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Category

Rituals

TAG

• Ascent to alpine pastures
• Cow fight
• Cows' queen
• Livestock breeding
• Mountain pasture
• Transhumance

WHERE

Saint-Nicolas (AO), Valle d’Aosta - Italy

The spontaneous cow battles take place on a large field, usually at the back of their sheds or by alpine houses. Cows are taken care of by their owners or herdsmen. Transhumance to summer high pastures involves truck transportation of the bovines from their sheds in the lowlands of the valley (Jovençan) through the district of Saint-Pierre, towards the small village of Vétan, where a dirt road leads to an alpine hut in about 30 minutes.

WHEN

The end of May

WHO

Quendoz Pierangelo
(informer)

Spontaneous cow fighting

(Bataille di vatse lo dzoo de l'ignarpa)

The most important rite at high pastures in the Alps is spontaneous cow fighting. Herds enjoy grazing at high alpine grasslands from mid-May to September, and during this time cow fights occur habitually. The fights on the day of inarpa (the day they climb up) are peculiar. After long winter months spent in their sheds in the lowland valleys, this is the first chance they have to enjoy freedom. Bovines might belong to several owners; some might share the same cowshed while others might not. Their first meeting results in a series of natural fights; men, who simply observe the event, do not influence these. The spontaneous cattle battle happens at a specific time and place, at the cattle farmer's discretion.
Usually, "flat" meadows by the sheds are selected as battlegrounds and cordoned off by a "string" so that the animals cannot run away. These fights generally occur in the afternoon, after having sheltered them in the barns or immediately after getting them off the cattle truck. These fights engage their combative instincts and can last a long time, even hours. The typical cowbells are not hung on their necks so that they will not get battered during the fight. The cowbell's main function is to signal the position of the animals in case herdsmen might lose sight of them. Spontaneous fights are very important. Cows fight each other to get supremacy, and the winning cow becomes the Queen of the Alpine pastures. The strongest cow will be the leader all summer long. This cow will protect the others in the shed and will have a privileged rapport with the owner, the latter being extremely proud of owning a Queen of the high pastures. This cow will give eminence to the whole herd and will show the owner's skills. Moreover, these kind of fights are important to give insights into the cow's performances. This is a fundamental view of the regional combats, which select the cows for the regional final contest among all the queens: The Battle of the Queens, Batailles de Reines.

HISTORICAL-ANALYTICAL NOTES

As far as the transhumance is concerned, it is interesting to know that the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between summer and winter pastures until 1960's in the Valle d'Aosta (the Aosta Valley) was totally on foot. To climb up, people and animals walked for many hours stopping to rest every so often. Cattle trucks did not even exist back then. Nowadays, many Alpine huts are connected to the lowlands by roads open to vehicles thanks to the intervention of the Regional Administration, and are therefore easily reached both by trucks and tractors.
As far as the Battle of the Queens, it is important to mention that the evolution of these spontaneous fights at high pastures has resulted in the eliminatory rounds where cows fight each other for leadership before the regional final of the Croix-Noire. These official fights were established when the Comitato Regionale Valdonsatono (Regional Committee of the Aosta Valley) was set up in 1958. Today it is called Associazione Regionale "Amis des Batailles de Reines", and it is 90% composed of regional cattle farmers. These combats take place thanks to the management panel, but also thanks to the voluntary activities carried out by the area committees, which in turn organize an event for the regional championship each Sunday.

COMMUNITY

The Quendoz brothers and their families raise and select bovine breeds.
All collaborators contribute to the survival of cattle breeders as a result of their jobs in the mountains.
People (who are not family members): friends and fond supporters of Reines, who attend these spontaneous fights at alpine pastures.

• Available in:
• ITA
• ENG
• FRA
• DEU

To learn more

Web Sites

• Archivi Assessorato Istruzione e Cultura - BREL
  
• Association Régionale Amis des Batailles de Reines
  

Bibliography

• Bétemps Alexis
  La vita negli alpeggi valdostani nella prima metà del ‘900
  Priuli & Verlucca 2009
  
• Gerbelle Giustino
  La Vallée des Reines
  Musumeci 1996
  
• Mathiou Francesco
  La Fontina – Dove e come nasce
  Musumeci 2006
  

Produced by

ITALIA Regione Valle d'Aosta - Ufficio Regionale per l'Etnologia e la Linguistica - Stéphanie Dalle

Scientific Advisor

Tiziana Fragno

Release Date

24-LUG-2013 (Stéphanie Dalle)

Last update

18-SET-2015

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