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RUNNING WITH
THE BULLS OF PAMPLONA - page 3
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The
first bull burst through the mob,
catching a man in his lower back
and throwing him against the
stone walls of the alley. As the
bull came forward, swiftly, one
can do nothing but press up
against the walls of the alleys
and pray that the horns will pass
and not catch the soft flesh of
one's stomach or thigh. When the
first bull passed, I felt not
fear, but disbelief. You wait.
You stand. And the bull passes. Amongst
the six bulls are eight massive
steers – grey or white and
spotted – meant to create
the ambience of a herd.
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A bull is most
dangerous when it is alone, and when in
isolation a bull will thrash and charge
relentlessly. There is folklore about
certain bulls, once isolated from their
herd, having killed eight men in one
sequence of charges. But a group of bulls
amongst steers will conform to the fluid
shape of the herd, ignoring the
distractions posed by aberrant runners.
This is a psychological fact about bulls
that is true. One hopes.
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tail of the fourth bull that I
dashed into an opening in front
of two charging steers. If there
is any bit of strategy in running
with the bulls, it is merely this:
because of a bull's herd-psychology,
if one can fall into the wild
cadence of the herd, one can run
safely amongst the bulls. To my
right and left, the bulls and
steers plowed and gored aberrant
runners.Bodies whipped to the
cobblestone streets with slapping
impact. The fleeing runners
crushed one another against
wooden barricades and stone walls.
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The runners that
stumbled were trampled or gored. But
within the herd floated a silent cloud of
fluency. Through the shadowy arches of
the stadium we entered, men falling and
scrambling on their knees– you have
to hurdle the fallen runners, or kick
them clear, to remain safe within the
herd -- until we entered the great dirt
circle of the Plaza del Toros.
Continue
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& Beyond designs special San Fermín
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Relationship
Disclosure |
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This article written By Jaed Muncharoen Coffin: Jaed Coffin is the author of, soon to be published, A CHANT TO SOOTHE WILD ELEPHANTS, Da Capo Press, and currently lives between Alaska, Maine, and Spain.
Photographs kindly supplied by Jorge Garcia-Eickelberg with arrangements through Madrid and Beyond. |
