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).