Changes ahead for ancient royal city Klungkung

Richard Mann, Contributor The Jakarta Post, Klungkung | Thu, 01/21/2010 11:35 AM | Surfing Bali

Community leaders in Klungkung are planning to better promote the former royal city – the seat of Bali’s last king over a century ago.

In 1908, the sleepy center of modern Klungkung, East Bali, crackled with Dutch gun fire and the screams of the dying as the royal family staged a mass suicide rather than surrender to the colonialists.

Some of the royal family survived after years of exile on nearby Lombok Island and the royal family is among those who are now suggesting that a promotional map be made and distributed to visitors showing objects and areas of interest.

Today, the royal family lives in a new palace built in the 1920s about 100 meters south of what was destroyed by the Dutch and virtually unknown to visitors.

All that remains of the old palace is a single gate on the East side of the Kerta Gosa (Judgement Hall) compound with the two halls built in the style of floating pavilions, which were also used to welcome noted guests.

The accused were arraigned in the Hall of Justice until 1950 and lurid ceiling paintings depict some of the gruesome if fanciful punishment awaiting the convicted.

Across the street from Kerta Gosa arises the towering brick phallus of the Lingga Yoni Monument and inside bronze statues of Klungkung’s slaughtered last king and his retainers.

Within the Kerta Gosa compound can be found the Semarajaya Museum, named after the old palace.

And inside, an oil painting shows Dutch troops aggressively firing on the helpless royal family.

But Klungkung is not all about death and destruction.

It is a very traditional town and regency seemingly passed by time, but where the old ways linger on as part of a pattern of culture and religion going back centuries.

It was to Klungkung in the 14th century that Javanese nobles fled with their followers unhappy with their Majapahit rulers’ conversion to Islam and determined to preserve and continue Hindu practices in Bali.

The first palace was at nearby Gelgel, and the Desa Bhuana Temple is one of the few survivors of what many Balinese call Bali’s “Golden Age”.

A stone gate dated 1422 can be seen at Gelgel’s Penataran Temple.

Family and political divisions led to the court being moved to Klungkung and, of course, palaces have courts and courtly needs.

Artists and craftsmen followed the immigrants from Java. Therefore over the years, the Klungkung palace was surrounded by stone and wood carvers, painters,gamelan makers, silver and goldsmiths, kris makers and all kinds of traditional craftsmen including boat builders who continue their craft to this day along the regency’s windy beaches.

Most visitors miss seeing the community of classical painters which survives at Kamasan, 2 kilometers east of Klungkung and their paintings focusing on the stories of Hindu epics as well as Balinese folklore.

They miss the gamelan makers of Tihingan, the silver and goldsmiths of Banjar Budaga and the last of what were once hundreds of families at Kusamba forging kris, incorporating the secrets and skills of the ages in weapons of great symbolism and even magic.

Chinese coins have long been revered in Bali for their value and the hope that possessing them might bring luck. They have therefore long been used in temple ceremonies, even as decorative items in buildings.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has awarded family business UD Kamasan Bali for its work in resurrecting and expanding the ancient arts of using replica kepeng coins to make decorative items.

One place rarely missed is the traditional market opposite the main entrance to Kerta Gosa, a major regional centre for the making and buying of traditional Bali dress and temple accessories.

But what few know is that the gold threaded songket that can be found in Klungkung also continue design traditions of centuries, and that Klungkung’s royal families are among the most prolific weavers in their palaces around town.

The Nyoman Gunarsa Museum of Classican Balinese painting, south of Klungkung, brings together many of the threads of Klungkung’s long history, showing some of the region’s best and oldest art as well as architecture.

As if to underline the importance of the collection at this museum, “Visit Museum Year 2010” opened in Bali with a packed ceremony to award 10 museums for their contribution to preserving Bali’s culture and history.

In a message, Bali Governor, Made Mangku Pastika, said that Bali’s museums should be developed and empowered with a variety of activities and creativity so that people can have a clear understanding of their purpose and value.

Klungkung’s and indeed Bali’s leaders are aware that more needs to be done, for example, to interest local teachers in history and museums so that school children will have a better understanding of their roots.

Klungkung will finish 2010 with three museums and two performing arts centers located within a few minutes of the historic heart of old Klungkung.

As the Regency’s reputation grows as the birthplace of Bali’s Majapahit Hindu culture, community leaders hope that accommodation for visitors, restaurants and art shops will be encouraged to develop.