'Puputan' anniversary revitalizes past spirit

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, bali

A haunting dance drama involving hundreds of performers and the demanding question of how to revitalize the spirit of the Puputan Badung, or the Battle of Puputan, on the 96th anniversary of the event.

Two noted Denpasar artists, choreographer I Nyoman Suarsa and composer Kadek Suardana, joined their artistic skills and creative energy to produce the dance drama, which depicted various events prior to and during the Puputan Badung.

The dance drama was performed on the evening of Sept. 20, at the Puputan Badung square in downtown Denpasar, located right across the street from the Bali governor's official residence, on whose grounds the Puri Denpasar, or the palace of the King of Badung, was previously situated.

Earlier, a formal ceremony was held in the square, attended by civil servants from various offices in Denpasar and Badung.

Leaders of the Puri Kesiman, Puri Pemecutan, Puri Satria and Puri Mengwi -- the descendants of the warriors who fought the Puputan battle -- were present at the ceremony.

Suarsa and Suardana managed to turn the square into three different venues, where some 300 dancers portrayed -- sometimes simultaneously -- the Dutch merchant ship Sri Komala running aground on Sanur beach, the king's refusal to bow to a Dutch ultimatum and the preparations for the battle of Puputan -- the battle that led to the demise of the king of Badung.

Government officials, including Denpasar Mayor AA Puspayoga, who also happens to be a descendant of the royal House of Denpasar, honored guests and the thousands of Denpasar residents who attended the performance were entranced by the dance drama.

One particular dramatic moment was when female dancers, draped in the ceremonial white and yellow garments of Balinese Hindus, amid a thick fog caused by the enemy's shells, with their fists raised high in the air, ecstatically stormed into the Dutch battalions and embraced death in a courageous, yet melancholic way.

"It was a very moving moment and I had to fight off tears watching that moment. This dance drama succeeded in evoking the emotional and deep sense of connection between us and our past heroes," said a journalist for the largest daily newspaper in Indonesia.

The evening was topped by the distribution of some 10,000 portions of free nasi jango for everyone -- both high-ranking officials and common people -- in the square. Known as the signature food of Denpasar, nasi jango consists of a handful of rice, fried tempeh, a small quantity of fried noodle, a small slice of boiled egg, a tiny fraction of beef or chicken meat and a drop of very spicy hot sauce, all wrapped in a banana leaf.

Yet, when the ceremony ended and the square was deserted, several questions posed by Balinese scholars about how to celebrate Puputan in a manner that revitalizes its spirit were still hovering in the air.

A noted cultural observer, I Ketut Sumarta, criticized the tendency to turn the commemoration into a shallow event filled with sports and poco-poco dance competitions, and tedious formal ceremonies.

"The administrations of Badung and Denpasar should do something better than that. The people's collective memory of the Puputan Badung cannot be sustained solely by staging a yearly formal ceremony. Instead, efforts must be made to translate and publish the literary works of Cokorde Made, the heroic king of Puputan Badung. Moreover, a reinterpretations of those works must also be undertaken to ensure their pertinence in the present situation," Sumarta said.

The late Cokorde Made was an avid reader, productive writer, and an ardent student of Balinese classical texts on politics, philosophy and spirituality. Cokorde Made's writings were typical of a truth-seeker's literary works, richly filled with moral and spiritual teachings, allegories and symbols.

"His works should be a living memorial, which would be a source of moral, ethic and spiritual guidance for the people of Denpasar, particularly for it's political leaders," Sumarta added.

Separately, political scientist Anak Agung Gde Oka Wisnumurti stressed that the Puputan Badung should inspire the local government and people to work in unison to fight the current enemies of ignorance, poverty and other social problems.

"Cokorde Made provided us with an exemplary model of leadership. We must use it as a mirror, on which we can reflect and judge all our efforts. Have we already showed the degree of perseverance, political and moral courage, and an egalitarian attitude that are on the same level as were shown by that young, yet wise last king of Badung?" asked Wisnumurti.