American content creator and YouTuber Tyler Oliveira recently released a 30-minute documentary on YouTube detailing his experience attending a centuries-old “poop festival” in a remote Indian village of Gumatapura located on the border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The event, known locally as Gorakh Habba (or Goraka Festival), is celebrated annually at the end of Diwali, where villagers engage in a large-scale ritual of collecting, smearing, and throwing cow dung as part of their religious and cultural beliefs.
According to Oliveira, villagers in Gumatapura spend nearly six months collecting cow dung from local cattle in preparation for the festival. The event honors Veerabhadra Swamy, a local deity whom villagers believe was born from sacred cow dung.
Locals explained that cow dung is considered holy in Hindu tradition, symbolizing purity, healing, and divine blessing. Many participants believe that playing with cow dung brings prosperity, good health, and even cures skin diseases.
According to the YouTuber, the villagers collected cow dung for months before the festival. Some villagers even claimed that consuming a small amount of cow dung daily could prevent cancer and strengthen immunity.
Before the “poop war” began, ritual bathing and worship ceremonies were performed at a local temple and nearby lake, where villagers cleansed themselves after the festival.
As part of the festivities, participants gathered around a large central pile of cow dung and engaged in what Oliveira described as an “intense dung war.”
Tractors unloaded truckloads of wet cow dung into the town square, where hundreds of men hurled handfuls of it at one another, coating themselves completely. Women did not participate in the throwing but helped collect and transport the dung.
The YouTuber described the experience as “the shittiest day of my life—literally.”
However, following the upload of a teaser clip two weeks before the full video release, Oliveira reported that he was met with online harassment and threats from individuals accusing him of mocking Indian traditions. “Tens of thousands of Indians tried to ruin my life,” he said, referencing the backlash on social media.
Despite the controversy, Oliveira expressed deep admiration for the villagers’ hospitality and emphasized that he intended to document, not demean, the unique cultural tradition.
At the end of his video, Oliveira humorously concluded, “Would I recommend it? No. Am I glad I did it? Absolutely. Will I ever forget it? Never.” He also announced plans to release an extended version of his documentary for subscribers on Patreon.
Here is the full YouTube video: