Articles by Beatrice Labonne

THE BUSY LIFE OF THE CAMARGUE BULLS. 

In this exotic corner of France, where work may be an optional occupation, wild bulls have a full-time job.  They have to work hard to ensure their livelihood. The Camargue region can be compared with both the Louisiana bayous and the Florida Everglades, minus the alligators!  Camargue is the swampy delta of the Rhône River. It is where, like an Indian goddess, this mighty river stretches a multitude of arms towards the Mediterranean Sea.  The resulting landscape is a lacework of marshes, ponds and pastures.  The region is famous for its out-of-the-ordinary-denizens. The marshland is shared by black bulls, white horses and pink flamingos.   

Like the bull, the local horse is a rustic free-range breed.  It also works, but this should be expected from horses. In a way, horses play a supporting role to that of bulls. The white Camargue horses have received their fair share of praise and exposure.  

Among the three species, only the flamingos seem to enjoy a lackadaisical existence.  These birds are plentiful year round.  During the winter season, most of them stay put in Camargue.  Unless their migration patterns have already adapted to global warming, I suspect that the colonies are on the regional government’s payroll.  Camargue is a bird watchers’ paradise. That is another story.  Let’s look at the bull routine. 

The Camargue bulls are a breed apart.  They are lean, diminutive, with a shiny dark brown/black coat, and large lyre shaped horns.  They are fast runners, keen jumpers, with a mean streak and an aggressive look. Where do they come from? You get as many answers as you ask for.  It is certain that they have originated in the East, somewhere.  Some would like them to come from the island of Crete, daughters and sons of the blood thirsty Minotaur.  Others suggest that Mithra-worshiping Roman legionnaires brought them to the Camargue.  There may be some truth in these theories.  Has not the local population developed a god-like devotion to these brave bulls?  Many Camargue villages proudly exhibit large statues of generic bulls, always in a fierce attitude.  Nor is it unusual to spot statues erected to the memory of famous ones, their names written in gold characters.  In the region, there are probably more bull statues than of military luminaries!  

For many people, a combat bull has to be of Spanish origin, bred for the bullfights (corridas), and earmarked for a premature and violent death.  Even without the literary marketing of someone like Hemingway, the spirited Camargue bull has plenty of aficionados.  It may live longer too, as long as it displays good survival skills.  In a manade, which is the local name for both the ranch and its herd of bulls and horses, 90 percent of the bulls will have a short life.  The shy, meek and lazy ones will finish on the butcher block. Bull meat makes eatable barbecue steaks, as well as gardiane stew, the local equivalent to boeuf bourguignon. The remaining 10 percent will end up working for a living. Some of them may even enjoy fame and indulge in perks otherwise not lavished on their kind. The manadier, or ranch boss, will go out of his way to pamper his champions. 

What do bulls do for a living?   They are the centerpiece attraction of the majority of the popular festivals in the Camague region.  Every village goes to great length to organize its annual fête vôtive.  In the old days, the main purpose of a fête was to show devotion and gratitude to the patron saint of the village.  Nowadays, the fêtes vôtives have evolved into week-long pagan rituals, where the bulls have taken a god-like dimension. Some fêtes are more equal than others.  They are increasingly expensive to organize, they draw huge crowds— locals and tourists alike—and have become money making events.  Villages are falling over themselves to organize the most grandiose fête.  These events require dozens of bulls and an equal number of horses and gardians or local cowboys.  The fête season stretches from May to October.   

Broadly speaking, the bulls are employed in two types of activities according to their talent.  The average-talented bull will be released in the streets of the village, to run from one end to the other, under the protection of the gardian on his or her horse. Women are entering the trade in increasing number.  To test their manhood, the local kids will try to stop the running bulls by pulling their tails and grabbing their horns.  A picture duly records the accomplishment, and the bull will be let go. They are funny looking bulls, as balls have been stuck on their horns to prevent accidental goring.  The bulls are drilled to run under the protection of a pack of horses.  A bull going astray is a bull which did not learn his part properly. Many times per season, the same bull will run with its mates.  By September, the bull is expected to have mastered the tricks of its trade. These running bulls are street comedians on an over time schedule.  Their work day starts early, around 6 am when the manadier selects them in their pasture. They are loaded in a truck and their first 15 minute performance usually starts usually around midday. They spend most of the day waiting in the confines of the truck.  They are once more requested to play around 6 pm or even 10 pm.  In some instances, they may only return to the peace of their pasture after midnight. In a country which praises itself for its short 35 hour work week, the Camargue bulls may be the equivalent to sweatshop workers!  

Bulls who display their fighting spirit at a young age, can expect a more prestigious future. Meritocracy, another very non-French concept is applied to bulls.  They go through a very strict, merit-based selection process.  Life will be fun and game, full of perks for the bulls which prove their worth, and exhibit a fighting spirit.  The manadier will prod them into wannabe champions to compete in the crème de la crème of bull performance, that is, the course camarguaise.   

The intricacy of the course camarguaise has been described by fellow blogger Samantha David on www.the-languedoc-page.com.  In a nutshell, course camarguaise is the opposite of a bullfight. The bull is the surviving hero! The men, known as raseteurs, play opposite the bull, a supporting but dangerous role! The raseteurs make money by grabbing the strings and ribbons attached between the bulls’ horns. When blood is spilt, it is usually that of the raseteurs.  Courses camarguaises make headlines in the local press.  Even if the raseteurs are local celebrities, people flock to the bullring to watch the bulls, to track their performance.  Names of bulls like Don Juan, Capitan, Eros, Pagano, Harpagon, Mirage and Monte Cristo have become household names.  They are  published in bold characters in the newspapers.  The raseteurs’names are written in small characters. 

Contrary to the blood drenched corridas, the course camarguaise appeals to our XXI century sensibility.  In Camargue, we can indulge in the politically correct bull games knowing that animal welfare is protected and talent and hard work duly rewarded. This is not to say that bull fun and games Camargue style are mild, “girlie man” entertainments. There is plenty of flying testosterone sparks, with that of the bull flying higher… 

Beatrice Labonne,

Calvisson, Aug 8, 2006.