Beautiful kites flutter in Bali's skies<\/p>\n
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Contributor, Bali<\/p>\n
Colorful kites of different sizes clouded Bali's skies when
\nparticipants of the 24th Bali Kite Festival tried their best to
\noutdo each other.<\/p>\n
The introduction of stricter kite size regulations and even a
\nfailed record-breaking attempt did not stop kite enthusiasts from
\nacross Bali amassing at the festival ground in Padanggalak, two
\nkilometers north of Sanur, literally causing most activities in
\nthe area to grind to a halt.<\/p>\n
The regulation introduced in this year's festival, which was
\nheld from July 25 to July 28, is necessary because several years
\nago the festival did not only become the largest gathering of
\nkite enthusiasts, but also an annual source of irritation,
\nparticularly for motorists and traffic police.<\/p>\n
The nuisance, in the form of enormous, paralyzing traffic
\njams, was caused by the seemingly misguided competitive spirit of
\nthe festival's participants, who were mostly from traditional
\ncustomary youth organizations in numerous customary villages in
\nDenpasar and Badung. Each participant tried to outdo the others
\nby making the biggest kite possible and also by assembling the
\nlargest entourage of local enthusiasts to escort the kite to the
\nfestival ground.<\/p>\n
Then, these groups of young men, all donned in traditional
\ncostume and T-shirts of their respective Sekeha Teruna Teruni,
\ntook to the streets, proudly displaying their kites all the way
\nto the festival ground. The result was all too predictable: Hours
\nof traffic jams in most parts of the city.<\/p>\n
Some of the groups went by foot, accompanied by the blaring
\ntunes of their own traditional Bleganjur ensemble. Others carried
\nthe kites by trucks, tightly escorted by the participants' convoy
\nof motorbikes.<\/p>\n
The situation was even worse around the festival's ground in
\nPadanggalak. Thousands of kite enthusiasts from all over Bali
\nflocked to the area and the traffic was virtually brought to a
\nhalt. Road users responded to this problem by repeatedly lodging
\nangry complaints at the festival's organizing committee.<\/p>\n
\"Objections did not only come from the general public, but
\nalso from traffic police officers, who were frustrated with the
\ntraffic jams,\" said the festival's chief of the board of judges,
\nSusila Patra.<\/p>\n
Finally this year, the committee decided to do something about
\nthe problem.<\/p>\n
\"There was never a size limit for kites at previous festivals.
\nThis year, however, we have had to do it, otherwise people would
\nkeep blaming the committee for causing the traffic jams,\" the
\ncommittee's chairman, Rai Andayana, said.<\/p>\n
The newly introduced regulation stipulated that the size of
\nany participating kite must not exceed seven meters in length and
\nfour meters in width.<\/p>\n
\"Any larger than this and the kites would take up too much
\nspace, causing traffic jams when they are being transported to
\nand from the festival ground,\" Rai said.<\/p>\n
The committee also strongly urged each participant to
\ncarefully time their departure and arrival time at the festival
\nground to prevent encountering other participants at the same
\ntime, thus causing severe traffic jams.<\/p>\n
Participants who came from areas far from the festival ground
\nwere required to arrive as early as possible.<\/p>\n
Most of this year's participants did not seem to object to the
\nnew regulation and tried their best to abide by it. In the end,
\nthe traffic jams were not as bad as in previous years.<\/p>\n
Some participants from North Badung even followed the new
\nregulation to the extreme, arrived at the ground two days prior
\nto the opening of the festival.<\/p>\n
Still, several participants still thought the rule was made to
\nbe broken.<\/p>\n
One participant deliberately broke the rule in order to set a
\nnew record for the biggest kite in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"The kite was sponsored by an individual who spent at least Rp
\n30 million to construct this giant kite,\" a source said.<\/p>\n
The kite, in the form of the traditional jangan (eagle) was
\n10-meters long, seven-meters wide, and with an enormous 250-meter
\nlong tail.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the team from the Indonesian Museum of Records
\n(MURI), and of course the kite's owner, eventually had to leave
\nthe festival ground disappointed after the kite did not even
\nmanage to take off.<\/p>\n
Weak winds and insufficient human assistance -- the giant kite
\nwas manned by only 16 people, while many smaller kites in the
\nfestival were manned by at least 20 people each -- were two
\nelements blamed for the failure.<\/p>\n
A few years ago, participants from Gumicik village in Sanur
\ntried to do a similar thing. They constructed a giant kite, 20-
\nmeters long, to set a new record at the festival. The kite could
\nnot take off and the record-breaking attempt was soon forgotten.<\/p>\n
Participants of this year's festival were higher in number.
\nSome 991 groups participated this year, compared to 680 in 2001
\nand 590 in 2000.<\/p>\n
\"This increase (in the number of participants) amazes me. The
\ncost of constructing a kite is between Rp 5 million and Rp 10
\nmillion, and each Sekeha Teruna Teruni usually builds more than
\nthree kites. With the present economic crisis, it is amazing they
\ncan come up with such a huge amount of money to construct these
\nkites,\" an observer said.<\/p>\n
And winners of the festival do not receive much either. The
\nfirst winner only takes home a trophy and just Rp 1.5 million in
\ncash.<\/p>\n
\"Well, they (the Sekeha Teruna Teruni) took part in this event
\nnot for the reward, but for pride, so they can 'show of' their
\nrespective village's ability and achievement,\" Rai said.<\/p>\n
Initially, Rai said, Balinese farmers flew kites to express
\ntheir gratitude to the gods after an abundant harvest. This semi-
\nsacred function was the reason why the colors of Balinese
\ntraditional kites are the combination of red, black, white and
\nyellow, the colors of the Hindu's trinity of Brahma, Wisnu and
\nSiwa.<\/p>",
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