Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Sultan Sri Kesuma Negara V of Sintang


























Sintang is the only big kingdom which lies in the inland of West-Kalimantan.
In 2005 he was installed as the 29th monarch of Sintang with title Panembahan and in 2006 he found it the time to install himself as Sultan. That installation (see picture) was more official. On the picture the monarch in the middle of his installationceremony holds the royal statekeris, which is the main symbol of power of the Sintang kings.
1 month before his installation as king his wife Ratu Maria Ulfah died. Now he is maried again to a 2nd queen. Sintang was the most powerfull of the so-called Kapuas area and held more or less some sway, or at least influence over the little stateletts to the west.
The title Sultan wasn't much used in Sintang;mostly they spoke about Panembahan.
Nowadays the monarch also uses the title Pangeran Ratu to describe, that officially the monarch is now a moral king and not a government king (then he would only use the title Sultan).
Some years ago there was some problem, that the government would take the main palace of the kings and restaurate it and then put it into a museum, which was dome elsewhere in Indonesia for several times, but that plan was changed fortunately.
The Sintang area is knows for their enormous hunger to know about their history and culture in the modern time; the Melayu culture as well as the Dayak culture. It is very interesting to know, that the Sultan strongly works together with an original Dutch Roman Catholic Priest called Father Maessen and together they already could achieve very big results in the field of the preservance of the local culture and history, which are examplary for Indonesia.

Donald Tick,
Pusat Dokumentasi Kerajaan-kerajaan Indonesia "Pusaka"
Edit by festivi

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