The tomato fight in Cikidang is an annual tradition in the village since 1970. The fight is part of a much older ritual, which is held at the base of Mount Tangkuban Parahu every Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar.

On Thursday, the event began with a ritual at Mount Luhur, north of Cikidang, as villagers, led by Oyot, 97, the eldest resident of the village, collected mountain spring water.  

A goat was sacrificed during the ritual and its head was buried near the spring. The remains of the goat were cooked and shared among villagers. '€œHere, we pray for peace on Earth as the Earth provides many good things for farmers. The spring has been our source of water for many years,'€ Oyot said.

'€œWe also hope the crops that we have cultivated will continue to grow well,'€ Cikidang village head, Ahmad, 51, said. After the ritual, the residents later carried out the helaran or tumpeng (cone-shaped rice) parade.

'€œThrough this parade, we hope that we can continue to enjoy good harvests in the coming year,'€ Ahmad added.

The tomato fight was held after the helaran ritual finished. As many as 20 young men, who wore masks and protective clothing made of bamboo, were divided into two groups. Then the tomato battle was officially begun. The groups first attacked each other before throwing tomatoes at other residents.
Villagers and visitors, who attended the event, were free to throw tomatoes at anyone.

'€œWe provided a ton of tomatoes, which had not been sold at the market. The point of the tomato fight is to release badness from within ourselves,'€ said historian Mas Nanu Muda, who attended the ritual.

The villagers and visitors enthusiastically splattered each other with tomatoes in the annual fiesta.Tempers did not rise because it was all regarded as just a game. The battle lasted for around 15 minutes before the villagers hugged each other.

 '€œThis is an interesting event for villagers and other people from other regions. This ritual has been passed down from our ancestors and we have to preserve it,'€ said Marna, a 60-year-old farmer.

Marna also donated tomatoes to be used in the event. '€œCurrently, the price of tomatoes has dropped. Normally, tomatoes are sold at Rp 7,000 [60 US cents] per kilogram, but now a kilogram of tomatoes only sells for between Rp 700 and Rp 1,000,'€ he said. '€œIt is better to use the tomatoes for this event than let them rot.'€

After the tomato battle, the residents were allowed to enjoy the snacks that were hung along the road where the event took place.

The snacks were tied using young coconut leaves to ward off malevolent spirits.

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