CORRIDA DE GRMEČ

It is in a disused quarry on Popović Hill (Popovića Brdo/Поповића Брдо), near the small center of Oštra Luka, that a prestigious fighting bull competition known as the "Grmeč bullfight" (Grmečka Korida/Грмечка корида) has been held annually since 1996. An impressive spectacle, without real cruelty and of very ancient origin, which is gradually becoming fashionable again.

A delocalized tradition. The "Grmeč bullfight" (pronounced "greumèche") is an old tradition. The breeders of the region organized it since 1772 in the Grmeč mountain range, near Sanski Most. Specifically, it was in the now abandoned village of Međeđe Brdo (38 km south of Oštra Luka) that the fighting took place until the beginning of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian war in 1992. At the end of the conflict, most of the Bosnian-Serb inhabitants left Međeđe Brdo and the Grmeč massif, taking their livestock with them. Resettled in Oštra Luka, it was there that they revived the custom of the "Grmeč bullfight" in 1996. The name has remained, but the event is now held in an old quarry on Popović Hill. Until now, only breeders and some local residents, as well as a few onlookers, attended the fights organized as part of a small livestock fair. Barely 2,000 people before the Covid-19 crisis. But that could soon change, as the municipality of Oštra Luka now intends to promote the event to attract tourists. The goal is to return to the glory days of the "Grmeč bullfight", when it attracted up to 200,000 spectators in the 1970s.

Nothing to do with the Spanish bullfight. For now, except for the location of the fights, the tradition remains the same. The korida takes place on the first Sunday of August on the occasion of the great Serbian festival of Ilinden, the day of St. Elijah, which corresponds to July 20 according to the Orthodox liturgical calendar but to August 2 according to the universal calendar. About twenty animals are in the running and the rules have nothing to do with those of the Spanish bullfight. Two bulls confront each other. Each one tries to force his rival to leave the arena, a simple grass track. The bull that is pushed out of the circle or stops fighting loses. The one who stays wins, usually without bloodshed. Because the breeders want to show off the strength of their breeding stock. They are not allowed to intervene and everything depends on the survival instinct of the bulls. Over a day or two, depending on the number of animals involved, the fights continue until the final of each weight category: up to 700 kg, up to 850 kg and over 850 kg. For this last category, the most prestigious, the owner wins a prize of 1,500 KM (about 750 €).

The other "corrida de Grmeč". The "Grmeč bullfight" is the oldest and most famous in the country. But it is not the only one. There is already another event that follows the same rules, enjoys the same prestige and has exactly the same name. It is the "Grmeč bullfight" from the village of Gornji Budelj, very close to the ancestral arena of Međeđe Brdo. For when the Bosnian-Serb breeders left in 1995, their Bosnian-Croat colleagues also revived the tradition after four years of war. Some of them, refugees in Switzerland during the conflict, even brought back to Gornji Budelj a new breed: the Hérens cow. It comes from the canton of Valais, where traditional fights are also organized, but between cows and not between bulls. The Bosnian breeders have selected the best males to bring them here. Another difference is the date. In Gornji Budelj, the "bullfight" also takes place on the occasion of St. Elijah's Day, but it is the "normal" calendar that is followed, not the Orthodox one. These fights take place on the weekend around July 20.

And also in Tropolje, in eastern Bosnia ... The rivalry between the two "Grmeč bullfights" has largely benefited other bullfights in the region. For there is a real craze for bullfighting among the local public. Organized since the end of World War II, the "Čevljanovići bullfight" in Gornji Čevljanovići, 37 km north of Sarajevo, has become the most important in the country. Around July 20, it now attracts both Bosnian, Bosnian-Croat and Bosnian-Serb breeders and, most importantly, about 50,000 spectators. A large gathering that gives rise to pantagruelian meals, shows for informed public and, incidentally, bullfights similar to those of Oštra Luka and Gornji Budelj. The municipality of Bijeljina, in the northwest of the country, has recently organized its own korida in honor of the Bosnian Serb writer Petar Kočić, who was the first to describe the fights in Grmeč, in 1902. Relaunched since 1988, the bullfights in Rastovača, Tropolje, are also another important event in July and September. But they are part of a much older tradition than in Gornji Čevljanovići or Bijeljina. In fact, the existence of "Bosnian bullfighting" is historically attested in at least twenty localities across the country, and even in the bordering region of Lika, Croatia (Inner Dalmatia). The origins of this practice could be traced back to antiquity, as was the case in Greece.