#makepung

BALIPORTALNEWS.COM, JEMBRANA - Sirkuit All In One Jembrana yang ada di pesisir Desa Pengambengan diresmikan langsung pemanfaatannya oleh Menteri Pariwisata Ekonomi Kreatif, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno. Berdiri diatas lahan seluas 4 hektare, pembangunan sirkuit terpadu bersumber dari  DAK Kemenparekraf  RI akan dipusatkan sebagai tempat atraksi budaya dan wisata di Kabupaten Jembrana. Peresmian Sirkuit All In One semakin lengkap dengan dipentaskannya Tarian Bakti Marga secara massal. Tarian Bakti Marga melibatkan 2.023 penari diambil dari kalangan siswi SMP dan SMA se-Kabupaten Jembrana yang diiringi dengan atraksi gambelan 50 kesenian jegog, atraksi mekepung dan paramotor yang mengudara diatas lahan sirkuit. Dalam kesempatanya, Bupati Jembrana, I Nengah Tamba mengatakan bahwa Sirkuit All On One ini jadi pusat atraksi budaya seperti makepung, lomba layang-layang, jegog, pacuan kuda serta festival lainnya. “Arti keberadaan Sirkuit All In One menjadi pusat atraksi budaya terpadu, tidak hanya untuk tempat aktrasi makepung dan jegog saja, namun seluruh atraksi budaya lainnya bisa dipentaskan di sini. Termasuk festival-festival yang akan menjadi kalender pariwisata Jembrana. Kita siapkan ini untuk menunggu Jembrana emas tahun 2026,” ujar Bupati Tamba, Jumat (30/12/2022) di Sirkuit All In One. Menurutnya momentum pembangunan Sirkuit All In One itu seiring dengan pembangunan jalan tol yang menghubungkan Kabupaten Jembrana dengan pusat kota diyakini akan mendorong masuknya investasi ke Jembrana. Pihaknya berharap pembangunan jalan tol tidak akan bergeser dari tahun 2025 dan terselesaikan ditahun 2026. “Setelah infrastruktur sudah bagus wisatawan pasti akan berbondong-bondong datang ke Jembrana. Yang mereka cari salah satunya atraksi budaya. Termasuk makepung, lomba layang-layang, pacuan kuda dan jegog,” kata Tamba. Dalam kesempatannya, Bupati Tamba menyampaikan terima kasih kepada Menteri Parekraf RI, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno. Karena dibangunnya sirkuit all in one ini merupakan sepenuhnya bantuan dari kementerian melalui dana alokasi khusus (DAK) sebesar Rp4,5 miliar. “Jembrana sangat berharap dukungan dari Pak Menteri hari ini hadir menyaksikan sendiri antusias masyarakat ingin menyambut kehadiran Pak Menteri dan memberikan apresiasi atas kehadiran Pak Menteri dan sumbangsih bantuan dana kepada pemerintah kabupaten Jembrana sehingga Sirkuit All In One ini bisa kita bangun seperti yang Pak Menteri saksikan. Sirkuit All In One ini juga sengaja kita rancang dengan view sunset,” ungkap Tamba.

Makepung or bull race is the only spectacular crowd-gather event that is held in Jembrana Regency. Even the regency itself is nick named after this sport event, Bumi Makepung or Land of Bull Race. The origin of Makepung is quite a mystery, some say it began as nothing more than rivalry between local farmers; others assume that it is introduced by Madurese migrants to celebrate the end of the rice harvest.

This ancient competitive race takes place on a race track about 800 meters long situated outside Negara, the capital city of Jembrana. The races are usually held three times a year, in August, September, and October. Only the handsomest, sleekest water buffaloes are chosen to compete. Once a bull has been chosen as a racer, it receives endless care and attention from its owner. It lives in luxury unlike its unfortunate brother or sister which works the fields.

Potential champion is housed separately in comfortable lodging and fed special protein diet full to enhance its racing performance. The Makepung starts in the morning and by mid-day it’s all over. Early in the morning, 100 water buffaloes decorated with colorful silk flags, ribbons and jangling bells are led into the race track by their owners. Hundreds of spectators are already gathered, mostly men and boys.

The owners parade their buffaloes on the race track before the crowd of spectators. This prelude may take an hour or so. After the parade session is over, the buffaloes are striped off from their ornaments and a pair of buffaloes is teamed with a brightly clad jockey. The paired buffaloes are yoked to a rickety, gaily decorated two-wheel chariot. Two pairs of water buffaloes or more compete in each race.

