Buffalo races in Negara Bali
A friend was asking me today about the buffalo (mekepung) races in Negara. A couple of years ago I went out there to see them and its was well worth it. The races are an insane mix of sport and circus, with pairs of riders and teams thrashing around an oval track, kicking up dust and sweat.
Negara, the town that gets credited with the buffalo races (its actually Parancak, next to a river estuary), is not close to Kuta. Getting to Negara will take at least 3-4 hours and with the races starting on Sunday mornings at 9am, you’d want to be in the area overnight. The buffalo races were introduced to Bali by Javanese farmers from Madura.
According to my book “Negara’s one significant attraction are its traditional buffalo races, or Mekepung, which are organized by the Jembrana authorities and held here every dry season, usually in August and then again between September and November (check with any Balinese tourist office for the dates and exact location; most tour agents sell all-inclusive trips to the races). The buffalo and their jockeys come from all parts of Jembrana district, divided into 2 teams according to whether they live east or west of Negara’s Ijo Gading River.”
Visiting the buffalo race I only saw 2 other foreingers. That is likely to be the case now also. Admission was free, if I recall and there were food and drink sellers. Each buffalo has a pancake of red blood dots on its backside, as the jockey uses a whip with a nail in it. Before the start chili paste is applied to the animal’s anus to give it that extra incentive (I’d like to try that on a few of England’s World Cup team).
By Nick | Permalink
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Buffalo Races in Negara Bali
Waking up at the Hotel Surya Asri in Negara I saw the sunshine behind the curtain and knew it was time to call Ketut who I had met the night before at the rock concert.
My phone said 6.45am and the Buffalo Races start at 8am he had said.
I showered and called Ketut at 7.30am. His phone wasn’t working so I got my stuff ready to go and quickly finished off the doughnut and tea the hotel staff had left me.
Riding along the main in the direction the staff had told me I wanted to make sure I was headed the right way. I asked a couple of different people who nodded and pointed. I ended up at a motorcycle race! The cops there thought it was hilarious and only knew what I was asking after I made the whipping motion with my arm, which they copied.
The doughnut and tea wasn’t quite enough and I took the opportunity to swing by a streetside vendor who was selling coffee and fried bananas (pisang goreng). Sitting next to me was a local kid who slapped my arm about once every 10 seconds for attention. He told me the lady who owned the stall was ‘cantik’ (pretty ) and already had ‘satu anak’ ( 1 kid). I got chatting to both of them as well as other people and we joked about the photos and me being 40 and not married….a recurring theme it seems like.
Soon I was on the right track and found the road which is slighly to the east of downtown heading towards the coast.
Arriving at the end of a pretty little street I saw the buffalo decked out in racing colors with their handlers close by. I was amazed how colorful this whole event was and that its not a major tourist attraction. I saw 2 other foreigners but other than that it was a local event.
The price of admission was 1,000rp and the local cops seemed in good spirits.
The history of the Buffalo Races or Mekepung date back to the nineteenth century when farmers from the island of Madura in NE Java emigrated here and introduced them. Negara has been an entry point over the last couple of centuries for Muslims from Madura and Sulawesi who came by boat and landed at the port of Perancak, sailing 7km up the river to Negara.
The race-track is 2 km in length and is shaped like a running track. There is a single dirt lane with a grass area at the side that allows an overtake a various points. The local banjar guys were organizing who was going next and races got under way very quickly.
The driver sits in a little 2-wheeled cart called a Cikar and welds a short whip that is used through out the entire race. On close inspection I could see that buffalo’s rears were speckled with blood after a good beating.
Locals gathered around the start and along the route and we all did our best to pay close attention in case any of the riders lost control. Whenever a team rode by it created a huge cloud of dust which would take a minute of 2 to clear, before the next pair would arrive a minute or 2 after.
There were 2 commentators, one speaking Indonesian, the other English. I thought it was very funny as all the English announcer had to say was ‘the red one is in front and the green one is coming’….how enlightening.
The setting was lovely, with a central paddy field and locals found shelter from the blistering sun anywhere they could. People liked having their photo taken and asked me where I was from and how far I had come. One guy looked like a 40 year old Gede ( listening Tracey?).
I am sure there was gambling going on and could see the usual board game going on as a sideline. The way the races are set up is that there are 2 teams of buffalos and riders that each come from a different side of the Ijo Gading River. When a pair wins it gains points for the team. After all the riders have gone they race in the opposite direction.
I decided I had seen enough and walked down the road to retrieve my motorbike. The road was now choked with teams of buffalo and riders lining up. The races go on all day and I recommend them as a unique thing to check out. As I say I saw only about 2 westerners. In 10 years time there will be tour buses coming in here and every photo will have another foreigner holding a camera. Now is the time to come to Bali and enjoy this kind of event, which like the Joged in Karangasem is really a local event.
Riding down the main road in the direction of Kuta I knew I still had plenty of day light left. Unfortunately I didn’t have any memory stick space left on my camera but still wanted to explore. I turned north off of the road close to Jembrana / Tabanan border and rode up a little dirt road to the top of a hill. A farmer strolled up and we did our best at communicating. He had bulls too and they had done a wonderful job and manicuring his hillside property.
Furthur down the coast at Suraberata I again rode inland and cruised at leisurely 15-20mph up the hills past small villages not even on my map. I’ve often associated Tabanan with the town and the horrid main road, but up here is a totally lovely part of Bali and the people were fast to return smiles. In a couple of hours I must of said hello to 70 people or more.
The narrow road swings back into Buleleng before coming back into Tabanan and winding through Pupuan. This is coffee growing country and I stopped at a little village for some more tea and a wafer. The family was all sitting around under their bale structure talking and eating nasi campur with their fingers. Granny was topless, wearing just a sarong and one of the sons spoke good English having worked in Legian. He told me his nickname was Nick and he grew coffee. For a kilo of beans he get 5,000rp. These are unroasted beans of course.
There is a huge waterfall close to Pupuan but I didn’t stop this time. Passing through Sanda I saw Sanda Bukit Villas, the place Mick had taken us for lunch once before. Highly recommended for a weekend getaway.
My route took me to Antosari, where I once again joined the busy road to Tabanan. Riding through to Mengwi I stopped at a place for a bowl of nasi and a small dish of fish soup. This cost me 3,000rp and came with fiery sambal, which is chilis and some onion. Just the thing to revitalize you.
I swung through Kerobokan and home quickly and safely, allowing speed merchants the right of way and trying to stay alert for the last leg of the trip.
I look forward to spending more time exploring Jembrana and Tabanan. My experience was that there is some lovely country just behind the highway, these areas see virtually no tourists and the locals are very friendly.
By Nick | Permalink |
9 comments | October 20th, 2003 | Trackback
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