TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Temptation of Pigeon Racing

Mon, January 7, 2019   /   02:01 pm
  • /

    An owner sunbaths his birds before the race. JP/Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko

  • /

    A pair of pigeons gets in a little morning exercise. JP/Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko

  • /

    Owners carry their birds in a layered cage on their backs. Each cage can accommodate four pairs. JP/Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko

  • /

    Participants eagerly await the return of their pigeons in the kolongan (pit). JP/Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko

  • /

    Owners register their birds before the race. JP/Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko

  • /

    A “jockey” holds a female pigeon behind his back. This is a common practice used while waiting for their turn to compete. JP/Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko

  • /

    A head-to-head list is attached to a board. JP/Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko

  • /

    A pelingsir (a man who releases male doves) walks in a paddy field. He is searching for the perfect spot to release his birds. JP/Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko

  • /

    A pelingsir releases two male pigeons which will fly toward the kolongan. JP/Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko]

  • /

    A pelingsir communicates with a “jockey” using a walkie-talkie. JP/Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko

  • /

    “Jockeys” wait for their turn to compete. JP/Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko

  • /

    Mantra, a female pigeon owned by Udi Mulyanto, waits for her turn to compete. JP/Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko

  • /

    Two “jockeys” try to attract the male pigeons during the race. JP/Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko

Anggertimur Lanang Tinarbuko

Jutting out in the middle of a cornfield near Jetis, Bantul regency, Yogyakarta, are four red-and-white striped bamboo poles. There is a space is between the poles, which the villagers call kolongan (the pit). That space is used by “jockeys”, who are keeping a firm hold on their female pigeons, waiting for directions before letting the males take to flight.

“Flying very high, east, already starting to enter the lane,” a voice boomed from a walkie-talkie. This is the sign for the jockeys to see the direction in which their pigeons are flying so that they can guide the males to the females through the pits.

The race was held by the Bantul chapter of the Paguyuban Pecinta Merpati Kolongan Yogyakarta (PPMKY) or Yogyakarta Pigeon Lovers Association. More than 200 pigeons were registered to take part in the race, which is over a distance of 1.2 kilometers that must be covered in three minutes. Several types of pigeons took part in the race such as bluwuk, gambir, megan, semprang and tritis.

Udi Mulyanto, 46, one of the participants from Diro, Bantul, who is also the initiator of the PPMKY, deployed eight pairs in the race.

“I brought along Matahati, Mantra, Mister Elvis, Mosa, Famos, Histeria, Golden Boy and Abadon,” he said, referring to his pigeons’ names. “Only the female pigeons are given a name.”

The atmosphere became more exciting as the afternoon progressed. The hot weather did not discourage the participants who were wearing caps and jackets to keep the blazing sun at bay.

“This is a sensation unto itself watching the pigeons fly so high before they swoop down and enter the kolongan. Fantastic!” said Morse, another participant. [yan]