Makepung – Jembrana, West Bali

West Bali is famous for its thrilling water buffalo races, known as Makepung, introduced by Madurese migrants to celebrate the end of the rice harvest. The competitive races take place outside Negara in the regency of Jembrana, on make-shift circuits laid out on dry dirt tracks in the harvested rice fields. Here the skilled jockeys race each other on 2-wheeled carts made from modified wooden ploughs, or cikar, and pulled by pair of water buffaloes. Makepung is derived from the word kepung, meaning “chase”, and is a festive event for the locals with often more than a hundred pair of buffaloes from two rivalling villages racing each other.