Tons of bull owners have submitted their applications for events that will be held on Tuesday, out of this, five transwomen have also participated.
Jallikattu season is about the begin and with it bull owners and tamers are currently involved in intensive training for Avaniyapuram, Palamedu, and Alanganallur Jallikattu events on January 15, 16, and 17, respectively. This event will be held in the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu.
Tons of bull owners have submitted their applications for the events which will be held on Tuesday, out of this, five transwomen from Madurai have also participated.
For the past four years, G Keerthana, T Akshaya, N Priyamani, S Rajee, and S Anjali have been involved in rearing bulls for Jallikattu. While talking about the participation, Keerthana told TNIE, "Since I come from a family of cattle herders, I had a natural love for Jallikattu bulls since my childhood. But because of the prejudice I faced as a transwoman, I was able to buy my first Jallikattu bull only in 2019."
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Keerthana further said, "By dipping into our savings, our transgender group bought seven more bulls, two calves, and 12 cows (mostly pulikulam breed) over the next few years."
A three-cent barn has been set up by Keerthana for rearing her cattle at Varichiyur. Keerthana said that they have opted for Pulikulam breeds that are native to Madurai and Sivaganga districts.
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"We spend Rs 3,500 per week for maintaining the cattle. We get the money mostly by selling milk from our cows. There is a huge demand for Pulikulam breed cow milk," Keerthana said.
Speaking further about how she felt during her first Jallikattu, Keerthana said that when ‘chinna muthaiah’ darted through the ‘vaadi vaasal’ she had tears in her eyes when the name of her bull was announced.
Another transwoman named T Akshaya said that tokens for participating have now gone digital so they are hoping to get tokens for the three main events to be held in Madurai.
"We are happy and proud to be part of Jallikattu which is part of our Tamil culture. Our bulls will bring us laurels. I am just waiting to see them emerge out of the vaadi vaasal," Akshaya said.
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 "Jallikattu 2023: Meet group of Tamil Nadu transwomen participating in festivities")
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