Other lordship · Self-governing peoples of Island Southeast Asia · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Ncuhi of Bima

The Bima country on the north coast of Sumbawa is a Hindu-Buddhist land with a carving at Wadu Paa dated 631 Saka (709) and, in the later Bo chronicle, an early world of ncuhi, local chiefs who give way to a line of kings that begins with the arrival of Sang Bima and his sons (local legend).

No ruler can be named for 1200. The Nagarakretagama lists Dompo (Dompu), Sapi, Sang Hyang Api (Sangeang Api), Bima and Gurun as places the Javanese court counted as its own in 1365. Pires about 1515 names Bima's exports as cloth, horses, slaves and a red dyewood. All of this is later than 1200 or legend. Treat the ncuhi as a late-tradition label for village heads.

Who he is

Title
Ncuhi (village or district chiefs) of Bima, Dompu and Sanggar
Since
not pinned
Born
not known
Confidence
low

The word ncuhi and the story of the early chiefs and of Sang Bima come from the Bo, the Bima palace chronicle, whose king lists differ by count (en.wikipedia); the earliest firm dates are Pires about 1515 and the first sultan about 1620 to 1640.

What it holds

  • Villages, rice ground and the great bay of Bima (inference)

How things stand that morning

No state attested. Village chiefs; ships break their voyage in Bima bay.

Wealth

Sappanwood, horses, sulphur, honey (the campaign board's list); no figures.

Places of note

  • Bima bay: The finest harbour between Java and Timor.

Where the sources disagree

  • The 'ncuhi' and 'Sang Bima' come from the Bo and late legend; they are not evidence for 1200.

Evidence: A carving of 709 and late chronicle.

On the map: A disc at the bay; the country is drawn in the province record.

Sources and studies

  1. Wikipedia (en), Bima Sultanate (read in this pass): Wadu Paa carving dated 631 Saka (709), sultanate from 1620-1640, Bo chronicle, Pires c. 1515
  2. Wikipedia (en), Nagarakretagama (read in this pass): completed 1365; canto 14 list of Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Timor and the east
  3. General knowledge of Old Javanese and Old Balinese epigraphy and the archaeology of Java, recalled and not re-read in this pass (Boechari, Poerbatjaraka, Soekmono, Bernet Kempers)
  4. OMNIA board notes for the place (a lead, not a source)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.