Jembrana Cup

All competitors are excited. The crowd is positioned along Tuwed circuit to watch the Makepung Final Cup, the yearly Buffalo’s Race which is held in the Jembrana Regency - West Bali. The water buffalo, called Kerbau Pepa, are decorated with garlands of flowers and picturesque golden crowns. They are strong. They are fighters. Trained by their jockeys that riding traditional wooden plows, slightly modified for the competition, are preparing to complete the competition of their lives. On the eve of the finals - the Governor's Cup and the Jembrana Cup - there is a gathering among the racing teams called sekaa makepung with the Jembrana regent, followed by great celebrations and dances. The races, which take place between July and November, are one of the unique traditions stemmed from the agrarian life scene of the island and prevented the shift of land for farming use to bulding use, as well as helping to promote tourism to this far flung western location. Children are placed on the few trees that surround the circuit, to shelter from the sweltering heat and get a better view of the challenge. All are ready for the “Kepung”, the "Hunting". Some men with whips and spiked sticks incite buffaloes on the starting line and hit them with force to make them leave. A dust’s cloud raises and engulfs everybody. Some ones are so close to the buffaloes that are likely to not be overwhelmed by the hooves galloping. The jockeys don’t refrain and whizzing around the track trying to pass the cart in front of them. Hundreds of Water Buffaloes challenge for hours, spurred by the screaming crowd. It 's a party for everybody: the children play with kites, the elders wave their sticks to the passage of each competitor, the women prepare fried chicken and walk among the audience with hot drinks. The refrigerator is a luxury in these latitudes and the warm sun of November has already melted all the ice blocks, but nobody seems to be complaining. Men are only concentrated on the race, lighting one cigarette after another and waiting for Buffalo Racers to the finish line. And how it all started, so it completes with some new winners. The jockeys are back to be farmers, the Buffaloes, acclaimed as kings, are stripped of their crowns and brought to the range and the circuits, animated for one day, get back to be only the green rice fields that colour the Island of the Gods.