Maestro Storyteller Made Taro Passed Away on National Children’s Day
- 23 Jul 2026 14:32 WIB
- Voice of Indonesia
Poin Utama
- Renowned Balinese storyteller and cultural figure Made Taro passed away at the age of 87 on July 23, 2026, coinciding with Indonesia's National Children's Day.
- Made Taro dedicated more than five decades to preserving Balinese culture through storytelling, traditional games, children's songs, and character education.
RRI.CO.ID, Denpasar - The Balinese arts community mourned the death of the storyteller Made Taro, who breathed his last at age 87 on Thursday, 23 July 2026. The cultural figure, who dedicated more than half a century of his life to children’s joy and education, died on the very day the nation marked National Children’s Day, leaving a lasting legacy of dozens of children’s literary works.
“Mr. Taro passed away on 23 July 2026 at the age of 87, precisely on National Children’s Day. This morning we grieve the loss of a tireless cultural leader who reminded us of the ngijeng way of life and devoted himself steadfastly to the roots of Balinese culture through literature,” said Balinese writer, I Made Sujaya, in Denpasar on Thursday, 23 July 2026.
Ngijeng is a philosophy or attitude toward life, describing a state of steadfastness, dedication, and rootedness. It means choosing to stay put and care for one's roots rather than being swayed by external distractions.
His daughter-in-law, Ni Made Maharini, said he died in the early hours after his condition had steadily declined following an illness that began in late June 2026 and required hospitalization. Even before his death, Made Taro was reported to be still writing the fourth volume of his Dongeng-Dongeng Lansia (Elderly Tales) series.
“Until recently he was still creating new elder-tale books and had planned to publish up to a fifth volume within two years. But God willed otherwise, he completed the series only up to the fourth volume,” she said, as quoted by Antara.
As his health weakened, the Karangasem-born storyteller devoted himself to writing and began passing his storytelling skills to his grandchildren.
“It’s very sad that a man who produced so much for children passed away on National Children’s Day. However, he leaves behind a rich legacy of works and has passed his skills down to his grandchildren to ensure these stories and traditional games never disappear,” she added.
Made Taro was one of Bali’s cultural figures who dedicated nearly his entire life to children through storytelling, songs, and traditional play. He was born on 16 April 1939 in Sengkidu Village, Karangasem, Bali and began actively telling stories in Denpasar in 1973.
In 1979, he founded Sanggar Kukuruyuk, a studio that became a space for nurturing children through arts, storytelling, traditional games, and character education rooted in Balinese culture.
For more than five decades he traveled across Bali delivering moral-rich tales while introducing traditional games as a medium for character education. Made Taro also taught abroad in Australia and served as a resource person for numerous training programs for early childhood and kindergarten teachers to revive Balinese traditional games in educational settings.
The people of Bali knew him as a master storyteller who continued producing work into old age, including the Dongeng-Dongeng Lansia series. In the past three years he released several works such as the Seni Tutur (Oral art) series (2022–2024) and Dongengku Cerminku (My Story My Mirror) in April 2024.
Overall, Made Taro authored approximately 54 books, most of which contain stories, folktales, traditional games, and Balinese children’s songs.
Maharini said the maestro’s body is currently at the Dharmayadnya Hospital funeral chamber, and several artists are expected to pay their respects before his cremation scheduled for Sunday, 26 July 2026. ***
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