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Kite festival promotes teamwork among locals
DRAGON KITE: A group of Balinese prepares a dragon-headed kite for flight during the 30th Bali International Kite Festival on Padang Galak beach on Sunday
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DRAGON KITE: A group of Balinese prepares a dragon-headed kite for flight during the 30th Bali International Kite Festival on Padang Galak beach on Sunday. (JP/Irawaty Wardany)
"Pull! Pull!" a man shouted to a group of four children who were trying to control a big janggan (dragon) kite in Padang Galak Beach on Friday morning.
One of the children then ran to stand in front of his teammates, and pulled the kite string as hard as he could. By cooperating together, the children were able to make the kite fly higher still.
The group worked hard to fly and control the long-tailed kite. One of the children manipulated the fiber string, while the others held onto the handle, offering their weight to resist the kite's pull.
Meanwhile, many other groups of children and adults were busy trying to control their own kites. The strong morning wind blowing across the beach offered the more skillful flyers the change to elevate their kites to impressive heights, while striking to the ground other less-expertly-handled kites.
Jelantik, a fourth grade elementary student from Tanjung Bungkak Village in Denpasar said he and his friends had spend three days making their kite prior to the festival -- the 30th Bali International Kite Festival, which ran from July 11 to 13.
"We made the kite by ourselves even though the adults of our banjar (traditional neighborhood organization) gave us guidance on how to make a good kite," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He said he and his three peers had pooled their pocket moneys, Rp 10,000 (US$1) each, to buy the necessary materials.
"We were fine about setting aside some of our pocket money since this is a big event and this is our first time participating in an international event," he said.
He said he used to fly kites in a dry paddy field near his village.
"Kite-making and kite-playing are parts of our tradition, and besides, it makes us happy because we can play together with our friends," he said.
A kite flyer from another group, Wayan Adi from Sanur, said his team had participated in the Bali International Kite Festival several times and had won the traditional kite category in 2007.
He said Balinese had a long history of kite flying, adding that "kites were flown by our ancestors long ago."
In Balinese Hinduist mythology, the God of Kites, Rare Angon, is a manifestation of Lord Siva himself.
Adi said kite-making and kite-playing taught children and youths important social values.
"Flying kites has taught us the importance of cooperation and brotherhood. Every step of the process, from the making of a kite to flying it, requires solid cooperation and good team work," he said.
Festival organizer Si Nyoman Adnyana said this year's festival was themed "Flying for Peace."
"I've been traveling around the world developing friendships through kite flying. I have introduced Balinese kites to people around the world and by doing so I have learned about kites unique to every nation in the world."
He said the festival, which was initiated by the Bali chapter of Indonesia's Beautiful Kite Association, had always attracted many kite flyers and spectators, both local and foreign.
This year, 700 adult teams and 70 children teams participated in the festival, including contestants from 11 countries -- Japan, Germany, India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Australia and the United States.
