Anak Agung Pandji Tisna

Anak Agung Pandji Tisna, was the 11th descendent of the Padji Sakti dynasty of Buleleng in the northern part of Bali, Indonesia. Known in his youth as I Gusti Nyoman Pandji Tisna, was the eldest son of Putu Jelantik, ruler of Buleleng, a vassal state of the Netherlands East Indies.

He studied in Dutch-medium schools and in his late teens worked for his father, first as a secretary and later as the manager of his father’s business interests. In 1935 he published his first novel in Malay, Ni Rawit: Marriage Broker and People Tracker. This was followed in rapid succession by Sukreni Gadis Bali, I Swasta: A Year in Bedahulu, and Dewi Karuna: Salah Satu Jalan Pengembara Dunia. In April 1945 Pandji Tisna was installed as the new regent of Buleleng after the death of his father, before then being elected as the Chairman of the Council of Balinese Regents (Dewan Raja-Raja Bali), a position which effectively made him the paramount ruler of Bali. After converting to Christianity the previous year, in 1947 he resigned from his chairmanship of the Council of Regents amid social and political turmoil. In 1950 he returned to government as head of the Buleleng District administration under the newly formed integrated Republic of Indonesia, and was appointed a member of the national parliament in jakarta. He resigned from both of these offices in 1952. Later in life he was involved on social welfare projects, among them a private secondary school. He also busied himself working with the tiny Christian community of north Bali. In 1957 he published a new novel inspired in part by his own life, I Made Widiadi: Kembali Kepada Tuhan, the story of a Balinese who converts to Christianity.

On the last page of I Made Widiadi, he wrote his life story in chronological order. He was a writer and a novelist. He refused to be the king of Buleleng, but being the eldest son, the Japanese occupancy troops forced him to be “syucho” after the death of his father in 1944.

During his reign, he became the leader of the Council of Kings of all of Bali from 1946 to 1947 (Paruman Agung) and the Regent of Buleleng. In 1947, because his uniquely Christian faith did not fit in with the predominant Hindu religion, Pandji Tisna surrendered the throne to his younger brother, Anak Agung Ngurah Ketut Djelantik or I Gusti Ketut Djelantik, also known as Meester Djelantik, until 1949.

He died 2 June 1978 and was buried in the graveyard on the Eastside of his land near the chapel he built years before.

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