Indian Village Concludes Diwali Celebrations With Cow Dung Battle

Gummatapura, a small village in India, is famous around the world for having a unique way of concluding its annual Diwali celebrations. At the end of the Diwali, the whole village attends “Gorehabba,” a massive cow dung battle.

If Italy has the Ivrea Battle of Oranges, Spain has a battle of tomatoes called La Tomatina, then India has a cow dung battle called Gorehabba. You may think that it is an insult to festivities in India. But that is only to those who don’t know the significance and importance of cow dung in the culture of Indians.

It is of such high regard that it is also used as an ingredient for handcrafted art, beauty products, and even devices to fight off radiation. And it is claimed by some people to have the ability to fight the coronavirus. So yeah, throwing cow dunch is absolutely not disgusting for those who attend the Gorehabba.

The day the battle begins, the cow dung is hurled onto tractors that are then pulled by cattle. The villagers decorate the cattle with marigold flowers. And then the cow dung is brought to a local temple to receive a blessing ritual from priests.

The villagers then dump the blessed cow dung in an open area in the village. And after that, topless daredevils will rush to the side to prepare for the battle. It is surely a fierce one with bits of cow dung flying everywhere around. Only those who are brave enough would dare to stick around to capture the strange celebration on camera.

People attending the Gorehabba believe that touch the blessed cow dung would cure them of all disease and protect them from sickness. If you are wondering about the origin of the cow dung battle, apparently, it is believed by locals that Beereshwara Swamy, one of their deities, was born in cow dung.

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