Mandalika

Miss Mandalika 2011

Once upon a time there was a beautiful Princess called Mandalika. She lived in the South of the island of Lombok. Her beauty was such that all the Princes in the island wanted to marry her. Because sheit was difficult for her to chose,  her father the King organized a bow and arrow contest among all the Princes. And so it happened that their desire to marry her was so big, that they all performed excellently so it was impossible for the King to chose. 

Catching Nyale (from google)

Out of despair, the Princes starting fighting each other and shedding blood. Mandalika could not bear the situation any longer, and so announced for everyone to gather together at the Seger Beach in the early morning. And so, when all the people were gathered Mandalika announced that she could not get herself to chose, but that she could also not allow the blood shed to continue....so she said "I will come back in the form of worms, nyale, so that you can all have me. And having said this she jumped off the cliff disappearing into the waves. Everyone tried to save the princess but she was nowhere to be found. A few hours later the ocean was full of colorful worms, which until today are considered to be the incarnation of Princess Mandalika.

Ever since, once a year the people from Lombok celebrate the popular Festival, Bau Nyale, as a way to honor the legend of Princess Mandalika and to catch these worms which are very tasty and rich in proteins. Strange enough, these worms ONLY appear once a year, for 2 days (always the same according to the Sasak calendar), and then they disappear again until the following year. I have not found a scientific explanation to this yet.

Catching Nyale (from google)

So for two days the people from Lombok have parades that honor Mandalika, have traditional horse races and stock fighting events, gather together to listen to live music and hang out until early hours in the morning when everyone gets ready to go and catch worms.

Traditional Sasak Stick fighting