During the rainy season, work on the salt fields of Kalianget, Madura Island, is stopped. Locals spend time preparing their pigeons for the race. The owners will hold the female pigeons on one end while the male pigeons are set to fly from the other. The male pigeons are expected to fly to their female counterparts as quickly as possible. According to Edhi Setiawan, a writer on Madurese culture, pigeon racing is a few hundred years old in Indonesia. Each owner will have a secret recipe for his pigeons, primarily made up of eggs, honey and coffee.

---

Size: 3008px × 2000px
Photo credit: © Zhuang Wubin / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: competition, culture, fields, madurai, pigeons, race, salt, tradition, wubin, zhuang