V. S. Naipaul, in his book Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey, describes hearing rumors while in Indonesia that when a paramilitary group would arrive to exterminate every person in some village, they would, incongruously, bring along a traditional gamelan orchestra. Eventually Naipaul encountered an unrepentant veteran of a massacre, and he asked him about the rumor. Yes, it is true. We would bring along gamelan musicians, singers, flutes, gongs, the whole shebang. Why? Why would you possibly do that? The man looked puzzled and gave what seemed to him a self-evident answer: “Well, to
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