Risk essence of W. Sumatran bullfight legend
Risk essence of W. Sumatran bullfight legend
By Wisnu Pramudya
KOTO BARU, West Sumatra (JP): Cubit, a veteran fighting bull
owned by a resident in the Tanah Datar regency, stamped his hoofs
near the bullfighting arena in this mountainous town.
Over the last two years, the less-than-impressive looking
beast has never been defeated. For the many lovers of this
traditional sport, the indefatigable Cubit is a promise of
exciting fights and the possibility of lucrative winnings.
On this Tuesday afternoon, Cubit was supposed to prove again
the fighting skills for which he is famous. The arena was filled
by hundreds of spectators, local and foreigners, impatiently
awaiting for Cubit to start.
Three other bulls, all Cubit's challengers, stood separately
in the muddy arena.
One of the challengers is a big, black brute, standing the
away from the rest and snorting impatiently. His long, black
gleaming horns sharpened to a deadly point.
The two other challengers get impatient, pacing around the
arena, while equally impatient spectators start whispering their
bets to one another. In this predominantly Moslem society,
gambling and betting are frowned upon, but people continue to bet
at the bullfights.
Cubit, whose name means "to pinch", looked amazingly calm
amidst the tensed atmosphere. He spent his time wallowing in a
puddle.
A set of loud speakers in the corners of the arena started to
belt out saluang (bamboo) music to accompany a local singer. As
usual, the lyrics are traditional, wise sayings, some of them
even contain some religious advice.
As soon as the fight is ready to commence, the swarm of
spectators are warned to disperse and stand a safe distance away
from the ring. Two bulls are led into the arena, which is about
one and a half times the width of a football field.
One owner sips water, which a soothsayer has said a mantra
over, and spits it on his bull's head.
He then prayed silently and caressed its head.
Two referees, clad in black, cut the harnesses of the beasts.
They are ready to fight.
Seconds later, the heads of the bulls thud together. One
referee bellowed, "Kabau lah balago!" (The bulls have started to
fight!), signaling the start of game time.
Unfortunately, this particular bout didn't last long, it was
finished within three minutes with the challenger, Hitam, running
out of the ring.
It was now Cubit's turn. He circled his challenger and, just
like a pro boxer, bided his time before he smashing his horns
into the other beast's head.
Mud splattered around, and the steam of the beasts' hot breath
came out of their nostrils. Shouts issued from the audience,
while blood trickled out of the wounds in the bulls' head and
neck. The fight began to get really ugly when the sharpened horns
jabbed into the eyes of the beasts.
The fight lasted for almost half an hour, plenty of time for
Indonesians to decide which bull to bet on. The spectators were
being Cubit, but groaned in disappointed minutes later when he
ran away.
Legend and history
Bullfighting is a ancient tradition of the highlanders of the
ethnic Minangkabau. Mochtar Naim, a sociologist who graduated
from the University of Singapore and is an expert on the
Minangkabau culture, said there was no clear origin of the
tradition.
The only explanation comes from a legend.
"The legend of the bullfight originated from the dichotomy of
the culture of Minangkabau and Javanese culture," Mochtar told
The Jakarta Post recently.
The legend says that the powerful Patih Gadjah Mada of the
Madjapahit sultanate in Java vowed to unite the archipelago into
one great kingdom and sent a great number of troops to conquer
Minangkabau.
When the troops reached the border, a messenger was sent to
meet the rulers of Minangkabau people in Pagaruyung. He bore an
ultimatum that the people surrender.
The Minangkabau leaders, aware their army was less powerful,
suggested that no war should be fought. "Symbols of the two
peoples would suffice," the leaders of Minangkabau said, deciding
on the bulls.
So it was decided: if the Javanese bull won, then Madjapahit
could rule the Minangkabau. The Minangkabau leaders, however, had
no intention of taking over Java and the Madjapahit kingdom even
if their bull won. Their only term was that every man in the
Javanese kingdom "dress like a women" if their bull won,
according to Mochtar.
And so a bullfight was prepared. The Madjapahit men prepared
the strongest, greatest brute they could find, while the
Minangkabau people took out a calf which had not been nursed for
days.
The Minangkabau attached a sharp knife to the calf's head and
let it go. The animal went straight for the bigger bull's belly,
trying to nurse. In a very short time, the Javanese bull had been
gutted.
The word Minangkabau (the winning buffalo), people say, came
from the legendary bullfight. And, as legend has it, around this
time Javanese men started to wear blangkon (a hat with a small
knot on the back which makes it look like a woman's hair bun).
The Javanese men also wear surjan, a high-necked blouse which
covers up their Adam's apples, and jarit (wrapped around sarong
or batik cloth that women also wear).
The keris, the traditional weapon of Javanese men, is placed
near the men's behind rather than in front or on their sides. In
addition, Javanese men also walk rather bent, "just like the way
a shy woman walks," Mochtar said.
"Remember, this is only a legend...it is probably only the
Minangkabau sarcasm against the Javanese," he said.
"For the people of Minangkabau, Java symbolized greatness and
power, and so they decided that the weak and the small had to
outwit this powerful people," he said.
The legend is so popular that even now many Minangkabau people
feel intellectually superior than the Javanese, who they see as a
powerful ethnic group.
Tourist attraction
The bullfight itself is now an important attraction for both
domestic and foreign tourists. In the regency of Kotobaru,
situated between the towns of Bukittinggi and Padangpanjang, the
bullfight is held every Tuesday and never lacks visitors who only
pay 500 (US$ 0.22).
The arena itself is located at the foot of a hill facing
beautiful Mount Merapi. Those who come only to watch can sit
comfortably on a balcony, protected from rain by a roof made of
leaves from sugar palms.
Most locals, however, come to bet. They choose to stand as
close as possible to the ring, encouraging the bulls they have
bet on.
According to Mochtar, the betting signifies "a dichotomy
between cultures and Islamic laws" which clearly prohibit
gambling.
For centuries, since the introduction of Islam to the
Minangkabau highland, there has always been conflict between the
culture and the religious laws, he explained. Only a century ago,
after the Paderi war between the kaum adat, or people of
tradition, with the kaum agama or people of religion, that a
treaty was established.
Culture and religion were incorporated, he explained. Hence
came the sayings, Adat bersendi syara,, syara bersendi kitabullah
or tradition is founded upon the religious laws, while the laws
originated from the Book of God (the Koran).
The treaty bound the Minangkabau people to stay away from
traditions which are against the religious laws. "But, that's
only in theory," Mochtar said. "In reality, there are many
traditions which are against the religious laws and thrive
anyway."
The bullfights are the best example, Mochtar pointed out.
Islam prohibits cruelty to animals and gambling, but the fights
have both in abundance, he said.