This post is about a breed of cattle originated in south india called Manapparai Maadu. Basically this area is in the cauvery delta region and this breed is one of the breed which suits this region well and provides a great draught power.
These are very elegant creatures which is not so sleek as the halliker at the same time not so bulkier like the kangayam. It is a mid sized draught animal.
Our elders bred and raised cattle specific to that region and requirements. The requirement for this breed is to have a slim leg so that it doesn't get caught up in river sand or the marshy paddy fields. The local pastures doesn't have much of rich fodder and it is solely dependent on the locally available rice hay, cotton seeds and rarely oil cakes. Hence its difficult for these small farmers to maintain a bulkier animal like kangayam, and hence manapparai maadu is very famous here.Farmers in this region have an average of 2.5 to 5 acres and its supplied with rain and river water through out the year, this draught power is sufficient.
Average price of this bull is from Rs 30000 to Rs 50000, they have a good reputation in rekhala racing
This breed is usually pure white in colour, they are so well bred that their frame is intact and has a clear gait while pulling load or during racing.
They castrate the bull before deploying them for pulling load and they don't de-horn bulls of this breed.
The bull shown below is mature and would be 7 years old, see its horns.
To buy a manaaparai bull, the right place is to go to manapparai shandy which occurs on every wednesday in manapparai. I ve been there and its like a pushkar fair for cattle. But the traders and customers face a lot of issues due to no basic infrastructure in the shandy. One more speciality of this place is murukku and even now its made with that same authentic taste
Kangayam is another cattle which is really huge and I think its the next largest breed to Ongole bull. The reason it was bred like this is, the areas around kangayam is hilly and the animal has to pull the load really strong on steep roads. Farmers in this region don't cultivate rice instead they grow millet and corn and these regions don't have proper river water supply and its totally dependent on rain and well irrigation, also they own on average more than 5 acres. Hence they need more draught power for vast ploughing and well irrigation. Another advantage is they feed cattle with millet/corn straw and co4 grass which is available in plenty in this region which supports an animal like kangayam. These bulls also have a very good reputation in the jallikattu.
Average price of a kangayam bull is Rs.50000 to Rs.1 Lakh
For more details on kangayam cattle please visit : http://www.kangayambull.com/
Picture below courtesy http://www.kangayambull.com/
Its our duty to support these breeds by adding them to our farms or monetarily the farmers who breed them.
Also we should create a centralized study material on how to rear these animals and basic skills like reining bulls, shoeing them, castrating etc. This would be useful for educated people who come to agriculture and start from scratch.
These are very elegant creatures which is not so sleek as the halliker at the same time not so bulkier like the kangayam. It is a mid sized draught animal.
Our elders bred and raised cattle specific to that region and requirements. The requirement for this breed is to have a slim leg so that it doesn't get caught up in river sand or the marshy paddy fields. The local pastures doesn't have much of rich fodder and it is solely dependent on the locally available rice hay, cotton seeds and rarely oil cakes. Hence its difficult for these small farmers to maintain a bulkier animal like kangayam, and hence manapparai maadu is very famous here.Farmers in this region have an average of 2.5 to 5 acres and its supplied with rain and river water through out the year, this draught power is sufficient.
Average price of this bull is from Rs 30000 to Rs 50000, they have a good reputation in rekhala racing
This breed is usually pure white in colour, they are so well bred that their frame is intact and has a clear gait while pulling load or during racing.
They castrate the bull before deploying them for pulling load and they don't de-horn bulls of this breed.
The bull shown below is mature and would be 7 years old, see its horns.
To buy a manaaparai bull, the right place is to go to manapparai shandy which occurs on every wednesday in manapparai. I ve been there and its like a pushkar fair for cattle. But the traders and customers face a lot of issues due to no basic infrastructure in the shandy. One more speciality of this place is murukku and even now its made with that same authentic taste
Photo courtesy : THE HINDU
Kangayam is another cattle which is really huge and I think its the next largest breed to Ongole bull. The reason it was bred like this is, the areas around kangayam is hilly and the animal has to pull the load really strong on steep roads. Farmers in this region don't cultivate rice instead they grow millet and corn and these regions don't have proper river water supply and its totally dependent on rain and well irrigation, also they own on average more than 5 acres. Hence they need more draught power for vast ploughing and well irrigation. Another advantage is they feed cattle with millet/corn straw and co4 grass which is available in plenty in this region which supports an animal like kangayam. These bulls also have a very good reputation in the jallikattu.
Average price of a kangayam bull is Rs.50000 to Rs.1 Lakh
For more details on kangayam cattle please visit : http://www.kangayambull.com/
Picture below courtesy http://www.kangayambull.com/
Its our duty to support these breeds by adding them to our farms or monetarily the farmers who breed them.
Also we should create a centralized study material on how to rear these animals and basic skills like reining bulls, shoeing them, castrating etc. This would be useful for educated people who come to agriculture and start from scratch.
thank you for writing about manaparai maadu ... posts are rare about manaparai maadu
ReplyDeleteI want more details about Manapparai cows
ReplyDeleteWell written article!
ReplyDeletethanku.
https://nattumadu.in/blog/tamil-nadu-native-cattle-breeds/
Very Use Info about cattle, Thanks for Sharing.
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