Water Buffalo Race Held in Indonesia to Celebrate Harvest

Photos taken on March 26, 2016 show the traditional Pacu Jawi, or Water Buffalo Race in Batusangkar,West Sumatra in Indonesia. The interesting cultural event is held once in a year to celebrate the end of the harvest season.

The jockeys would ride a pair of water buffalos while holding on only to the buffalos’ tails. In order to win the race, they would bite the cow on their tails to make them run faster. Since the pair is so loosely tied together, they are hard to manage and this creates a lot of fun. Eventually, the participants will be judged in how fast and straight they can run.