfighting was used to mark important ceremonies and events such as royal wedding of King Navarra, birth and baptism of the prince (Goksenli, 2015). The practice remained a sport of noblemen throughout 15th to 17th century. However, the Catholic Church through its Kings and Queens opposed bullfighting because it was regarded as Arabian culture. After the defeat of Moors, the Church made many attempts to stop practice in Iberian Peninsula. In 1567, Pope Pius V banned the sport (Alves, 2011). The noblemen of the church who went ahead with practice were threatened with excommunication. Alves (2011) also says that Pope Gregory XII amended Pope Pius decree in 1567. He limited the attendance of bullfighting fiestas to ecclesiastics. Eleven years later in 1576, Pope Clement VII lifted the papal decree following the advice from King Philip II. Until 18th century bull fighting fiestas were organized in main urban plazas such as Madrid Plaza. The neighboring building served as benches where people watched the sport from (Crow, 1985). Davis (2016) argues that the bull fighting emerged as popular form of sport that appealed to people of different social classes after the rise of Bourbon Dynasty in 1700. Dedicated bull fighting rings and venues were constructed to host the spectacle. One of the oldest plazas is the La Maestranza in Servile, Spain that fist hosted a bull fight in 1765 (Fadul, 2012).

Today, bull fighting in Spain share many similar characteristics to what it was in 1726 when Francisco Romero used a sword to kill a bull while on foot. Romero is considered by many people as the father of modern bull fighting in Spain (Bovington, 2009). Before then, no bullfighter had attempted to kill a bull while not on horseback. Garvey, Ellingham, Sandham & Stewart (2003) argues that Romero killed over 5000 bulls. The other prominent matador was Juan Belmonte who introduced a daring style of fighting a bull within few who meters apart. Today, Spain host over 3000 bull rings that hosts about 2000 bull fights every year according to Badrock (October 20, 2016) of British Broadcasting Corporation. Bullfighting season takes about six months from February to October. The country also prides itself of having the oldest bull fighting college, Escuela de Tauromaquia de Sevilla founded in 18th century.

Organization of BullFights

Bullfighting spectacles also known as corrida in Spain are organized in circular venues, amphitheatres or plazas. The plazas have tiered terraces built around a central open space called ruedo. The staging area is build in the middle of the open area. Figure 1 below shows a bullring in Barcelona. The arena has an alley called callejon where a bullfighter prepare and take refuge when overwhelmed (Baofu, 2013). The bullring, plaza de toros, is separated from main arena by a wooden partition of about 1.4 meters. This wall has entrance and exits for the bull and the bullfighters called puerta de los toriles and puerta de cuadrilla respectively in Spanish.

Figure 1: Bull Ring in Barcelona:

Source: New York Times

The bullfighting events are organized by promoters under the umbrella body The National Association of Bullfighting Event Organizers (ANOET). The game is presided over by a president who is mostly a local politician, who watches the sport from an enclosed area and give orders using handkerchiefs of different colors (Lewine 2015). The work of the president is to ensure that bullfighting regulations are observed and that the fight takes place according to its traditions. The president uses a white handkerchief to signify the start of the fight. Green handkerchief is used to call for a replacement of the bull while of orange handkerchief is used to signify the pardoning of the bull according to Lee Bates (2012).

A typical corrida requires the killing of six bulls, toreros, by three skilled bullfighters, also called matador in a bull ring called the plaza de toros. Most of the bullrings are owned by the municipalities and public agencies. The killing should be performed within 15 minutes using a sword called espada. Bullfighting fiestas usually starts at 5pm in the evening by a parade called paseillo where participants, also called aficionados, march into the venue to salute the presiding guests of the ceremony accompanied by a band (Michelin Travel, 2011). The actual bullfight is organized into three stages. In the first stage, the bull is allowed into the venue where its fighting qualities are tested by fighting assistants of matador, also called banderillero or picadors. The banderilleros provoke the bull by waving waves a bright yellow and magenta-colored cape past the bull eyes. Meanwhile, the matador watches how the bull charges at his assistants.

