Overview
Jembrana is where the Bali begins for those who come to Bali from
Java by using ferry or inland way. Bali and Java mere 4kms in
distance or about threty minutes by using ferry. Within Negara
as its capital, Jembrana is Bali's westernmost district and where
some of Bali's oldest remains of prehistoric humans have been
found.
Jembrana
also happens to be Bali's most sparsely populated district. A
ruling family related to the Gelgel house was established here
in the mid 1400s, but a dispute among its two founders led to
civil war and a destruction of the court. For a while the area
was considered to be a marginal part of the Badung kingdom, but
when a prince from Sulawesi set himself up as ruler of Jembrana
in the seventeenth century, he did so with little difficulty.
Karangasem nearly took Jembrana in the late 1800s, but was pipped
at the post by the Dutch, to whom Jembrana surrendered peacefully
even before any of the other kingdoms were subdued.
If
the traditional art forms of Jembrana are known for anything,
it is their size. Bigger is better, it seems, in Jembrana, which
boasts the huge bamboo xylophones of the gamelan jegog, the kendang
mebarung competitions of large oversized rums.
The
makepung bull races festival is a traditional game to celebrate
harvest day. It consists of a race between two carts pulled by
buffaloes which is decorated very attractive and they run for
2 km long a line which take place in the villages of Banyubiru
and Dlod Brawah in the dry season
info"+---++
