Expansion and Internalization of Modes of Warfare in Pre-colonial Baligerated but there is some evidence that the king took care that at least
the nobility of the realm did not embrace Islam. The account of the
missionary Justus Heurnius from 1638 indicates the role of the sengguhu
(commoner priests) in addressing the spiritual needs of the strata below
the Triwangsa.^30 Balinese “Hinduism” (to use an anachronistic concept)
was nevertheless so peculiar to the local milieu that it did not work as
an identity marker in foreign lands. It is known from Dutch documents
from the VOC era that Balinese who lived in Java and Batavia as slaves
or soldiers rapidly accepted Islam while still strongly identifying them-
selves as Balinese.^31
Finally, a fifth factor was the quality of Balinese detachments as fight-
ing forces. Judging from the first Dutch eyewitness accounts Bali may
have had some features of a gunpowder state, similar to some contempo-
rary trade-based states where the possession of cannon and muskets gave
an edge to the royal striking force. Unfortunately there are few detailed
descriptions of Balinese military tactics from the early modern period.
From the frequent employment of Balinese soldiers in the ranks of the
VOC troops we know that their fighting qualities were appreciated. Like
the peoples of South Sulawesi, the Balinese used lances, the kris, and
blowpipes, while firearms were also occasionally used.^32 The report of
the violent battle between the Balinese ex-slaves and the Dutch detach-
ment of François Tack at Kartasura in 1686, speaks of furious frontal as-
saults against the enemy lines where the chiefs did not spare themselves.
Although the Balinese annihilated the enemy, Surapati was the only
leader who survived.^33 However, accounts of the Balinese expansion
on Lombok in the early 1700s also tell of the employment of cunning
strategies to encircle or out-smart the enemy. From a Dutch horizon
the enchanted vision of Bali was entirely missing in the pre-colonial
period; on the contrary the island was seen as a dangerous place prone
to violence. Similar views are sometimes traced in indigenous literature.
- P. A. Leupe, “Schriftelijck rapport gedaen door den predicant Justus Heurnius”,
Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 3 (1855): 259–60. - C. Lekkerkerker, “De Baliërs van Batavia”, Indische Gids 40 (1918): 409–31.
- Firearms were known on Java from the fifteenth century at the latest; a Chinese
cannon dated 1421 has been found there. M. C. Ricklefs, War, Culture and Economy
on Java 1677–1726, 13. - de Graff, De moord op kapitein Francois Tack, 8 Feb. 1686, 97–98; Ricklefs, Wa r,
Culture and Economy on Java 1677–1726, 95.