Mastodon
RNS logo

webRNS-War-Games14 032018 2983819

During the Pasola festival, the men wage war while the women spread peace and make new friends. The girls in the village clean rice in preparation for the Pasola. The night before the Pasola, they cook glutinous rice cakes wrapped in leaves (locally known as “ketupat”) and on the day of the Pasola they give away the ketupat to other women attending, bringing the community together and tightening friendships. RNS photo by Alexandra Radu
Kit Doyle

Explore More in:
No paywalls here. Thanks to you.
As an independent nonprofit, RNS believes everyone should have access to coverage of religion that is fair, thoughtful and inclusive. That's why you will never hit a paywall on our site; you can read all the stories and columns you want, free of charge (and we hope you read a lot of them!)

But, of course, producing this journalism carries a high cost, to support the reporters, editors, columnists, and the behind-the-scenes staff that keep this site up and running. That's why we ask that if you can, you consider becoming one of our donors. Any amount helps, and because we're a nonprofit, all of it goes to support our mission: To produce thoughtful, factual coverage of religion that helps you better understand the world. Thank you for reading and supporting RNS.
Deborah Caldwell, CEO and Publisher
Donate today