In the second stage, the assistants of the matador, picadors and banderillero enter the bull ring on horseback (Nauright & Parrish, 2012).. The circle the bull while trying to mount sharp-barbed stick on its shoulders. They also stab it with long darts to tire it. The matador enters the ring in the last stage. He or she lures the weakened bull to charge toward a stretched a red cape, called muleta. The wounded bull makes a ferocious attack on the red cape. The matador performs a series of passes and maneuvers past the bull before piercing a sword through its shoulders to the heart. Figure 2 below shows a matador tackling one of the bulls in Madrid. The bull at that point dies. The killing of the bull requires exceptional skills and courage. Consequently, the superb performance of matador is often rewarded by gifts and money. A bull does not necessarily have to die. The bull can be pardoned for displaying extraordinary bravery. A bull who is pardoned is honored by the presiding dignitary.

Opposition of Bullfighting

Although Bullfighting is one of the most popular sports in Spain, it faces stiff opposition from several organization and people. The sport is vehemently opposed by animal activists in Spain. The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) (2017) say that over 40,000 bulls are violently killed in front of about 20 million exited spectators in Spain annually. The cruelty with which the bulls are murdered does not augur well with the animal activists who are demanding the abolishment of the sport. They argue that the sport provides a platform for inhumane torture of animals. Even in fights that do not end into animal death, the bull is left seriously wounded as a result of stabbings by the matador and the fighting assistants. To push their agenda forward, the animal right activists have successfully organized protests in major cities in Spain over the recent years. For example, Sally (September 11, 2016) of the Independent reported that on Saturday, November 11, 2016, The Party against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) organized large demonstrations on the streets of Madrid to press for the banning of bull fighting. Figure 3 shows people demonstrating against bullfighting in Madrid, Spain.

The second opposition to bullfighting comes from the Catalans who are the people who resides in Catalonia, a semi autonomous region in Northeastern parts of Spain. Most Catalans think bullfighting is a culture imposed on them by the Spanish people who they want to break away from (Simonis, 2010). They reject the public display of bull as a state symbol because they associate it with the government of Franco who attempted to destroy their language and culture. To them bullfighting is a symbol of Castilian culture that was advanced by Franco. In 2010, the government of Catalonia banned bullfighting in the region. The ban was adopted by the Catalonian parliament following petition by an animal right activist group and signed by 180,000 people according to Alasdair (September 25, 2011) of the Independent. However, the Supreme Court of Spain overturned the decision in October 2016 according to Graham (October 20, 2016) of the Times. The ruling did not put to an end Catalans opposition of bullfighting. According to Stephen (October 20, 2016), the government of Catalonia vowed to make the ruling impractical to take effect by increasing levies charged on bullfighting.

Spains entry into European Union led to increased opposition of bullfighting. There is increased call among Spaniards for the nations to become civilized as other European countries such as Germany, United Kingdom and France. Besides, some of the policies adopted by EU in the recent past have had negative impact on the sport. In 2016, EU parliament voted to prevent agricultural subsidies given to farmers who rare bulls for bullfights according to Snowdon (October 29, 2015) of Huffington Post. EU also has strong policy on animal welfare developed in 1998. The policy gives animal freedom from pain, injury, discomfort and distress (European Commission, 2017). Bullfighting is a contravention of animals freedom of injury. Usually, bulls are killed or injured seriously in the tournaments which violate the policy. Nonetheless, EU commissions gives its member states the responsibility of implementing the policy which Spain has been reluctant to enforce. In summary, as long as Spain stays in EU, the bullfighting would remain unacceptable in the Union because it is against its policies. Many anti-bullfighting organizations have found EU as an appropriate authority to channel their campaigns. Petition against bullfighting subsidies in EU parliament is an example of those initiatives.

Deaths and Injuries During Bullfighting Events

Bullfighting is undoubtedly the most dangerous sports in Spain. History shows that several matadors experienced cruel deaths in the bullrings. Figure 4 below show a picture of a matador being gored by a bull. Juan Belmonte, a fiercest bullfighter and pioneer of modern bullfighting, was gored several times during bullfights (Marion, 2012). The most recent death happened in 2016, when one of top professional matador, Victor Barrio was gored by a bull in an event screened live on televisions across Spain and the world (Bulman, July 11, 2016) of the Independent. Another renowned matador, Francisco Rivera was seriously injured in a bull fight in 2015 according to Greenberg (August 12, 2015). According to Stein (October 10, 2011) of Los Angeles another matador, Juan Jose was pierced in the head by a charged bull during the fiesta in 2011. Consequently, Juan lost one of his ears and ear. There is no official record of injured bullfighters or casualties in Spain. The British Broadcasting Corporation (May 22, 2014) reported that about 31 matadors were seriously wounded in Spain in 2013. The broadcaster also claimed that about 553 professional...