Bali's 'Puputan Badung', the battle to the death

Bali's 'Puputan Badung', the battle to the death

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

It all started when the merchant ship Sri Komala ran aground on
Sanur beach on May 27, 1904. The owner of the ship, a Chinese
trader, accused the Sanur people of looting the ship, and later
reported the incident to the Dutch colonial government in Batavia
(Jakarta).

The Dutch colonial government admonished Badung King Cokorde
Made for the incident and demanded he pay 3,000 ringgit in
compensation to the trader. The king vehemently refused to do so,
stressing that the people of Sanur had been wrongfully accused.
He highlighted the fact that the people of Sanur had, under oath,
stated their innocence.

A sea blockade by Dutch warships aimed at economically
crippling the kingdom failed to intimidate the young king and he
refused to change his mind.

On July 17, 1906, the Dutch Governor General in Batavia
(Jakarta), Van Heutz, sent another letter to Cokorde Made. In the
letter, Van Heutz once again reminded the king of his
government's demand, increased the demanded compensation to 5,173
ringgit, and warned the king of possible military action if the
he failed to meet all the demands by Sept. 1, 1906.

On Sept. 12, 1906 the Dutch fleet of 16 warships with 2,312
soldiers on board arrived at Sanur. Major General Rost Van
Toningen was the commanding officer of the fleet and troops. He
sent an ultimatum to the king, in which Toningen gave the king 24
hours to surrender. Cokorde Made flatly refused the ultimatum on
Sept. 13.

The Dutch battalions made their first move on Sept. 14 by
occupying Sanur beach. The first major clash between the Dutch
and the royal troops of Badung took place the next day. The royal
troops of Badung were led by I Gusti Ngurah Gede Kesiman of the
House of Kesiman.

On the three days of Sept. 16, 17, and 18, the Dutch
battalions under the protection of their warships' heavy
artillery inflicted heavy losses on the royal troops of Badung.
Sanur, Intaran, Tanjung Bungkak, and Panjer fell to the Dutch,
and I Gusti Ngurah Gede Kesiman was killed. On Sept. 18, the
Dutch intensified it's shelling of Puri (palace) Denpasar and
Puri Pemecutan. It's cannons fired at least 216 shells that day.

At 15:30 pm on Sept. 19 the Dutch battalions captured Puri
Kesiman. One kilometer to the west, at Puri Denpasar, the royal
family was holding a Palebon (cremation) ceremony for the king's
deceased older brother I Gusti Gde Ngurah Denpasar, and a
Mepandes (tooth filling) ceremony for the king himself.

Early in the morning of Sept. 20, 1906, Dutch shells fell on
Puri Denpasar with such intensity that 60 shells severely damaged
the puri, once so majestic and beautiful that the poet Ida Bagus
Made Sidemen composed the Kakawin Cayadijaya to praise it. By 9
a.m., the Dutch soldiers had managed to penetrate the royal
troops' defenses in Sumerta and Kayumas and thus entered
Denpasar.

Cokorde Made gathered his relatives and what was left of his
royal troops before ordering them to burn Puri Denpasar to the
ground. The King's entourage, comprised of around 500 people --
men, women, children -- dressed in the ceremonial white costume
and carried various weapons, then moved to the north of the puri
to meet the enemy.

All of them had agreed to join their king in staging a
puputan, a battle to the death, and each of them had been
sprinkled with Tirta Pangentas, holy water usually reserved only
for the dead.

At high noon, the king led the charge against the enemy only
to be cut down by the Dutch's superior weaponry. Those who were
wounded dragged themselves to the spot, where the dead body of
Cokorde Made, their king, lied, before stabbing themselves to
death. Those, who were not able to lift their weapons, were
stabbed by their friends. A pile of dead bodies soon formed
around the body of Cokorde Made.

The second royal entourage, led by the 12-year-old crown
prince Cokorde Alit Ngurah -- the step-brother of Cokorde Made --
was also being mowed down by the Dutch.

By 13:30 p.m. the Dutch captured Puri Denpasar. Four and a
half hour later, Puri Pemecutan, the last bastion of the Badung
kingdom, fell into the hand of the invading troops. Prior to
that, the aged I Gusti Gde Ngurah Pemecutan of the House of
Pemecutan and his relatives were killed when staging a similar
puputan battle.