14 DAY TRIAL // The Jiangcheng County, in China’s Yunnan Province, hosted an unusual competition on May 18 – a buffalo bodypainting contest in which artists from eight countries turned wild beasts into beautiful works of art.
Bodypainting artists created wild and bright patterns on buffaloes in order to win the 100,000 yuan ($16,042/€11,692) prize and the bragging rights to being the best buffalo painter around.
The China-Laos-Vietnam Bull Painting Festival, as the competition is called, took place in the city of Pu’er, which has held the cattle bodypainting contest for the last three years. This year’s event, however, was more special because it coincided with the 60th anniversary of the founding of Jiangcheng County.
A total of 48 water buffaloes participated in this year's competition, and they were all covered in vivid colors and intricate designs. Artists from United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Finland, New Zealand, Vietnam, Laos and China divided into groups of 3 to 7 and worked together to paint the bovine.
According to Amusing Planet, painting on the buffalos is an ancient custom in Jiancheng. Traditionally, the bulls were painted by the Hani people of China to ward off intruders.
The legend says that a group of water buffaloes were once attacked by a large tiger when they were grazing on the fields. The wild animal got into a fight with one of the bulls, and as they struggled around on the field, the buffalo's body was covered in mud and blood, which scared the tiger away. After the incident, locals began to paint on their cattle to keep the predators at bay.
Obviously, the threat of tigers and other intruders has diminished in modern times, but the tradition continued in the form of this highly popular festival, designed to celebrate harvest and honor the cattle.
Now, the bulls serve as a canvas for talented bodypainting artists who use their imagination to create beautiful landscapes, portraits, and intricate patterns on the otherwise brown or white animals' skin.
This year, the winning team was a group of local schoolchildren who walked away with the big prize.
Over ninety percent of present-day Hani people in China live in the Province of Yunnan in southern China, and they are mainly spread across the counties on the Honghe River. Their population, of about 1.4 million members, is mostly engaged in agriculture, worships nature, ghosts and spirits, and follow the belief that everything in the world has a soul.
Check out the gallery below to see some of the most interesting designs presented at the bull painting festival.
