Indonesia Tourist Guides — Events  Indonesia's multicultural heritage ensures that the entire calendar year is dotted with festivals of each of its ethnic communities; there are however, many festivals and events, which transcend all barriers of religion and ethnicity and commemorate significant events of colorful Indonesian history. The tropical paradise island of Bali has a dramatic festival before their New Year in March - April, where temple icons are taken to the sea to be bathed and evil spirits driven back to other worlds. Bali also has the festival of Galungan where the gods are said to descend from the heavens and join their earthly subjects in revelry. August and September are eventful months with various public events taking place in various parts of the country. Competitive spirit is not lacking in Indonesia - traditional Boat Races are held at Bajarmasin in South Kalimantan to celebrate Indonesia's Independence Day on August 17th. Bull races are also held in August in West Nusa Tenggara. There is no dearth of cultural events in Indonesia - each island and area has its own special festival to encourage the arts. The Munara Art and Culture Festival, an annual event in Irian Jaya is marked by traditional performances, art exhibitions and rowing competitions. Yogyakarta holds various significant events - one of which is the birth anniversary of Sri Paduka Paku Alam VIII celebrated on 1st August at the Puro Pakualaman with the Uyon-uyon Muryoraras music festival. The stunning Ramayana Ballet held at the Pramabnan temple over four nights is an amazing spectacle of over a hundred dancers and musicians, performing sequences of dance dramas based on the Hindu epic. It is held on an open air stage with Hindu temples and the volcano Merapi as a dramatic back-drop. The tale of Indonesia's long struggle for independence and episodes of stories of Indonesian rulers through history is told at the Ketoprak folk drama festival, also held in Yogyakarta in August. The harvesting season sees thanksgiving ceremonies held in Loksado, Sourth Kalimantan in the months of July, August and September with 'Belian' spiritual dances. Sumedang in West Java is well known for its Renggong Horse Contest, where the gamelan orchestra accompanies horse dances. The Kerapan Sapi or Bull Race in Sumenep, East Java draws a lot of attention amongst the Maduranese people - a Moslem missionary introduced this event in this area by the name of Syeh Achmad Baidawi.
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