SPORTS & ACTIVITIES
Many traditional games are played throughout the Indonesian islands. Boat racing and kite flying are very popular on most of the islands. Cockfighting is usually associated with the men of Bali, while the Madurese hold annual bull races after the harvest season. Stone jumping is a sport in Nias. This game involves leaping over a stone wall about 1.5 meters high and about half a meter wide. Young men who play this game sometimes jump over the wall with a sword in their hand. Stone jumping was originally used to train warriors to jump over enemy walls.
A favorite sport is sepak takraw. Two teams try to keep a rattan ball in the air with their feet. Pencak silat is a martial art, similar to karate, practiced by young men and women. Almost all Indonesians play the game of congkak, usually during family gatherings. It is played with a wooden board on which there are small depressions. Players use shells or pebbles to play the game
