Tool, weapon or symbol, the trident is essential to the guardian…

Outil du gardian, le trident est utilisé pour diriger l'animal.

Au Cailar, des artisans fabriquaient ce fameux "ficheroun". 

The manufacture of tridents in Cailar was renowned, in particular thanks to the craftsmen Mathieu Bonfort, around 1910, then his son Camille who, to mark his work kept his father's stamp, but also Gédéon Blatière who had as clients bouvine people: the Campoul, Servière, Chabaud, Daudet, Bouix, Papinaud…

But as Guy Chatel asks, is it a tool, a weapon or a symbol ? As early as 1550, we found a definition by Quiqueran de Beaujeu, and it was called Ficheroun. It is found in many countries, especially in Muslim countries, in Austria, in Bavaria during jousting, used by gladiators, but fishermen's weasels in Vaccarès and other lakes also existed, and may have given birth to this tool. At that time, the herdsmen fished a lot and used it for bullfighting games, and therefore evolved the form, at the same time as they also evolved it.< /p>

Necessary tool for sorting bulls

We used it for sorting, placement in the tank, the toril. Initially, the man and the bull were closer, the dams did not exist! They were kept “with a planted stick”, the handle was therefore shorter than that which was used to sort or to meet the iron if the bull wanted to escape or which jumps too much and does not want to return at the toril. It is sometimes used to train the simbèu, but also to hold it in iron, so that it fears man, and to overthrow the anouble during ferrade.

The artisans of Cailar have long made tridents. Midi Libre – E.L.

Currently, in daily work, the trident is used to place or direct animals. In order to carry out his task successfully, the herdsman has no interest in "prick" the bull. To avoid hurting him, we use rounded tips. Unfortunately, some "gardians" use the ficheroun at any time (which should also be in the hands of the pelot, the bayle or the salaried herdsman), thus causing injuries and the ire of tourists and animal rights activists, but should # 39;use only wisely.

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