Harvest Race

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Few people may know the small village of Turawan, some 120 kilometers from the West Sumatran capital of Padang. Yet after the mid-year harvest, the village comes alive with visitors from neighboring districts, to vie in the popular pacu jawi, the race of plough-pulling bulls. This centuries-old, post-harvest tradition brings together some 500 of these noble beasts and prodded by their owners, race across an entire, rain-washed rice paddy, to the thunderous shouts of hundreds of spectators. The winning team wins nothing more than admiration and high price on his head. This year for the first time, the festive occasion will go international, as the provincial government invites overseas visitors to witness this spectacle of the Tanah Datar people. Tempo correspondent Febrianti and photographer Subekti reports from Tanah Datar.

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The rice field, drenched with rain, was packed with hundreds of spectators. They had come from all corners of West Sumatra, even from other islands, to witness the much anticipated event: the pacu jawi bull race. It was around midday on August 17 in the village of Turawan, West Sumatra. Indonesian and foreign tourists mixed with locals. Also present were journalists with long-lensed cameras.

At precisely 12 o'clock, the announcer at the microphone

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