When most of us think of Diwali, what comes to mind is a North Indian template – rows of diyas, bursts of crackers, boxes of sweets, and Lakshmi puja. But this dominant image barely scratches the surface of how Diwali has been and still is celebrated in parts of South India.

From cow dung fights to early morning oil baths and buffalo parades, the southern states bring a wildly different, deeply earthy, and highly symbolic set of rituals to the Festival of Lights. Some are still practiced, many are fading, and almost all have been forgotten by urban India.

The Cow Dung Fight Called Gorehabba

In Gumatapura, a village on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border, Diwali ends not with a quiet oil lamp but with cow dung flying through the air. Known as Gorehabba, this festival is held a day after Diwa

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