Interesting facts at the Indonesian bull racing festival

Every year, the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, Indonesia hold a bull racing festival to celebrate the harvest at the end of the season. This fierce bull racing festival is known as Pacu Jawi.

The Pacu Jawi bull racing tradition has been maintained for more than 400 years. The winning cows will be auctioned and bred. Festivals are part of the Minangkabau way of life and are always looked forward to at the end of each season.

In West Sumatra, a traditional bull race held in the rice fields after the harvest has resumed after the Covid-19 pandemic. However, in traditional races through rice fields, the cows cannot be controlled with sticks.

An indispensable feature of Paku Javi is its muddy level and the riders do not hesitate to rush into them.

Balancing isn't so easy - riders have to grab the tails of two cows during the race. They use their hands, feet, mouth and tail when needed to steer the bull in the right direction, run faster and reach the finish line as soon as possible.

If the cows cannot be held together and they run in different directions, the rider will fall into the mud.

According to the rules of the competition, sticks or whips cannot be used to 'drive away' cows. Barefoot racers stand on a wooden plank, then cling to the bull's tail on the track about 250m.

The only way to speed up is to bite the bull's tail.

Only healthy cows are allowed to participate in the Indonesian bullfighting competition. Most of them have been trained and taken care of carefully before the exam.

After the first few seconds of the race, the riders were covered in mud from head to toe.

This traditional annual bull racing festival has become a cultural beauty of Indonesia. The only reward for every effort given to a race-winning racer is the honor and admiration of others.

Through bull racing, the winning bulls will be sold for a high price. The proceeds will be used as investment capital for cultivation and animal husbandry in the next crop.

The festival attracts thousands of people to watch the dramatic bull races. Among the spectators were many traders.