Monument Vaca das cordas - Ponte de Lima

The Vaca das Cordas is a type of open-air bullfight , traditionally held in Ponte de Lima, Portugal.

The Vaca das Cordas tradition requires the animal – which is actually a bull – to go out into the streets at 6pm, led by about ten people and tied with two ropes . The animal is taken to the parish church and tied to the iron window of the bell tower, where it is immersed in red wine from the region, “over its back, to regain its strength”, according to local custom.

Then it goes around the church three times , always with accidents and a lot of tumbling from the locals who dare, after which it is taken to the long sandy beach of the town, which gives rise to adventures, with races, fears, falls and bruises.

It is a tradition whose origins can be traced back to the pagan gods Isis, Ceres and Bacchus. and takes place on the eve of the feast of Corpus Christi. The municipal regulations of 1646 already mention the need for millers to handle the ropes.

The tradition has its origins in a local legend which states that the mother church of the original village was a pagan temple where a goddess was worshipped in the form of a cow . When the pagan temple was converted into a church by the Christians, the statue of the goddess was taken from the niche where it was worshipped and, tied to ropes , was dragged through the streets of the village until it had completed three circuits of the temple, after which it was dragged through the streets of the village to the "joy" of all the inhabitants.

Willem Vandenameele