To mark the end of Diwali, this Indian village celebrates a cow dung festival

This weekend, as part of one village’s unique ritual, to celebrate the conclusion of the Diwali holiday, ecstatic crowds pelted each other with fistfuls of cow dung.

Residents of Gumatapura throw snowball-sized wads of cow manure, similar to Spain’s “La Tomatina,” an unusual tomato-hurling celebration of the local fruit.

The Gorehabba festival begins with the collecting of “ammunition” from cow-owning households in the village, which is located on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border. Tractor trolleys transport the manure to the local temple, where a priest performs a blessing ritual.

The manure is then deposited in an open location, where men and boys wade through to prepare their weapons for the upcoming battle.

People travel from all over the world to Gumatapura every year, and for those who attend, the messy battle is as much about fun as it is about the purported health advantages.

“If they have a disease, it will get cured,” said Mahesh, a farmer at Saturday’s festival.

In Hinduism, the cow is a sacred symbol of life and the earth, and for centuries Hindus have used cow dung for prayer rituals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pushed for greater protection of the animals, and many states have long banned their slaughter for meat.