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The most eccentric examples of traditional Lombok culture

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The cultural makeup of Lombok is unlike any other island in Indonesia. The Sasak way of life is one of unique traditions passed down through generations. Rooted in Islam, there are nevertheless distinct influences from the Balinese Hindu community, and a legacy from the Dutch colonial era. 

Lombok’s cultural leanings extend to every aspect of life – through the cottage industries of Lombok handicrafts, music art, agriculture and of course religious practices. Each of these have spawned their own celebrations and festivals with some very quirky examples that are not to be missed. Here are some of Lombok’s most unconventional cultural happenings. 

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Perang Topat

Perang Topat is not only a unique Lombok tradition, it’s among the most colourful cultural gatherings in all of Indonesia. It is a ‘mock battle’ between religions – often dubbed the ultimate ‘multi-cultural food fight.’ It all goes down at Balinese temple Pura Lingsar, which uniquely also houses a space for Muslims. This alone makes it completely unique to the region.

It serves to foster friendship between Lombok’s two main religions. It is essentially a harvest festival celebrating the upcoming crops but the real action people come to see is the spectacle of Hindus and Muslims charging each other and hurling sticky rice (topat). This organised chaos is well orchestrated with chanting and light hearted banter accompanied by raucous cheering from the watching crowds.

It’s all good-natured fun which has been performed annually for generations. The mock battle lasts around one hour and the event also features processions of local grown produce, traditional music and communal feasting together. It is one cultural gathering that arguably best highlights Lombok’s inclusive communal spirit.

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Bau Nyale

Wading knee deep at shallow tide in search for tiny worms doesn’t sound much like fun does it?  But how wrong you would be. Bau Nyale is Lombok’s top cultural ritual with thousands descending on a beach near Kuta in search for these multi-coloured wriggly sea worms. 

These worms only appear for a few short days around February each year and commemorate the Princess Mandalika legend. The legend goes that the Princess sacrificed herself to the sea to stop all-out war between rival clans. These Nyale worms are considered a symbolic reincarnation of the Princess.  

The worms are considered nutritious, supposedly bringing various health benefits when eaten, such as increasing fertility. They are also placed in irrigation channels on rice fields in the hope of improving the following harvest. In recent years the Bau Nyale has developed into a huge gathering that also showcases Sasak traditional music, song and cuisine. The ‘Putri Mandalika’ beauty pageant is also held each year.

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‘Peresean’ stick fighting

Another generations-old tradition is the art of ‘Peresean.’ This is the local Lombok version of stick flighting – two Sasak ‘warriors’ going head to toe with long wooden sticks and buffalo skin shields. In days gone by, the aim was to spill blood with vicious blows to the head and body. Thankfully, it is more sanitised now and has developed into an artform – a cross between a straightforward combat duel and martial arts. The fighters, known as Pepadu, jump through the air to rain a blow down on their opponent.

It's an exciting spectacle of physical prowess enhanced by the hypnotic beat of Gendang Beleq drummers as an accompaniment. Stick fighting can be seen at various festivals across Lombok and in some villages during special holidays.

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Male’an Sampi buffalo races

Bali and Madura near Surabaya both have well known buffalo races but the Lombok version is perhaps the most unique of all. Taking place in the spring in Narmada, its an exciting yet messy affair with buffalos racing around a deep, muddy rice paddy. 

Two beasts race against each other pulling a single rider on a flimsy wood platform behind. More often than not the buffalo’s owner, this is the ‘jockey’ directing his beast through inches of thick mud.  Its an exciting spectacle taken very seriously by their owners, who spend fortunes on grooming and training their animals. They are adorned in cow bells and extravagant colours. It is basically both a race and a cattle beauty contest.  

As with most of Lombok’s cultural events, a blessing takes place to kick it off and there is always traditional Sasak music and dancing on the sidelines. Male’an Sampi dates back to sometime in the 18^th century and is held during April each year in Narmada.

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Tongkek

This musical art form is not particularly well known, as it is practised in just a handful of East Lombok villages such as Pancor and Selong. It originated around the 1970s as a way to make as much noise as possible to wake up villagers in the early hours during the fasting month. It has since been refined into its own traditional musical genre, using a cylindrical piece of bamboo and a small rubber edged mallet. The mallet is used to beat out a rhythm which constantly changes tempo from slow to lightning fast and back again. Unique for this type of traditional music, it is mostly played and performed by school age children and young adults. Some of these young Tongkek groups have also incorporated exuberant modern dance moves into their performances.

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