Bakti Negara (Balinese Silat)
Balinese pencak silat school from Denpasar, founded in 1955 according to Draeger. Sources name the founders differently, and the technique rests on deception and palm blocks.
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About Bakti Negara (Balinese Silat)
Bakti Negara, spelled Bhakti Negara in some sources, is a Balinese pencak silat school centred in Badung and Denpasar. According to Draeger 1972 it was founded in 1955 and is active in the southern parts of Bali. Sources give the founders differently. Draeger names Ida Bagus Uka Dinwangkara, while Chambers, Draeger and Alexander 1970 thank Ida Bagus Oka Diwangkara as a representative of the school. Depdikbud 1985 names Cokorda Bagus Sayoga with friends as the founder of the Bhakti association and writes that Bhakti Negara began with three figures: Anak Agung Meranggi, Bagus Keplang and Bapak Tantra. Wikipedia writes of four veterans of the independence struggle and of the date 31 January 1955. We therefore do not give a single name.
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Depdikbud 1985 gives as the predecessor the silat Bebugisan, taught by Bugis sailors in Badung. After independence it was renamed Perkumpulan Pencak Silat Bhakti, and several associations arose from it, among them Tri Darma, Bhakti Setia Budi, Bhakti Negara and Bhakti Barat. The centre of development of Bhakti Negara is the Badung area with Denpasar, and from there it spread across Bali and to Australia. Draeger describes the style as highly deceptive and associates with it the Chinese word hua, meaning flowers, in the sense of ornamental deception. The practitioner feigns a weak stance or inattention to lure the opponent into a blind attack. Blocks are made almost always with open palms, and a seized wrist is freed by a slap of the free hand. According to Depdikbud the movements and jurus come mainly from Cimande and Cikaret. According to Depdikbud 1985, by 1985 Bakti Negara, Perisai Diri and Kertha Wisesa had spread to the villages of Bali, and all three were registered with the Bali regional IPSI organization.
History
Draeger 1972 writes that Bhakti negara, sometimes also sakti negara, was founded in 1955 by Ida Bagus Uka Dinwangkara and that the name means sacrifice, exclusive devotion, the state. According to him the founder himself admits that his system is a synthesis of older Javanese ideas with modern foreign influences such as Japanese jujutsu, aikido and karate-do and Western boxing, and some techniques of Kodokan judo are also studied. He nevertheless calls Tridharma, Bhakti Negara and Kerta purely Balinese styles. Chambers, Draeger and Alexander 1970 thank Ida Bagus Oka Diwangkara and other representatives of Bhakti Negara.
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Depdikbud 1985 describes a different story. The predecessor was the silat Bebugisan, taught by Bugis sailors in Badung. After independence it was renamed Perkumpulan Pencak Silat Bhakti, whose leading figure and founder was Cokorda Bagus Sayoga with friends, among them Bagus Aji Keplang, Gusti Rai Tokir, Anak Agung Meranggi, Pak Tantra and Resi Mpu Tantri. The association grew into several associations, among them Tri Darma, Bhakti Setia Budi, Bhakti Negara and Bhakti Barat. Bhakti Negara began with three figures, Anak Agung Meranggi, Bagus Keplang and Bapak Tantra, and was further developed by the pendekars Dewa Bagus Suwenda and Dewa Bagus Alit Dira. The centre is the Badung area with Denpasar, from where it spread across Bali and abroad, especially to Australia. Wikipedia en writes that Bakti Negara was officially created on 31 January 1955 in Banjar Kaliungu Kaja in Denpasar by four independence fighters: Anak Agung Rai Tokir, I Bagus Made Rai Keplag, Anak Agung Meranggi and Sri Empu Dwi Tantra. According to it, Ida Bagus Oka Dewangkara was entrusted with leadership and administration. The author O'ong Maryono states on the website silatindonesia.com that on 31 January 1955 more than a hundred pendekars and gurus from all over Bali held the first pencak silat congress on Bali, and that the first chairman of the pendekars was Anak Agung Rai Tokir, who died in 1967. We did not find the date 31 January 1955 in Draeger or in Depdikbud.
How it differs
Draeger 1972 calls Tridharma, Bhakti Negara and Kerta purely Balinese styles and the other martial systems on Bali ones brought in from elsewhere. According to him Perisai Diri is an East Javanese transplanted form. Tridharma, Bhakti Negara and Kerta Wisesa are based on low crouching stances and are highly deceptive. Depdikbud 1985 states that Bhakti Negara and Kertha Wisesa come from one parent association on Bali and contain elements of Cimande and Cikaret. They differ from Perisai Diri in that they operate mainly in villages among people with prior ties, whereas PD is in the cities. For Bhakti Negara and Kertha Wisesa the emphasis is on the cohesion of the whole and on sport, dance art and self-defence, for PD on individual self-defence and sport. The dance element is almost absent in Perisai Diri.
Technique
Draeger 1972 describes Bhakti negara as highly deceptive. The steps and movements are a mixture of the Minangkabau seated stances sempok and depok, low crouching stances and some stiff Chinese stances. Sempok or depok are used only when the distance from the opponent is greater than two yards, and at shorter range the practitioner prefers to stand.
