Sekura Festival: Masked Parade of West Lampung

Destinations Desk Published by the BaliGenie editorial team. Last updated 17 October 2026. Report a factual error through Contact.

Sekura festival is a masked village celebration in West Lampung Regency, Lampung Province. Performers in masks called Sekura take part alongside neighbours and visitors, and the gathering peaks in cakak buah, a group climb up a tall areca palm hung with prizes. Each year the festival passes from one pekon (village) to the next, so the host village changes and the first task for any visitor is to find out which pekon is hosting.

Sekura festival masks and the name Sekura

The word Sekura, also written Sakukha, comes from the Lampung language and means face covering. Everyone taking part is expected to wear a mask, whatever character they play, so the whole gathering becomes a costumed one. The festival takes its name from these masks, and the neat character is also known as Sekura Helau.

The festival is held once a year, and the pekon take turns hosting it. Liwa is the seat of West Lampung Regency and a practical base for reaching the villages, but the celebration itself takes place in the host pekon rather than in the town centre.

Betik and Kamak: two characters, two meanings

The two familiar characters are Sekura Betik and Sekura Kamak. Betik performers appear neat, polite and well presented, and their look stands for goodness. Kamak performers wear rough, frightening masks, often carved from wood, with fangs and hair made of palm fibre or raffia string, and they wrap plant branches around their bodies. Kamak stands for lust, anger and wrongdoing. A third type, Sekura Jahal, is also part of the gathering.

The cakak buah climb

Cakak buah, also called panjat pinang, is the centrepiece of the festival. Prizes are hung at the top of a tall areca palm pole, and the climbers get covered in soil or oil from the pole as they work their way up. Only Kamak performers may climb. They climb in groups through a joint effort known as beguai jejama, which is a form of gotong royong, or mutual help, and they keep their masks on all the way to the top, so the climbers stay unidentified. Betik and Jahal performers stand around and watch.

Gotong royong and village life

Sekura is also a festival of gotong royong and social closeness. The main purpose of the gathering is to strengthen ties between neighbours, and it brings together people from the host village and from other places. The climb is the clearest example of this: no single climber can reach the prizes alone, so the group works as one.

Beyond the spectacle, the festival is a folk celebration that preserves tradition and gives people a reason to visit one another. Its social purpose, meeting neighbours and keeping customs alive, is as much part of the day as the masks themselves.

Planning a visit to Sekura festival

Because the host changes from year to year, confirm the pekon and the day before setting out. Expect a village gathering rather than a staged show. Stay out of the space the climbers need, watch from the side, and keep a respectful distance from performers, since the masks are part of how each person takes part.