Photo Essay: Bau Nyale in Lombok, Indonesia


Once a year in Kuta, Lombok, Indonesia, the palolo worms that live in the reef come out to spawn, and locals celebrate with the Bau Nyale festival.

Child jockeys come from Sumbawa and East Lombok to race horses on the strand.

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Like Firman, 7, from Bima in Sumbawa.

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Who fell, horrifically, yet cried not from the pain but because he hadn’t won.

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After the race, young men do battle with rattan sticks and leather shields; retired fighters act as umpires.

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It’s friendlier than it might look, though.

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No Indonesian event would be complete without an MC, and this one was loving it.

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Some diehards stay late that night, at the myriad food and drink stands which line the ceremonial route, looking for the worms. But they won’t come in any numbers until tomorrow.

The next day, a vast, costumed carnival snakes for miles from Kuta to Seger Beach. The prize on offer? 15 million rupiah, well over a thousand US dollars, and more than a year’s salary at Lombok’s minimum wage.

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Rain puts a damper on proceedings. But only slightly.

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A lot of women dress as Princess Mandalika, the princess who turned herself into the worms. So does one brave chap.

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Government dignitaries arrive, along with a posse of black magicians who test their oil of immunity by slicing their stomachs with razor-sharp kris swords. (Indonesians, generally, take magic very seriously.)

And then the drama begins, telling the story of Princess Mandalika, who leaped into the sea to stop a war between rival suitors, and returns every year as worms.

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Thousands upon thousands turn out to see the bands. There are two girl groups from Lombok, and Kotak, flown in from Jakarta: the lead singer is a judge on Indonesian Idol.

Kotak perform at Lombok's 2014 Bau Nyale.

A wayang puppet master performs an environment drama, sponsored by an NGO, complete with roaring motorbike.

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While men and women engage in a ritual exchange of utter filth – in Sasak, Lombok’s local language, not Indonesian – folk begin to head down to the beach to wait for worms. Patience is a virtue, here. The old sleep; young mothers arrive with rested children, ready for the day; the beach boys prowl impatiently up and down, zooming off on bikes to beaches where there might be better pickings.

Waiting for the worms at Lombok's Bau Nyale.

And then there’s a roar! And a surge! The worms are in! And the beach is crammed with people. Hunting with fishing nets, bottles, buckets, old paint tins, by flashlight and mobile phone….

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The worms come in four colours: blue, red, green and white. They are not beautiful.

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Especially not en masse.

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But that doesn’t stop the searchers looking, wading far out, barefoot over sharp coral and sea urchins, dancing with joy as each breaking wave sweeps in a new bounty.

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As dawn rises, the strand is still alive with people.

Beach at dawn during Lombok's Bau Nyale.

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The blue and white worms are turned into magic oils that bring success in life and love. The red and green? You eat them at home, or sell them to the market traders.

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And then housewives buy them in turn.

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Hardly anyone in Kuta has slept that night, and some haven’t slept for forty-eight hours. But there’s more. A boat race, an old tradition revived for tourist pull, in the single-outrigger fishing boats so typical of south Lombok, a vertiginous balance between wave and reef.

Bau Nyale Boat Race

Bau Nyale Boy Captain

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And then for me – though not the beach boys and the surfers – it’s time to sleep. It’s been,


Want to go? The Bau Nyale festival happens in the tenth month of Lombok’s Sasak calendar, usually in late February or early March: a gaggle of traditional experts set the date a few weeks ahead of time. The 2016 date for the Bau Nyale festival is 28-29 February, with some events on 27 February: you can book discount Kuta accommodation on Agoda or splurge on Novotel Lombok which is right in the heart of the action.

9 Responses

  1. regina says:

    This was great thanks, loved the straightforward reporting and fine pics

  2. Darren says:

    Thank you for sharing, loved the photos, brilliant. I’m hoping to visit Indonesia on my upcoming RTW trip.

    • Theodora says:

      Do – it’s a wonderful country. But it takes a lot of time – months to even begin to get an overview, years upon years to discover it thoroughly…

  3. Uma says:

    Of all the places in the world, perhaps none have as vibrant a culture as Indonesia does. Thanks guys, now I have motivation to go to Lombok!

  4. Penelope says:

    What a ceremony … Indonesia is one of the best corners of SE Asia!

  5. JJBrewbus says:

    Great report! Shame I missed it.

    Having just read some of your other reports involving your scooter, this story reminds me of the last time I rode in south-East Lombok, on a very twisty, hilly “road” (more accurately, it was a continuous series of large potholes with a very narrow, spider-web of original tarmac between the holes). Some of the potholes were big enough for my whole bike to drop into, and about 30cm deep. That was a SLOW journey, as I recall.

    Anyway, I really suggest that you consider getting a real bike, capable of carrying you, Z, and a bit of luggage. Doesn’t have to be a BIG bike. Just something more “bike-like” than a scooter.
    I hope to be doing a trip from Bali to Flores in the dry season on a small 150cc off road bike, hammock-camping in forests (and facing my phobia of spiders…. screaming and crying the whole way, probably). Travel adventure, right?

    • Theodora says:

      Ahahahahahaha! Yes, but if I got a proper bike I’d have to change gear with my feet – after doing the Tha Khaek loop in Laos during the rainy season on a manual, my son has barred me from ever using a step-through again…. We just got back from Lombok before Christmas – did a road like that in the South West, but mercifully in a car, not a bike…