Madura Bull Races

Kerapan sapi is Madura's own sport: two bulls yoked together pull a wooden sled on which a driver stands or crouches, racing down a track of around a hundred metres in a few seconds, with heats run through the season across the island's four regencies and a grand final for the governor's trophy, usually at Pamekasan around September or October. The bulls are valuable, specially bred and fed, and paraded before racing with decorated harness and gamelan accompaniment. The practice attracted sustained criticism because drivers commonly used nails or spiked sticks to make the animals run, and after campaigning and a religious ruling from local clerics a version without sharp implements was introduced and is used in official races; enforcement at informal events is less certain.

What you actually see

• Paired bulls pulling a sled - a hundred-metre sprint in a handful of seconds.
• Decorated parades - the animals shown with harness and gamelan before racing.
• A season of heats - rounds across four regencies to a grand final.
• A reformed practice - sharp implements banned in official races after campaigning.

When to go

Heats from July; the grand final usually September or October. A day.

Honest expectations

Dates and venues shift and are announced locally. Animal welfare here has been a real problem and the reforms apply mainly to official races. Crowds are dense and shadeless.

Nearby

Sumenep is at the eastern end of Madura; Surabaya is over the bridge.