Book
Title : Gajah Mada, Perang Bubat.
Author :
Langit Kresna Hariadi.
The
battle of Bubat is a true event that took place hundreds of years ago but its
implications is still apparent today. Here
is the background in brief.
The kingdom of Majapahit in Trowulan,
east Java reached its golden age under King Hayam Wuruk and Prime Minister
Gajah Mada. The kingdom controlled most
of western part of Indonesia today and even Tumasik (Singapore) and a part of
the present day Malaysia. Gajah Mada the
ambitious prime minister had vowed that he would conquer the whole
archipelago. He was a smart military
commander who had a great contribution to the development of the kingdom.
Hayam Wuruk was just a young boy when
he came to power. He was not married at
the time. At the age of twenty six he
wanted to marry a lovely girl. So he
ordered his artist to everywhere to paint beautiful girls. He received so many pictures but he did not
like any of them. Until one day one of
his artists showed him a picture of Dyah Pitaloka, the daughter of King
Linggabuana from the kingdom of Galuh, in west Java. Hayam Wuruk instantly fell in love when he
saw the picture. He decided to marry the
princess. King Linggabuana accepted the
proposal of Majapahit king. Then one day
he came to Majapahit with his daughter, his family and a small group of guards.
But when they arrived in Majapahit a
problem arose. There was a
misunderstanding about the proceeding and protocol of the wedding. Consequently hostility mounted. Both sides were unable to control their
emotion so a battle broke out. The fight
took place in a field called Bubat, not far from the palace of Majapahit. The Galuh guards were outnumbered so they
were easily defeated by the mighty Majapahit army. All of them were killed. Dyah Pitaloka was shocked, scared and finally
she killed herself.
That is the true event that took
place in 1360 AD. The implication is
great. After the battle the west
Javanese people or the Sundanese were deeply hurt. Consequently the relationship between the two
countries was bad along the ages. There
has been mistrust between the two ethnic groups as well. The Javanese people always tell their
children not to marry Sundanese women.
Perhaps the Sundanese family tell similar thing to their children – not
to marry Javanese men. Even today many
Javanese do not trust Sundanese. They
will never choose any Sundanese for their leader. They think that Sundanese are not capable of
being a leader.
Langit Kresna Hariadi is one of the
best Indonesian novelists. This time he
writes a novel using that episode of history as background. In my opinion he is a master in writing historical
thriller novel. He adds some characters
and events to the story that makes it more interesting.
Prajaka is the son of Pradabasu, a
retired military officer. Prajaka
suffers from a kind of mental disorder but he can calculate very quickly. He is also very talented in the art of
carving and drawing. One day he left his
house and he forgot the way home because he suffered from amnesia. He even forgot his own name. He went to the west and finally he got to
Galuh.
Meanwhile Majapahit held preparations for the
king’s wedding. But some high ranking
officials in Majapahit had a different idea.
They saw this event as an opportunity to conquer Galuh. Gajah
Mada wanted Galuh to be a part of Majapahit.
So he sent his men to threatened Galuh.
Some of Majapahit’s intelligence knew that Pitaloka had a boy
friend. The spy knew that Pitaloka met
his boyfriend secretly inside the palace.
They were very worried if Pitaloka went too far with his boyfriend. So they had a plan to sabotage the wedding.
When the Galuh royal family went to Majapahit
by sea, an officer reported to Majapahit that King Linggabuana of Galuh wanted
the wedding be postponed for seven days.
Consequently when they arrived in Majapahit they did not receive any
welcome party. They were very
disappointed. Misunderstanding continued
and finally battle broke out.
Langit Kresna Hariadi is good in
giving surprise. By the end of the
battle there is a surprise. But I am
sure it better you find the surprise yourself.
It won’t be interesting if I tell you here.
The novel is really
entertaining. It is not only a book on
the history of Majapahit and Galuh but it is an excellent literary work. It is
beautiful. I believe it is worth
translating into English and many other languages. In the preface he also writes his message the
two ethnic groups should forgive each other.
Bambang Udoyono
