In Bali, there are often drama shows or festivals. The Bali Kite Festival is one of them, and is a popular festival. Kite Festival is often held at the edge of the beach which has a strong enough wind so that it can fly a kite.
The Balinese kite festival also has a philosophy where the kite is a game from the Balinese children to the embodiment of gratitude to the gods. There are several points to be judged, ranging from creativity to the shape of a kite.
Origins of Bali Kite Festival
Playing kites itself is also one of the habits of Balinese since long ago, ranging from the children, adolescents, adults, men and women. Everyone loves this kite game. According to Hindu religious beliefs also believe there is a mythology named Rareangon, the incarnation of Lord Shiva is tending his buffalo in the middle of rice fields. Rareangon itself is believed to be the protector of rice fields when plant hopper pests occur, so this kite game is also a form of offering from Balinese citizens.
Schedule of Bali Kite Festival
If you are on vacation around July, usually you will find this festival. The Bali Kite Festival is an annual event that is held during the dry season. When this dry season the wind blows well, the sky is clear so it is suitable for flying kites.
Location of Bali Kite Festival
This kite festival is an international festival held in the area of Padang Galak Beach, Sanur, Bali. Sanur is close from Ubud. So, once if you have a trip to Ubud, for example if you are doing Ubud Tour, you can ask your driver to drive you to Sanur to watch this beautiful festival. Various forms of kites in a giant size that is 4 meters wide and 10 meters long are competed and flown. The participants compete in team form. Each team will have people flying kites and some playing gamelan and carrying flags.
Bali Kite Festival Becomes an Event for Citizens’ Creativity
Various traditional Balinese kites are flown such as, Babean which is a fish-shaped kite, Janggan which has the shape of a bird, a leaf-shaped dugout. Babean kites are kites with the largest size, then Janggan has a tail of cloth with a length that can exceed 100 meters.
The size of the kites in this festival is truly amazing. This kite can also produce a buzzing sound or called guwang, where the sound is produced from vibrations on the bowstring. In addition to the traditional kites there are also new kite creations such as kites depicting Hindu gods, shaped like a car to compete in 3D.
Not only creativity in designing kites, in this competition the way each team flew kites was also assessed, then how long the kites would survive flying. To fly a kite in each team there are 10 people or more depending on how big the kite is.
When you see this Bali Kite Festival, you will see colorful and various forms of kites adorning the Sanur sky. Gamelan music also accompanies every kite movement that is floating in the air. You can capture various kites’ beauty through a photo.
Anyone who comes will surely be amazed by the exquisite kites at the Bali Kite Festival. The Kite Festival ends at dusk, when the wind does not blow hard. Really a magnificent and amazing festival.