To gain speed, the jockeys twist the bull’s tail and lash their backs with whips. These heavy, awkward looking, clumsy and meek animals transform into galloping juggernauts, capable of tremendous speed (60 kph). Entrants are judged not only for speed but also awarded point for strength, color, and style. The winning bulls are used for stud and fetch up to twice market value when sold. A variation of makepung is the magembeng, in which a pair of bulls is harnessed together and decorated with elaborate ornaments. Huge wooden bells (gembeng) are hung around their necks, making distinctive sounds as the bulls race across the field dragging the colorfully dressed jockeys behind them on the skids.

MAKEPUNG TRADITION

Makepung Makepung or bull race is the only spectacular crowd-gather event that is held in Jembrana Regency.

MAKEPUNG TRADITION

Makepung Makepung or bull race is the only spectacular crowd-gather event that is held in Jembrana Regency.

MAKEPUNG TRADITION

Makepung Makepung or bull race is the only spectacular crowd-gather event that is held in Jembrana Regency.

Makepung or bull race is the only spectacular crowd-gather event that is held in Jembrana Regency. Even the regency itself is nick named after this sport event, Bumi Makepung or Land of Bull Race. The origin of Makepung is quite a mystery, some say it began as nothing more than rivalry between local farmers; others assume that it is introduced by Madurese migrants to celebrate the end of the rice harvest.

This ancient competitive race takes place on a race track about 800 meters long situated outside Negara, the capital city of Jembrana. The races are usually held three times a year, in August, September, and October. Only the handsomest, sleekest water buffaloes are chosen to compete. Once a bull has been chosen as a racer, it receives endless care and attention from its owner. It lives in luxury unlike its unfortunate brother or sister which works the fields.

Potential champion is housed separately in comfortable lodging and fed special protein diet full to enhance its racing performance. The Makepung starts in the morning and by mid-day it’s all over. Early in the morning, 100 water buffaloes decorated with colorful silk flags, ribbons and jangling bells are led into the race track by their owners. Hundreds of spectators are already gathered, mostly men and boys.

The owners parade their buffaloes on the race track before the crowd of spectators. This prelude may take an hour or so. After the parade session is over, the buffaloes are striped off from their ornaments and a pair of buffaloes is teamed with a brightly clad jockey. The paired buffaloes are yoked to a rickety, gaily decorated two-wheel chariot. Two pairs of water buffaloes or more compete in each race.

To gain speed, the jockeys twist the bull’s tail and lash their backs with whips. These heavy, awkward looking, clumsy and meek animals transform into galloping juggernauts, capable of tremendous speed (60 kph). Entrants are judged not only for speed but also awarded point for strength, color, and style. The winning bulls are used for stud and fetch up to twice market value when sold. A variation of makepung is the magembeng, in which a pair of bulls is harnessed together and decorated with elaborate ornaments. Huge wooden bells (gembeng) are hung around their necks, making distinctive sounds as the bulls race across the field dragging the colorfully dressed jockeys behind them on the skids.

MAKEPUNG TRADITION

Makepung Makepung or bull race is the only spectacular crowd-gather event that is held in Jembrana Regency.

MAKEPUNG TRADITION

Makepung Makepung or bull race is the only spectacular crowd-gather event that is held in Jembrana Regency.

Wearing crowns and colourful horn coverings, the buffaloes haul wooden carts at high speed past paddy fields on Bali, with the racers aboard cracking whips in a bid to push their beasts on to victory.

Hundreds of spectators cheer from the sidelines, hoping their team will come out on top in the annual festival on the Indonesian island reminiscent of chariot racing.

The buffalo racing, known as "Makepung", pits two farming communities against each other in western Jembrana district, in a tradition that marks the rice harvesting season.

A world away from the popular tourist hangouts further south on the island, the races are an awe-inspiring spectacle that see participants stand on speeding carts with flags fluttering from the top, as two buffaloes pull each of the rudimentary vehicles.

But the races, which have been held annually for decades, are falling out of favour -- regular competitors are now elderly and few of the younger villagers are keen to take up the sport.

"I am old now, and there is no new generation," said Kadek Nuraga, 51, who has been racing for the West Ijo Gading community for over 35 years.

"Many of the older racers would like to retire, some are already over 60, but they simply don't have much choice. Somebody needs to preserve the tradition."

Ageing racers

Nowadays younger people tend to leave Jembrana once they have reached adolescence in search of better education in cities, and community elders complain that those who stay are more interested in playing video games than the high-speed buffalo races.

One of Nuraga's sons, now aged 27, has already left his village, and he is training his neighbour's teenage son at the weekends so he can take up the reins of the sport in the future.

