OSTRA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- The forests of Popovic Hill resounded with the deep lowing of cattle on August 6 as 18 bulls stood scraping at the ground and awaiting their turn to do battle.
The 251st Grmec Bullfight, named for the mountain where the event was originally held, is part of a tradition that gained spiritual significance during the Austro-Hungarian occupation of today's Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Dalibor Ljuboja, the president of the board that organizes the fights, says the annual bullfights, which have been held since the 1700s, became “like a symbol of resistance.”
In 1902, Serbian writer Petar Kocic published a short story about a bullfight between a poor village boy's beloved bull and one owned by the Austro-Hungarian state. The story became a classic parable of struggle against foreign rule.
The bullfights are held inside a rodeo-like corral. Before the main fights, each bull is let inside to wander the territory alone. At showtime, two bulls are led inside the enclosure, which they both consider their territory.
When the gates are shut behind the bulls, hundreds of spectators fall quiet as macho tension between the animals rises.
In most cases, the two animals circle each other warily before lunging and locking horns. Some bulls don’t fight at all, despite prodding from their owners.
When two bulls remain stubbornly peaceful, judges determining the winner by the general demeanor of each bull.
The bovine battles are much like human cage fights, with periods of pushing and twisting, followed by dramatic clashes of horns that get the crowd roaring.
Unlike matador bullfights, in which the animal is killed, Bosnian bullfights end when one animal admits defeat by turning tail and fleeing.
RFE/RL requested comment on the bullfights from several animal welfare groups, but had received no comment at the time of publication.
The bulls fight in different weight classes that range from sub-750 kilogram “lightweights” through the middleweight division of 750-850 kilograms, and heavyweights that tip the scales at more than 850 kilograms.
The bullfights are held inside the territory of Republika Srpska but also attract competitors and crowds from the country’s Bosniak and ethnic Croatian regions.
Getting the adrenalized bulls under control following a fight can be difficult. During the August 6 event, one bull dodged its handlers for several minutes inside the corral. Two other bulls leaped out of the arena and ran amok past drink stalls and food tents. Teams of men sprinted after the animals, eventually getting them under control.
The champion bulls in the three weight categories belong to two ethnic Serbs and one Bosniak.
Heavyweight champion Jovo Vodjevic Duman was overwhelmed with emotion after the earth-shaking battle, kissing his gigantic bull Misko and dousing its snout with cold beer. In his impromptu victory speech, he revealed the massive expenses behind the sport, and the ambition of top bull owners.
“This [winning] bull is nothing," Duman said. "I have another one at home I just bought for 20,000 euros. Next year, I’ll bring him. Then you’ll really see something!”
