HERITAGE
While top athletes duke it out in Jakarta
stadiums, Indonesia’s agrarian backwaters
have their own versions of sport entertainment,
starring the very bovines that plough their fields
The Harvest Games
BULL RUN
MAKEPUNG: (A Chase)
West Bali, Jembrana regency
WHEN: July to November, various
circuits across the Melaya district
WHERE: 3-kilometre-long dirt track circuits
Once a celebration of the rice harvest by
Madurese migrants, then popularised and
formalised in the 1930s, this water buffalo grand
prix sees hundreds of jockeys and their animal
companions vie for the Jembrana Regent’s
Cup. Only the best of the racers participate in
below A makepung
race in Indonesiathe finals in Tuwed village’s Sangyang Cerik
circuit, typically at the year’s end. To clinch
the USD1,500 winnings – the equivalent
of a farmer’s annual salary – jockeys must
surpass their rivals by more than 10 metres to
compensate for staggered starting times. A
60-year-old rivalry between teams from the east
and west banks of the Ijo Gading River pit the
green flags of the Barat team against the Timur’s
red, but both sides take pride in showing off
equally bedecked wooden carts and water
buffalo in elaborate headdresses.DATA SOURCES: INDOHOY, ROVE, CLAUDIO SIEBER, BALI-INDONESIA,
TOPEND SPORTS, KNOJI, THE NATION, TIMES OF INDIA
PHOTOS © SHUTTERSTOCK