A Macabre Massacre

In 1908 the bloody puputan (meaning "ending" in Balinese) was repeated on a smaller scale in Klungkung. The ghastly scene was one in which, according to one Dutch observer, the corpse of the king, his head smashed open and brains oozing out, was surrounded by those of his wives and family in a bloody tangle of half-severed limbs, corpses of mothers with babies still at their breasts, and wounded children given merciful release by the daggers of their own compatriots.
Ostensibly because they felt guilty about the bloody nature of their conquest, which was widely reported and condemned in Europe, the Dutch authorities quickly established a policy designed to uphold "traditional" Bali. In fact this policy supported only what was was seen to be traditional in their eyes, and only if those bits of tradition did not contradict the central aim of running a quiet and lucrative colony.

2 Responses to "A Macabre Massacre"

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