Punggawa
Encyclopedia
Punggawa is a title for a traditional local administrator, used in various parts of Indonesia
. On Bali
and by extension Lombok
, the punggawa held the function of a hereditary vassal lord of a district, subservient to the raja
. The term originally applied to the northern kingdom Buleleng
, the southern district chiefs being known as manca or manca agung. With the Dutch conquest of Bali in 1906-1908, the term was applied by colonial administration to the entire island. On Sulawesi
, too, the term was used for chiefs serving a major lord, in the form pongawa. In Javanese culture the punggawa is a court official in shadow plays (wayang
).
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. On Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
and by extension Lombok
Lombok
Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east...
, the punggawa held the function of a hereditary vassal lord of a district, subservient to the raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
. The term originally applied to the northern kingdom Buleleng
Buleleng
Buleleng is a regency of Bali, Indonesia. It has an area of 1,365.88 km2 and population of 577,644 . Its regency seat is Singaraja....
, the southern district chiefs being known as manca or manca agung. With the Dutch conquest of Bali in 1906-1908, the term was applied by colonial administration to the entire island. On Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
, too, the term was used for chiefs serving a major lord, in the form pongawa. In Javanese culture the punggawa is a court official in shadow plays (wayang
Wayang
Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...
).