10 Weird Sports and Wacky Games in Bali

Head out to the West Bali region between the months of July and November for this annual local festivity, which features racing water buffaloes in a major Grand Prix.

Makepung is a principal highlight in the regency of Jembrana and involves farmers in the region entering their hundreds of pairs of buffaloes into scheduled races in different harvested rice field circuits, teamed up together with jockeys who mount race-modified wooden ploughs. There will be mud!

Perang Pandan is a major highlight in East Bali that’s part of a ceremony held around June and July each year. The event takes place in Tenganan, a well-preserved old Balinese village just north from the popular resort of Candidasa. The age-old tradition is unique only to this village and is also referred to locally as mekare-kare and megeret pandan.

The coming-of-age ritual sees friendly duels between all male villagers, who bout each other armed with a tied packet of thorny 'pandan' leaves in one hand and a small rattan shield in one hand and the other. There will be blood! Even so, all are friendly matches, with participants smiling and cheering on.

A series of kiting events take place over the windy season in Bali, between the months of July and August, and sometimes through October, each year. The festival runs through various dates and locations, but the main island event that features competitions amongst kite troupes from all over the island is held along the eastern coast of Padanggalak in Sanur.

Balinese kites are gigantic, with frames measuring up to eight meters in length (not counting the tails of some models). Hundreds of these colourful giants will take to the skies for this unique spectacle.

Head down to the village of Sesetan in Denpasar on the day following the Saka New Year celebration, and get ready to witness one of the island’s most peculiar festivals. The whole village descends to cheer on participating youths who get in line for the omed-omedan – roughly translated as ‘pull and tugs’, or even loosely, the ‘kissing festival’.

This is a localised event that sees boys get in one line and girls in another, and elders armed with buckets and hoses dousing them with water as both ends heave and push each other, with successively chosen couples in the middle.

Despite the controversy concerning animal welfare, cockfighting remains pretty much at large in Bali. The tajen rituals, otherwise known as tabuh rah or blood sacrifice, usually precedes temple rituals, and you can possibly witness one at ceremonies throughout Bali.

Even so, the pastime of raising cocks for 'friendly matches' is also prevalent in villages. Cockfighting is widespread throughout Southeast Asia, and much of the history of the sport in Bali dates back to the Majapahit kingdom via the neighbouring island of Java.

Cricket fighting, or mepalu jangkrik as it's known in the local tongue, involves crickets that were traditionally caught in the rice fields by young boys, who put them in special bamboo tube cages to be kept as pets for their chirping or occasionally entered into a ring for battle.

Some crickets were also selected, and ‘trained’ specifically for fights. These include a special diet, physical training, and even baths and massages!

Visit the village of Pujungan in the regency of Tabanan in West Bali and you might stand the chance to witness this favourite local pastime, involving wooden spinning tops.

Pujungan villagers have preserved this age-old tradition, enjoyed by young and old. Oftentimes when played by adults, gambling is involved. And just like the tradition of Balinese kites, megangsingan usually takes place after harvest times.

Panjat Pinang, or pole climbing, is a fun and cheerful activity that’s usually among the most anticipated games played during the Indonesian Independence Day celebrations, every 17th of August. A well-selected palm log is smothered in motor oil, and at the top end hang various items to be won by successful climbers who can reach the top.

Prizes range from umbrellas, shirts, and even unthinkable things such as bicycles and surfboards! The scuffle of human ladders collaborating to grab the best prizes at the very top is a big part of the spectacle.