What is Kambala?

About Kambala:

• It is a folk sport practised in coastal Karnataka districts, especially in regions where Tulu speakers form a majority.
• Earlier, races would be organised by various families and groups in the slushy paddy fields in the days after the harvest.
• It is a prestige event for many families, especially from the Bunt community in the coastal regions.
• Pairs of buffaloes are groomed by them around the year in hopes of winning a major Kambala event or other races.
• Different categories of Kambala: Kambala is generally held under four categories.
  • Negilu (plough): where lighter ploughs are used to tie buffaloes for the race. The event is for entry-level buffalo pairs, participating in their first Kambala race.
  • Hagga (rope): Where buffaloes are raced by jockeys with just a rope tied to both buffaloes. 
  • Adda Halage: In which participants stand over a horizontal plank which is dragged by buffaloes. Unlike Hagga and Negilu, where jockeys run behind the animals, buffaloes drag the jockeys in Adda Halage.
  • Kane Halage: In this, a wooden plank is tied to buffaloes. The plank, on which jockeys stand, has two holes through which water gushes out as the plank is dragged along the slush tracks. The height to which water splashes determines the winner of the event.