History introduced to children through comics<\/p>\n
I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
Lebur Ring Klungkung (Annihilated in Klungkung), is a 64-page
\ncomic book that depicts the last-ditch battle of the royal house
\nof Klungkung against the invading Dutch colonial forces. Its
\npublication marks an initial step of a group of local animators,
\npoets and a publisher in harnessing the power of a popular medium
\nto boost the interest and awareness of Balinese youth in their
\nisland's heroic history.<\/p>\n
About 700 free editions of the comic book were distributed
\nrecently to various schools in Klungkung, some 40 kilometers east
\nof Denpasar, to mark the 95th anniversary of the battle, known
\nlocally as Puputan Klungkung.<\/p>\n
The idea of visually narrating the historic event was
\nconceived some six months ago, during a meeting between a poet of
\nKlungkung's Binduana Art Community, Wayan Suartha, cultural
\nobserver Hartanto Yudoprasetyo and the chief editor of Lintang
\nchildren's tabloid Mas Ruscitadewi, who had just succeed in
\norganizing the first comic book competition in Bali.<\/p>\n
\"We wanted the historic battle to captivate the young and,
\nlater on, move them. Frankly speaking, a heavy, literary approach
\nor a scholarly, historic account would not have been able to do
\nthat. That's the reason we chose a comic book format instead.
\nThat format is very popular with the young and we wanted to tap
\ninto that potential,\" Suartha said.<\/p>\n
Suartha and fellow poet from Binduana Art Community Ida Bagus
\nParwita were later tasked with developing the story and plot of
\nthe comic book. Meanwhile, four winners of the Lintang comic book
\ncompetition were enlisted to do the drawings.<\/p>\n
\"We were trying to present the event as historically
\naccurately as possible. We lent old photographs of Klungkung and
\nroyalty to the artists, Ketut Artayasa, Panca Kumara, Agung Tri
\nBudiasa and M Arta, to give them a glimpse of that period,\"
\nSuartha said.<\/p>\n
The Klungkung administration later joined in, providing the
\nten of millions of rupiah needed to cover the printing cost.
\nRegent of Klungkung Tjokorda Gde Ngurah, a descendant of the
\nbrave nobles portrayed in the comic book, praised the work as a
\n\"smart and notable breakthrough.\"<\/p>\n
The asymmetric battle between thousands of Klungkung warriors
\nand well-equipped Dutch forces took place on April 28 1908, in
\nthe area currently known as Semarapura.<\/p>\n
Realizing imminent defeat, King of Klungkung I Dewa Agung
\nJambe, a direct descendant from the Majapahit empire, and to whom
\nall kings in Bali and Lombok paid homage, invoked the Balinese
\nwarrior's code of no surrender and decided on the Puputan, a
\nritualistic battle in which the warriors deliberately sought
\ndeath by storming head-on into the enemy's line of fire. Most of
\nthe Klungkung royalty perished in the battle, alongside the king,
\nQueen Dewagung Istri Muter and 12-year-old Crown Prince Dewa
\nAgung Gde Agung.<\/p>\n
With the fall of Klungkung, the Dutch finally gained control
\nover the whole island of Bali.<\/p>\n
The comic book succeed in capturing the drama of the battle
\nand the fighting spirit of the Klungkung warriors. However, some
\ntechnical flaws indicated a need for future improvement.<\/p>\n
\"There are some flaws on the anatomy of the characters and the
\nspatial perspective employed. The most striking flaw, however, is
\nthe verbose nature of this comic book,\" Bali's leading comic book
\ncreator Wayan Gunasta said.<\/p>\n
Despite those flaws, Gunasta, who has published quite a
\nsuccessful comic book series based on a local adaptation of the
\nHindu epic, the Mahabharata, commended the comic book as the
\nfirst of its kind.<\/p>\n
\"Previously, local comic books were generally based on Hindu
\nepics and mythology or local legend and folklore. Lebur Ring
\nKlungkung is the first comic on the historic event of Dutch
\ncolonization. We must support this initiative,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Mas Ruscitadewi said that production of the second comic book,
\nthis time on the historic Puputan Jagaraga, was currently in
\nprogress.<\/p>",
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