Cultural Event: Mekare Kare

There’s an interesting ritual that’s taking place in June in the ancient village of Tenganan in Karangasem, East Bali.

There’s an interesting ritual that’s taking place this month in the ancient village of Tenganan in Karangasem, East Bali. Renowned for its unique Bali Aga traditions, the villagers here still honour practices that date back to the 14th century, and one of them is a ritual called Mekare Kare or Perang Pandan in Bahasa Indonesia.

This ceremony is fascinating and is a must-see for visitors to Bali. Using thorny pandan leaves as “weapons”, bare-breasted male villagers will “fight” one another in a ring surrounded by cheering spectators, other villagers and photographers. The “fight” is held to honour the Hindu God of War and Sky, Lord Indra, and has no vicious or cruel intent.

Instead, young, bare-breasted males wearing traditional Balinese kamen or sarong and headgear will enter the ring to collide with one another using their thorny pandan clubs. The purpose of the fight is to draw a little blood from the backs of one another. Once this is achieved, the fighters will separate with no hard feelings and another set of fighters will enter the ring.

The Mekare Kare ritual is held on different dates each year, according to the Balinese calendar. If you’d like to witness this unique coming-of-age ritual while you’re here in Bali, do speak with a member of our team and we’ll do our best to make arrangements for you.