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ut was clever, very strong and as agile as a cat, and who proved his valour by boldly stealing
rifles from the Dutch barracks. His success as an independence fighter spoiled his balance of
the gunas, however, and his humour and long hair made him a favourite of upper-class girls,
who would otherwise never have spoken to him. He became full of the passion and desire of
rajas. This complemented his natural abundance of tamas—which deprived him of the light of
sattva but gave him his earthly solidness—, and the two drove him toward an animalistic
being. When caught sleeping with the beautiful girlfriend of the group captain, Sutrisno was
offered the just choice of death or castration. Sutrisno, however, true to his dark combination
of gunas, turned justice on its head and shocked his comrades by choosing the latter. Maruli
explains to Alex how they ‘all hoped he would ask to be shot. None of us could speak,
because we loved him, and we didn't want to be the one to do it’ (MD, 64).
Sutrisno became a symbolic animal sacrifice in a ritual gone wrong. He was the
sacrificial buffalo, but, instead of at a clean and prepared temple, the sacrifice was performed
in an unclean buffalo shed that stank of animals. The other boys understood this desecration,
crying and beating their heads with their fists; Sutrisno, however, bore himself with the dignity
of a true sacrifice of Hindu tradition, squatting willingly on the floor before his accusers, like a
practical farm boy ‘thinking over the price he would accept for his goat’, accepting his fate
with honour. Yet, by failing to carry out the ritual sacrifice correctly, they reduced Sutrisno to
the level of a captive animal and destroyed the human dignity of all members of the group.
When they took him home afterwards, his mother said, ‘I had ten children—he was the
strongest baby and he is the only son left to me. Is this how you fight the Dutch?’ They were
all ashamed, and though they said, ‘It was his wish. He broke the code’, they knew that their
code was unjust. Sutrisno later rejoined the gang, but their luck had changed, and the first
night they went stealing again they were all caught. Only Sutrisno and Maruli escaped
execution. They continued fighting until independence, but neither believed in the same sense
of justice and righteousness as before. When Alex reacts with horror to the story, Maruli
responds ironically, ‘It happened a long time ago, when people were confused’ (MD, 63-64).
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