Running
of the buffaloes: Thais take their beasts of burden to the races
The jockey rides bareback
astride the water buffalo's rump, slaps him with a switch and bumps
along on his sprinting steed down a 130-meter (427-foot) strip. That's
if the buffalo cooperates.
Other buffaloes, perhaps
happier wallowing around muddy rice fields than stampeding down a race
track, kick their hoofs in the dirt at the starting line or buck their
riders before they reach the finish.
All the while, a joking
announcer excitedly narrates the spectacle, poking fun at the lads who
can't stay aboard their hurtling beasts.
Thousands of people Sunday
flock to this entertainment in downtown Chonburi, 70 kilometers (44
miles) south of Bangkok, at the annual water buffalo festival.
The
day's events, which also includes a buffalo beauty pageant, a Miss Farmer
beauty contest and a comic buffalo costume contest, perfectly exemplified
a favored Thai attitude to life — "sanuk," meaning fun.
Adul Boran, a 39-year-old
water buffalo jockey, has been racing for 28 years for the good times
associated with the unorthodox sport.
"I don't get paid for
it, but my friends and I get together three days a week to train with
our buffaloes just for fun," he said.
The festival was started
as a social event for farmers who gathered from around the country in
Chonburi to trade their goods.
"In the olden days,
we used to race on farm buffaloes," said Bang Supapon, 75, who
raced for 20 years until the 1970s. "It would teach them to work
faster in the fields."
Later, farm work was mechanized,
he said, but the buffalo-running tradition continued. Now the buffaloes
don't have the extra burden of field la
bor.
"We raise the buffaloes
just to race them. They don't work at all," said Boonyeun Chamchap,
as she stood under a tent with her five racing animals to shield them
from the scorching sun.
"Our fastest one cost
us 80,000 baht (US$1,800). We definitely don't get our money's worth,
but we have a great time racing them," she said.
The day's grand prize is
5,000 baht (US$114), while runners-up win farm equipment.
Boonyeun, who also has buffaloes
tilling the family sugar cane fields, said farm buffaloes are much bigger
than the racers because of the strenuous work they must perform.
"None of the buffaloes
that race are farm buffaloes," she said. "Nowadays, farm buffaloes
are in the beauty pageant."
Story by:
Alisa Tang, Associated Press Writer
Pictures copyright: Associated Press
