What you see here is a tradition that has been going on for over 1,000 years. The Kannapuram Mariamman Temple Cattle Festival is an annual festival that takes place at Olapalayam in Tiruppur district.
But this is not a normal village fair where you stroll carefree.
The herders and breeders of Kangayam cattle used to bring their animals to sell on this festival. People from all over Tamil Nadu, especially Madurai, Theni, Ramanathapuram, Pudukottai and Tiruchi come to the festival.
They buy cattle for Jallikattu, agriculture and farm work as well as for dairy. Kangayam is the first of the five recognized breeds in Tamil Nadu. They come in three colors – brown, white, black and a combination of all three.
What is special in this fair
The cattle fair is part of the Kannapuram Mariamman temple’s car festival which lasts for 15 days. Farmers spend several days in the festival searching for the right bull.
Dhoti-clad men walk from vendor to vendor in groups, studying their specialties where they pause to size up a potential purchase. The vendors are mostly from the Kongu region, and transport their cattle in trucks, sleeping in enclosures and cooking.
They invest in calves, rear them throughout the year to bring to the festival, and sometimes go back with a few more. As the evening progresses, families also bring their children for the show.
Reporting: Akila Kannadasan
Voiceover & Production: Abhinay Sriram
Photos and video: Periyasamy M