In this exciting competition, competitors
race on wooden car ts pulled by a pair
of buf falo dressed in fancy headdresses
and colour ful ornaments. The buf falo
run as fast as they can along the dir t
roads of small villages to come in first on
a racetrack measuring three kilometres
long. Aside from the races, there are
buf falo fashion shows, where animals
compete in parades and are awarded
prizes by judges!YOU WON’T FIND THESE COMPETITIONS
IN THE OLYMPICS! INSTEAD, THEY’RE
POPULAR AMONG FARMERS AND
PLAYED IN LOCAL VILLAGES AND PADDY
FIELDS.
INDONESIA’S
ANCIENT RACES
On the island of Sumatra, the people
used to celebrate a good har vest by
racing oxen through muddy paddy
fields. Today, the races happen almost
year round! Farmers balance wooden
ploughs between two oxen and ride
through the water. The oxen are so hard
to control that some competitors even
fall in the water, to much laughter
from the audience!MAKEPUNG
A BUFFALO RACE ON CARTSShould Animals Race?
Although these races are traditional
for the people of Indonesia, making
animals par ticipate in races causes
them pain and stress. Many
of them get injured, and are often
whipped and beaten to make
them run faster.PACU JAWI
A MUDDY SPLASH THROUGH FIELDS1919
No.49 Issue 3