Excalibur in Bali
Two Long-Lost Sacred Keris (Swords) Receive a Homecoming Welcome to Bali.

Two priceless keepsakes of Bali’s ancient kingdoms of Klungkung and Gelgel have made a brief and very emotional homecoming to mark the 100th anniversary of the Puputan sacrifice on April 28, 2008.

On a 100 year-long journey from Bali, Holland, Jakarta and now back to Bali - two priceless bejeweled ceremonial swords or keris have been given a memorial tour of their “old home” in Bali. So revered are the two Keris that each bears it own name – Ardawaike for the sword from the Klungkung Palace and Tombake Ki Baru Gudug for the weapon from the Gelgel Palace.

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Keeping alive the art and culture of Bali is not only the responsibility of the government, though government has programs to preserve the cultural heritages. Balinese youth have their own way in participating and supporting those programs.

Commemorating the Denpasar’s 16th anniversary, some Balinese youths who are affiliated to the KMHDI (Hindu’s youth association) held a ‘dokar’ festival on Saturday (February 23th 2008) at Puputan, Denpasar. ‘But before we proceed “what is a “Dokar” anyway? Horse cart or Dokar is fairly simple structure that is created from timber upon a metal base with two large wagon wheels. Passengers sit sideways behind the driver on padded bench seats and the entire contraption is attached to a small horse with a sturdy leather harness and set of reigns. Depending on the weigh of the load, the cart travels along at a slightly tilted angle. Since Dokar does not use any machine it does not produces any dangerous residue and the air will keep clean.

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Part 1

I Gusti Ngurah Rai bestowed the National Hero award due to his sacrifice towards his nation, Indonesia, in the battle of Margarana against the Dutch. He was killed in the battle on 20th November in 1946 with his Ciung Wanara troop which included 95 soldiers. His name is immortalized as the name of the International Airport in Bali, name of street, campus, and sport centre to commemorate him.

Red: Gusti Ngurah Rai, Blue: Dr. Anak Agung Made Djelantik, 1931, from flickr.com/photos/wibisono/

I Gusti Ngurah Rai was born on Wednesday, wuku (seven-day week in the Balinese 210-day calendar — one traditional year consists of 30 wukus) Kelawu, 30th January 1917, in Carangsari Village, ± 24 km to the north from Denpasar. His father’s name is I Gusti Ngurah Patjung, was a Manca (head of the sub-district) and his mother is I Gusti Ayu Kompyang. His childhood name was I Gusti Ngurah Gejor (shake) because a great earthquake was going on when he was born and then changed into Ngurah Rai in his school period.

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When you visit Klungkung regency (State East of Denpasar) you have to visit its Museum – Museum Semarajaya — to know a little about the History of Klungkung. Museum Semarajaya is located in Semarapura City – the city of Klungkung — next to the tourist destination Kertha Gosa/Taman Gili (Old Court-Hall/Floating Hall). Whether you want it or not you have to enter Kertha Gosa first before going to the museum due to one entrance only is opened for these two areas. The ticket is very cheap, @Rp 5000,- for adults and @Rp 2000,- for children. Why it is cheap, because it will not be able to help the government to maintain those historic inheritances. But the good point is the local people will not feel difficult to pay for the entrance if they take their family members there. It means they will know and learn more about their ancestor history.

flickr.com/photos/tanenhaus/

That area is divided into three parts, the museum on the West, Taman Gili (Floating Hall) on the South, and Kertha Gosa (Old Court-Hall) on the North. There are wayang (consist of Hindu’s figures and stories) pictures at the ceiling of the Old Court-Hall which tell about the life after the death. There is also a big exit called Pamedalan Agung, it is said when a Dutch Soldier climbed and was at the top of Pamedalan Agung he saw a different place below not the ordinary one.

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Last weeek I read a book which is entitled “ The Last Gentleman of War” which gives accounts on daring actions of German cruiser Emden in World War I combined with gallant and honorable conduct of her captain, Karl Friedrich Max von Müller. What impress me much are not the daring actions of the cruisers but the humane and honorable treatments that were given by Captain Müller and his crew to their prisoners of war (PoW). A question arose in my mind “how Balinese treat their PoW?”

I did a hasty research to find some information on how Balinese treat their PoW, my research was not in vain, I found some information in the public library, some good, some bad, but mostly interesting. It surprised that Balinese treat their PoW especially their fellow Balinese in a cruel way. They sold their Balinese PoW to foreign merchants as slaves (before the slave trade was abolished), served as slaves to winning party or assigned to hard labor. However, the fate of European PoW was much better. Here is an account on Balinese treatment on their European PoW given by Gregor Krause in his book Bali 1912.

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In 1904, when most of Bali still ruled by native princes and wrapped in medieval splendor little touched by the outside, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, the first foreign artist to visits Bali, landed on the north coast of this little-known island with a bicycle and an irrepressible lust for adventure. The bicycle proved useless as the island had few suitable roads but today it becomes the only testimony to Nieuwenkamp’s visit to Bali, immortalized in the image of a man riding a bicycle on the wall of Meduwe Karang Temple in North Bali.

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