Lombok Bau Nyale Festival | Pujut
Celebration
One of Lombok's most important and popular festivals is "Bau Nyale," which means "catching Nyale (a type of sea worm)" in the local Sasak language. This is a cultural tradition deeply rooted in local legend and unique to Lombok. These sea worms are a type of palolone, living in tropical waters in certain parts of the world, including Lombok, Sumba, and Savu in Indonesia. Once a year, when seasonal, oceanic, and lunar phases align, the Nyale sea worms come to specific beaches near Lombok to lay their eggs. For the next few days, the sea surface teems with wriggling sea worms, their colors ranging from simple brown to red and green.