Indonesians climb greasy tree trunks for Independence Day games
WeirdNews
Indonesians climb greasy tree trunks for Independence Day games
JAKARTA, (Reuters) - Teams of Indonesians clambered over each other on Wednesday to reach prizes hanging from the top of slippery tree trunks in an annual competition held to celebrate the country’s Independence Day.
At an amusement park in the capital Jakarta, 45 palm tree trunks coated in oil were set up for the games, one of many such competitions taking place across the sprawling archipelago of 270 million people.
A man holding Indonesian flag with his mouth, reaches for the prizes on top of a greased pole during the "Panjat Pinang" competition that is held to celebrate country’s 77th Independence Day, at Ancol beach in Jakarta, Indonesia, August 17, 2022. (REUTERS-PHOTO)
The country is celebrating the 77th year since it declared independence from Dutch rule.
It is the first such event in two years after Indonesia suspended large public events to prevent crowding and the spread of disease during the COVID-19 pandemic.