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The method is to feign a weak stance or inattention. The practitioner shows this weak position openly and deliberately about two yards from the opponent as bait, so that the opponent throws himself into a blind attack. The practitioners seem shy and almost harmless, but when attacked they answer with a series of precise reactions. The basic philosophy is defensive, and counterattacks come after a successful defence. They perceive the opponent's body as a rectangular cross-section and concentrate on the line of his shoulders. Almost all blocks and deflections are made with open palms. A seized arm or wrist is freed by a slap of the free hand, and a blow with the whole arm and a screwed fist is preferred to the Chinese way. According to Draeger the tactics often target the opponent's forward leg, and the practitioner may suddenly drop from an upright stance into sempok or depok. Chambers, Draeger and Alexander 1970 write that the slap is meant not to free the seized arm but to divert attention before the real counteraction is applied. From close combat, locks are used, namely on the shoulder and elbow, but according to Draeger they are not well developed. Among weapons Draeger names a staff, a forked iron truncheon and the short knife pisau. Special weapons are the tombak jago, a spear about three metres long with a hard wooden shaft, which appears mainly in rituals connected with cremation, and the toyak, a weapon similar to a halberd. Depdikbud 1985 states that the movements and jurus of Bhakti Negara come mainly from Cimande and Cikaret.
Training
Depdikbud 1985 states that the teaching material of Bhakti Negara is a combination of material from the aliran Cimande, Cikaret, Cikalong and the Balinese aliran, and that it was influenced by the sociocultural environment of Bali, especially Balinese art. Teaching includes the mental and spiritual formation of members, practical physical toughening, self-defence, the art of pencak silat, sport pencak silat and physical training for health. Draeger 1972 writes that the movements of Tridharma, Bhakti Negara and Kerta are evoked and performed by the rhythm of drum percussion music. We did not find a specific list of jurus or an oath in Draeger or Depdikbud. O'ong Maryono writes on the website silatindonesia.com that in 1982 Dewa Bagus Alit Dira unified the techniques of Cimande, Cikalong, Cikaret, Melayu and Bugis into series of movements to Balinese music with Balinese names, and that this collection is called Maya Buana.
Ranks and progression
Depdikbud 1985 lists the grades of Bhakti Negara students. Siswa tingkat I wear a black jacket and a red belt, tingkat II a red belt with two black stripes, III with three and IV with four. The fifth grade is already kader with a blue belt. Higher up follow Dewan Guru Muda with a yellow belt, Dewan Guru with a golden-yellow one and Dewan Pendekar with a black belt. Each grade lasts two years depending on the student's abilities, and after each one confirmation by a local examination and the ceremonial offering sesajen according to local custom and religion are required. According to the document a pendekar is sometimes able to heal members by spiritual power or tenaga dalam. Belt colours differ in other sources. O'ong Maryono writes that Dewa Bagus Alit Dira introduced a hierarchy from red with one to three stripes through blue, yellow and purple to black and white. Wikipedia en gives red, blue, brown, yellow and purple for master teachers and calls the belt system taken over from Japanese arts. Green 2001 writes that Bhakti Negara proposed an eclectic approach and tried to add a sporting dimension.
Today
Depdikbud 1985 states that by 1985 Bhakti Negara, Perisai Diri and Kertha Wisesa had spread to the villages of Bali, and all three were registered with the IPSI regional organization on Bali. Bhakti Negara had branches in Badung, Karangasem, Gianyar, Bangli, Klungkung, Tabanan, Jembrana and Buleleng. The document gives no number of members. We did not find teaching in schools or participation in festivals in Draeger or in Depdikbud. Wikipedia en writes that after standardization Bakti Negara became part of the banjar or village organization and entered the Balinese school system, and that today it is practised in almost every town and village on Bali. The claim about its spread is uncited in Wikipedia en, and entry into the school system is also stated by the school's website. Jakarta Post 2012 names bakti negara as a Balinese style alongside the silek harimau of the Minangkabau and the cimande of the Sundanese.
Did you know
Draeger 1972 explains that for the general way of fighting of Bhakti negara the Chinese word hua, flowers, in the sense of ornamental deception, fits best. He adds that some Chinese martial forms show here and there. O'ong Maryono on silatindonesia.com quotes the motto of Bakti Negara: Hinduism is my religion and Bakti Negara is my pencak silat. According to the pendekar Sri Empu Dwi Tantra the word Bakti has a mystical interpretation as an abbreviation of three parts, and Negara in the mystical sense means power. This is a claim of the website's author.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Bakti Negara?
Sources differ. Draeger 1972 names Ida Bagus Uka Dinwangkara, Depdikbud 1985 describes a beginning with three figures, Anak Agung Meranggi, Bagus Keplang and Bapak Tantra, and Wikipedia writes of four veterans of the independence struggle.
Is Bakti Negara a purely Balinese art?
Draeger 1972 calls it a purely Balinese style, but at the same time writes that the founder himself describes the system as a synthesis of Javanese ideas and modern foreign influences. Depdikbud 1985 states that the movements come mainly from Cimande and Cikaret.
What characterizes Bakti Negara technically?
According to Draeger 1972 it is highly deceptive: the practitioner feigns a weak stance or inattention to lure the opponent into a blind attack, and makes almost all blocks with open palms.
How does one advance in Bakti Negara?
According to Depdikbud 1985 each of the student grades lasts two years, and after each one confirmation by a local examination and a ceremonial offering is required. Students wear a red belt, from the second grade with black stripes, and the fifth grade is kader with a blue belt.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.