Tjambuk Api

(title translation: Fire Whip)

“Ujung” (a game of hitting and whipping) is a tradition in a village in East Java. However, Suro uses the whip as a tool of terror to control the village. Kasan is told by his mother to focus on being a farmer as his father died in an “ujung” fight. But Kasan’s effort to make the land fertile is considered a personal challenge by Suro, since Kasan manages to get the villagers’ support to build a water mill to irrigate their barren land. It doesn’t help that Suro’s daughter, Marni, loves Kasan and that Suro wants her to marry Karnen, one of his men. So Karnen attacks and tortures Kasan, which forces the latter to learn how to play “ujung”. When Marni goes to Kasan’s house, it enrages Suro so another fighter is sent to kidnap her. Then Kasan challenges Suro to a duel and wins. The village is peaceful again and free to continue farming.