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Colony

Ratih Kumala
,
Dalih Sembiring
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Amazon

Colony is an intricate tale of power struggle wrapped in the guise of a fable about a colony of ants. It follows the story of Darojak, a young queen ant whose colony has been destroyed, forcing her to seek refuge in another colony ruled by Queen Gegana. This colony is on the brink of extinction due to a shortage of worker ants. The aging Queen Gegana is producing more male ants, who are ultimately useless without a queen. Darojak finds love with Sunar, a charming male ant, and their mate solidifies her position as the new queen. Inevitably, Queen Gegana resorts to extreme measures to eliminate Queen Darojak, causing a deep divide within the colony. A fierce battle ensues, shaking the colony to its core.

Set in the subterranean world of insects, this work of fiction is an allegory for human society’s insatiable thirst for power. Through the allegory of ants, Colony invites readers to ponder the nature of power, love, and survival.

Published: Aug/2026

ISBN: 9789815368703

Length: 272 Pages

Colony

Ratih Kumala
,
Dalih Sembiring

Colony is an intricate tale of power struggle wrapped in the guise of a fable about a colony of ants. It follows the story of Darojak, a young queen ant whose colony has been destroyed, forcing her to seek refuge in another colony ruled by Queen Gegana. This colony is on the brink of extinction due to a shortage of worker ants. The aging Queen Gegana is producing more male ants, who are ultimately useless without a queen. Darojak finds love with Sunar, a charming male ant, and their mate solidifies her position as the new queen. Inevitably, Queen Gegana resorts to extreme measures to eliminate Queen Darojak, causing a deep divide within the colony. A fierce battle ensues, shaking the colony to its core.

Set in the subterranean world of insects, this work of fiction is an allegory for human society’s insatiable thirst for power. Through the allegory of ants, Colony invites readers to ponder the nature of power, love, and survival.

Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback
Amazon

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Ratih Kumala

Ratih Kumala is an Indonesian author who began her writing career contributing short stories to various newspapers, magazines, and literary journals. She enjoys exploring diverse themes and genres, believing that each literary works possesses its own unique level of complexity.

Her first novel, Tabula Rasa, won the 2003 Jakarta Arts Council Novel Competition. Since then, she has continued to contribute significantly to the literary world. She is also a prolific screenwriter for feature films, television drama series, OTT platforms, and other digital media. Notably, she adapted her own novel, Gadis Kretek (Cigarette Girl), into a screenplay that premiered on Netflix in 2023.

This highly acclaimed series was honored as the Best Miniseries at the Seoul International Drama Awards 2024, and the novel itself has been translated into several foreign languages.

In the same year, she received the Chommanard Women's Literary Awards 2024 from the Chommanard Book Prize in Thailand. Her novel, Koloni (Colony), emerged from her deep concerns for her beloved home country, Indonesia. She currently resides in Jakarta.

Dalih Sembiring

Born in 1983 in Binjai, North Sumatra, Dalih Sembiring is a writer, translator, and journalist with a diverse portfolio in literary and cultural work. He is best known for translating Lelaki Harimau (Man Tiger) by Eka Kurniawan, which was longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize. His journalism background includes contributions to The Jakarta Post and a tenure as a features reporter at Jakarta Globe. Dalih has authored two novels, and his short stories have appeared in Horison, Jurnal Cerpen Indonesia, and Asymptote Journal. He has also translated for various organizations and interdisciplinary projects, including for the Singapore-based multinational news channel Channel News Asia. Based in Yogyakarta, he remains active in Indonesia’s literary and cultural scenes.