Buleleng Northern Lights

Bell for Bulls

Sapi gerumbungan or “bell-ornamented bull” is an attraction of artistic character and concurrently a traditional sporting event, popular in Buleleng Regency during the pre-WWII Dutch colonial period shown in an annual contest to celebrate the Dutch Royal Princess’ Birthday.

Before the Bali bomb blast of October 2002, during the high season of tourists visiting the Lovina resort in Buleleng, this entertainment took place in the afternoon at Kaliasem Ground. The bull contest ties in with the public holiday every Sunday or during holidays.
Otherwise, the bull race takes place to celebrate important holidays such as anniversaries of 17 August 1945 Independence Day of the Republic, founding anniversaries of Bali’s Province and of Singaraja City, the present capital of Buleleng Regency, in a grand-scale contest fighting for money and the winner’s cup.
The bull contest of “Sapi Gerumbungan” is in effect an art and sporting event specific to Buleleng as an agricultural area in former times, when peasants organized the event in welcoming a rice harvest success in the middle of rice field, or other spacious ground. Following the development of Lovina as a many-visited tourist resort, the bull race became more attractive to visitors.
The unique entertainment usually takes place in Kaliasem the centre of Lovina resort. The bull sport remains an attraction in many of Buleleng’s villages such as Bebetin, Menyali, Sawan, Singaraja’s Banjar Tegal, Pedawa, and Banyualit. The bulls fight for first place in speed, while exhibiting their elegance in moving their tails, heads, and shaking the wooden bell or “gerumbungan” hanging from their necks to produce a nice sound. (leo)