Dalem was a title for the kings of
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
who resided in
Samprangan Samprangan, also spelt Samplangan, is a historical site on Bali, Indonesia. It is situated about one kilometer to the east of Gianyar town. According to Balinese historical tradition, it was the first residence of the dynasty of kings of Bali who d ...
and
Gelgel and were descended from the founder-raja
Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan
Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan was a king of Bali who governed the island under the suzerainty of the Javanese Majapahit Empire (1293-c. 1527). He is supposed to have ruled in the mid-14th century, and to be the ancestor of the later kings of Bali. Hi ...
(mid-14th century?). These kings ruled the island, or at least substantial parts thereof, from maybe the 14th century to the second half of the 17th century. The title literally means "inside" (the Indonesian word ''dalam'' has the same meaning), and alludes to his ritual-symbolic role inside the palace (
puri
Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...
). The title is first found in a
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
report from 1619, which says that the Radia Dalam (Raja Dalem) was the paramount ruler of 33 lesser
Balinese lords. The title is used in the chronicle
Babad Dalem
Babad Dalem is a historical account from Bali, Indonesia, which exists in a large number of versions of varying length. The title may be translated as "Chronicle of Kings", although the Balinese babad genre does not quite accord to Western-style ...
from the 18th century, which recounts the history of the kings of Bali up the end of the 17th century. After the fall of the Gelgel kingdom in 1686, a daughter kingdom was established in nearby
Klungkung
Klungkung Regency is the smallest regency (''kabupaten'') on Bali, Indonesia. It has an area of 315 km2 and had a population at the 2010 Census of 170,543 which increased to 206,925 at the Census of 2020. The administrative centre for the reg ...
. However, the rulers of the
Klungkung Palace
The Klungkung Palace, officially Puri Agung Semarapura, is a historical building complex situated in Semarapura, the capital of the Klungkung Regency ( kabupaten) on Bali, Indonesia. The palace ( puri) was erected at the end of the 17th century, ...
were usually known by another title,
Dewa Agung
Dewa Agung or Deva Agung was the title of the kings of Klungkung, the foremost in rank among the nine kingdoms of Bali, Indonesia. It was also borne by other high-ranking members of the dynasty. The term Dewa means "god" and was also a general titl ...
. In the literature, Dewa Agung is sometimes, although anachronistically, used also for the pre-1686 kings of Bali.
[I Wayan Warna et al. (tr.), ''Babad Dalem. Teks dan Terjemahan''. Denpasar: Dinas Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Daerah Tingkat I Bali.]
See also
*
History of Bali
The History of Bali covers a period from the Paleolithic to the present, and is characterized by migrations of people and cultures from other parts of Asia. In the 16th century, the history of Bali started to be marked by Western influence with th ...
*
List of monarchs of Bali
This is a list of monarchs of the Bali Kingdom, an island in the Indonesian archipelago. Included are, first, rulers on an island-wide level, and, second, rajas of minor states that arose in the 17th and 18th centuries. The sequence and dates of th ...
*
Gelgel, Indonesia
Gelgel is a village ( desa) in the regency ( kabupaten) of Klungkung, on Bali, Indonesia. The village, near the coast four kilometers south of the regency capital Semarapura, contains a number of structures of cultural interest, and is known for i ...
References
{{reflist
Further reading
*Margaret J. Wiener, ''Visible and Invisible Realms; Power, Magic, and Colonial Conquest in Bali.'' Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press.
History of Bali