Abstract

In a recent two-part article in this journal, the authors of this note analysed the controversy surrounding the ritual bull-killing which takes place during the Ukweshwama "first fruits" ceremony held each year in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Peté and Crocker "Ancient Rituals and Their Place in the Modern World: Culture, Masculinity and the Killing of Bulls - Part One" 2012 33(2) Obiter 278-296; and Peté and Crocker "Ancient Rituals and Their Place in the Modern World: Culture, Masculinity and the Killing of Bulls - Part Two" 2012 33(3) 580-599). While much of the Ukweshwama ceremony is uncontroversial, the ritual killing of a bull by young Zulu warriors with their bare hands attracted strong opposition from certain animal-rights groups, which resulted in legal action and public controversy. The authors attempted to disentangle the different legal, historical, political and philosophical strands which combined to make up a complex story about the place of ancient rituals in the modern world, particularly those involving animal sacrifice. They also attempted to situate the controversy around the Ukweshwama bull-killing ritual within a contemporary global context, by comparing and contrasting the Zulu bull-killing ceremony on the one hand, and Spanish bullfighting on the other.