The Farmer’s Markets of Bali
Bali’s traditional markets were once a necessity in a society where refrigeration as well as corner stores were not as widespread as they are today. These age-old trading centres are right now giving way to the onslaught of Indomaret, Alfamart as well as Circle Ks proliferating all over Bali.
Bali’s farmer’s markets are one of the most enduring centres of the island’s traditional rural life. These are not the “farmers markets” found in Ubud as well as Sanur patronized by Western residents as well as tourists as venues for buying organic produce as well as green products, nevertheless crowded noisy native livestock markets (pasar hewan) which are found in both urban as well as rural settings.
Traditionally held on fixed market days of the Balinese three-day week, the pasar hewan offer the best selection as well as prices for domesticated animals, horticultural products, agricultural supplies as well as tools as well as everyday household goods. You are apt to find almost anything – coming from transistor radios as well as DVDs to posters of Indonesian dangdut queens, coming from shoe salesmen to purveyors of snake oil medicines. Attracted by the crowds, vendors of packaged foods, fruits as well as vegetables as well as clothing spill out on to the sidewalks as well as surround the market’s periphery.
For the town dweller as well as Balinese farmer, the main draw of these traditional markets is actually the pets as well as farm animals kept in concrete open-sided sheds. Before visiting, call the Kantor Dinas Peternakan (Office of Animal Husbandry) of the locale you live in to find out which day the market is actually to take place. If the market is actually held from the countryside, the cows, bulls as well as heifers are sold in bamboo pens or from the open air. To behold scenes out of medieval Bali, get there as early as you can.
The Bali Cow
Bali’s cows, hung with sweet melodic wooden or bronze bells, are amiable, beautiful creatures with long eyelashes, delicate features, dew eyes, manicured velvet coats, slender necks, trim bodies, slim legs as well as short tails. They look more like deer fawns than cattle. Unlike the Hindus of India, the Hindu Balinese don’t consider cattle as sacred. Bali cows are mostly bred for their meat, their bones carved into intricate horse, frog as well as rose pendants for sale to tourists.
The Bali cow lives a privileged life, lovingly bathed in village streams, billeted in cosy hay-strewn mangers, grazed on village lawns, seen leaping coming from banks with the lithe grace of an antelope. Like most cows from the tropics, they give no milk as well as are often used for work. When preparing for planting, the farmer first floods his rice fields, then uses a wooden sledge (tengala) pulled by one or two cows (buffaloes lack the necessary stamina) until the whole field is actually turned into a muddy, watery ooze.
Farmers use cows as a bank for occasions when the family is actually in need of immediate cash for religious rituals, medical emergencies or tuition fees as well as uniforms for the brand new school year. Although Bali has hundreds of thousands of cows on smaller as well as medium-scale farms all across the island, the quality of beef coming from Balinese cattle is actually below international standards. Thus, the majority of the island’s hotels as well as restaurants rely on various other countries such as Australia as well as brand new Zealand for their imported beef.
Bebandem: A Country Market
Beringkit: Mother of All Farmers Markets
The main building consists of three floors packed with row upon row of stalls, essentially a giant flea market. On the lively 1st floor are gardening as well as work tools, household sundries, cheap Chinese toys, DVDs of Balinese as well as Javanese music, books, shoes, rindik as well as angklung musical instruments, that has a food court from the rear. On the 2nd floor are traditional as well as modern clothing, leather goods, bags as well as shoulder bags. On the 3rd floor are sunglasses, lighters, traditional herbs, massage therapists, men’s jewelry, semi-precious stones, amulets, used clothing, as well as from the back a big open-air barber shop. Outside a line of food stalls serve Balinese specialties like lawar kuwir, nasi campur sate kempul as well as Javanese dishes like sate kambing with gule, bakso sapi as well as bakso ayam as well as coconut juice.
nevertheless the main draw is actually the sprawling muddy 1.5-hectare livestock market north of the parking lot (after entering the market, take a left) where farmers coming from all over Bali bring their mature cattle to sell as well as then buy calves to sell in their own farmer’s markets in Bangli, Rubaya as well as Seririt. Hundreds of Balinese cattle mill around in pens or stand tied up in groups from the open with jacketed as well as rubber booted men trading as well as haggling. After a deal is actually struck, the cows as well as bulls are led to a line of waiting trucks headed for Jakarta or shipped to Kalimantan.
This specific livestock market is actually also the best place to buy all types of farm animals as well as pets – not just dogs, rabbits, chicks, ducks as well as birds nevertheless many varieties of chickens (chicks, broilers, ayam kampung), as well as the charmingly ugly Moskovy ducks. A row of shops sells birds, bird feed, bird cages, dog food as well as canine accessories. A big yard is actually covered with the distinctive bell-shaped bamboo cages of fighting cocks. On busy Sundays you’ll see men inspecting, ruffling feathers, pulling combs, tenderly massaging, bouncing on the ground as well as pairing their cocks in impromptu non-lethal sparring matches. Pet, mascot, child, dream, income, for a Balinese man This specific proud bird takes up as much attention as a brand new wife.
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The Farmer’s Markets of Bali
The Farmer’s Markets of Bali