Karapan sapi is a traditional bull racing festival on the Indonesian island of

Madura Madura Island is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately (administratively 5,379.33 km2 including various smaller islands to the east, southeast and north that are administrati ...

. Every year from about July through October, local

bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding * Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

are yoked to wooden skids and raced for , similar to a

chariot race Chariot racing ( grc-gre, ἁρματοδρομία, harmatodromia, la, ludi circenses) was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games f ...

. There are several people of these races the places throughout the season, and there is a final trophy race held in

Pamekasan Pamekasan is a town and administrative center of Pamekasan Regency, East Java, Indonesia. The town is located on the island of Madura. Administrative villages Pamekasan consists of 18 villages (''Kelurahan'' or ''Desa'') namely: * Barurambat Kota ...

. The bulls participating in the event are adorned with gold and other decorations, and the event is sometimes accompanied by

Gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...

music, food, and wagers on the outcome of the race. A depiction of the festival was featured on the reverse of the 100-rupiah coin for Indonesia from 1991 to 1998. An Indonesian stamp issued in 2009 also depicted the race, along with the

Surabaya–Madura Bridge The Suramadu Bridge ( id, Jembatan Suramadu), also known as the ''Surabaya–Madura Bridge'', is a cable-stayed bridge between Surabaya on the island of Java and the town of Bangkalan on the island of Madura in Indonesia. Opened in June 2009, t ...

Past and Present

There is a very striking difference between the past and present karapan sapi.

Karapan Sapi in the past

1. There is an ubo rampe and a ritual before the implementation to ask for safety accompanied by saronen music 2. Using large-bodied cows 2. Each cow is decorated as lively as possible, Keleles with beautiful wood carvings, pennant flags, to umbrellas 3. Each group of bull races is guarded by a Penjaghe who is in charge of maintaining the safety of the cows in order to avoid cheating from other participants. Usually, Penjaghe are imported from Ponorogo who is a Warok who is famous for being an expert in fighting. The penjaghe from Ponorogo often stands and dances on the karapan sapi kaleles hurdles, which shows that anyone who disturbs the cows he is guarding will deal with him. The choice of a Penjaghe from Ponorogo was not without reason, in addition to reducing the number of frauds, it also avoided retaliation from other participants if the Penjaghe was Madurese himself. It is strongly suspected that Madura's traditional clothes came from the clothes of the prison guards from Ponorogo, because the shirts and belts on Madura's traditional clothes were made in Ponorogo.

Karapan Sapi Now

1. There is no Ubo rampe or ritual, only prayer readings 2. Using small cows 3. Keleles Karapan is minimalist, there is no festive hisan 4. Penjaghe by the Madurese themselves

Gallery

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Fraai uitgedoste stieren aan start van een wedloop (kerappan) op Oost-Java TMnr 60009862.jpg File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Stierenrennen op het eiland Madoera TMnr 60042361.jpg File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Stierenwedloop (Kerappan) te Sitoebondo op Oost-Java tijdens het bezoek van de Soesoehoenan van Solo TMnr 60009914.jpg

References

External links