But training a good competitor takes time and the older a competitor gets, the easier it is for him to fall off a speeding cart, said Makepung chief organiser Made Mara. Some veteran racers have even died after tumbling off speeding carts.

There is such a shortfall of people wanting to take part some teams are having to hire racers, said Komang Hendra, Jembrana tourism chief.

But this costs 100,000 rupiah ($7.50) per race, a hefty sum in a country where many earn the equivalent of two to three dollars a day.

Still for many Jembrana residents the investment is worthwhile due to the potential financial gain.

The typical prize money for each session of the Makepung race is 25 million rupiah ($1,900) but that is split among the whole winning team, often made up of 1-200 people.

But the value of a pair of victorious animals tends to soar on the local market and some can reach prices of 175 million rupiah.

Decades of tradition

The Makepung tradition started in the 1960s when two communities on either side of the Ijo Gading river took a competitive approach to working their fields, with farmers racing each other as they laboured.

What started off as a bit of fun evolved into a serious competition and now the communities field teams each year for the racing season.

The season runs from July to November, with races roughly every fortnight, and this year involved about 300 water buffaloes.

The competitors from the West Ijo Gading team dress in green and adorn their carts with green flags, while those from the East Gading Team use the colour red.

A race day usually lasts about five hours, with numerous races that each typically see one cart from each community hurtling down a track that measures about 1,500 metres (5,000 feet).

There are four categories, with buffaloes deemed the fastest in the first category. One of the communities is declared the winner at the end of a day's racing.

While the sport does not lure tourists in the same numbers as Bali's palm-fringed beaches, each race day usually attracts foreigners, in addition to many locals.

For most Jembranese, the financial gains are just a bonus and the real attraction is the prestige.

Karapan sapi is an annual folk festival of the Maduranese. This requires a pair of bulls connected by wooden yoke and a plow (called kaleles) on which the jockey slash racer stands and keeps everything in balance while the beast speed up like they’re on fire. And yeah, to be the jockey requires a lot of cojones and huge amount of badassery. Karapan sapi by Chan Kwok Hung, Hong Kong/Courtesy of…

Dalam pelaksanaannya, sepasang sapi pilihan akan menarik jokinya dalam rangkaian tempat duduk yang telah dihias dengan berbagai perlengkapan khas Bali sebagai atraksi yang mengagumkan. Tradisi kuno yang unik ini akhirnya telah diresmikan oleh Bupati Buleleng pada 2002 silam sebagai Kelompok Usaha Ternak Sapi Wiwit Merta Sari. Karena telah diresmikan maka kegiatan inipun kini sudah bisa dilaksanakan dengan lebih tertib dan terprogram dengan baik.

Dalam pertunjukan sapi Gerumbungan, sepasang sapi pada lehernya dihubungkan dengan kayu yang dinamakan “uga”, ditengah-tengah uga tersebut terbentang kayu sepanjang 3 meter tempat si joki berdiri. Seperti Karapan sapi/ makepung di Kabupaten Jembrana, sapi-sapi tersebut dihiasi, digantungkan sebuah genta besar dinamakan Gerumbungan. Peserta sapi-sapi jantan tersebut sudah terlatih. Pertunjukan ini berlangsung 2 jam saja, dari pukul 08.00 – 10.00 wita bertepatan pada hari minggu di Bulan Agustus.

Lokasinya diadakannya pertunjukan ini berada berdekatan dengan objek wisata Lovina sehingga selain penduduk lokal, wisatawan yang kebetulan liburan di kawasan Bali Utara kelihatan antusias menyaksikan pertunjukan.

SAPI GERUMBUNGAN, BALAP SAPI DARI SINGARAJA

Banyak tradisi unik, warisan dari leluhur masih berkembang baik dikalangan masyarakat di Pulau Bali, tradisi inilah yang juga membuat Bali menjadi terkenal di mata dunia, salah satunya adalah Sapi Gerumbungan dipertunjukkan di lapangan desa Kaliasem, Lovina, Kabupaten Buleleng sebuah pertunjukan seni yang dilakukan oleh para petani usai membajak garapan mereka.

SAPI GERUMBUNGAN, BALAP SAPI DARI SINGARAJA

Banyak tradisi unik, warisan dari leluhur masih berkembang baik dikalangan masyarakat di Pulau Bali, tradisi inilah yang juga membuat Bali menjadi terkenal di mata dunia, salah satunya adalah Sapi Gerumbungan dipertunjukkan di lapangan desa Kaliasem, Lovina, Kabupaten Buleleng sebuah pertunjukan seni yang dilakukan oleh para petani usai membajak garapan mereka.