T

housands of people flocked to Seger Beach in Kuta village, Pujut district, Central Lombok, from Thursday night until Friday morning to collect sea worms that only appear once a year during the Pesona Bau Nyale Festival.

In Bau Nyale tradition, local people believe the legend that the colorful nyale sea worms are the reincarnation of Princess Mandalika.

“The legend has been passed down through generations, leading to the Bau Nyale tradition being preserved to become a tourist attraction,” said Central Lombok Deputy Regent Fathul Bahri during the opening of the event.

Legend has it that Mandalika was a very beautiful princess from the Tunjung Biru kingdom. Her beauty attracted many princes from other kingdoms who wanted to make her their bride.

The king held a contest so that the princes could compete against each other with their divine powers for the hand of his daughter.

However, the princess did not want anyone to become a victim through the competition and so she decided to drown herself.

Before she went into the water at Seger Beach, Mandalika promised she would return to see the people on the 20th of the 10th month in the Sasak calendar. This year, the day falls on Feb. 16 or 17.

“People always flock to the beach when the day comes to collect sea worms,” he said.

The people believe the sea worms bring them blessings. The worms can make soil fertile and it is believed that they bring good health if consumed. Women believe that swallowing sea worms alive will make them beautiful like the princess.

The festival also has philosophical meaning for locals, Fathul said. One of the important values is the attitude of the princess, who sacrificed herself to prevent war between kingdoms and for the good of the people.

The festival also helps boost the economy in Central Lombok. Seger Beach is part of the Special Economic Zone Mandalika, which is managed by the state-run Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC).

“ITDC is currently developing infrastructure in Mandalika. We hope the festival will be seen as iconic and become an interesting tourist attraction,” he said.

Over the decades, the festival has been designed by the local administration as a tourist attraction, and this year it has been included on the list of national-scale tourist events.

Esthy Reko Astuty, the Tourism Ministry’s deputy for the development and marketing of national tourism, confirmed the festival was on the list, along with the Tambora Festival and the Tour D’ Lombok cycling competition in Sumbawa in April. “Bau Nyale is a tradition that we should preserve together, because it belongs to all Indonesian people, not only to locals.” she said.

West Nusa Tenggara Deputy Governor Muhammad Amin said the festival had attracted tourists who also want to enjoy the beauty of the beach.

Amin said the provincial administration continued to enrich local tradition to develop tourism in the province which hopes to attract 4 million visitors this year.