Balla Lampoa Palace

Balla Lampoa Palace was formerly the palace of the king of Gowa Kingdom. The palace was located at Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi Province. It has a big rumah panggung (raised stand) shape. In fact, in Makasaresse Balla Lampoa means big house or grand house. It was made entirely of woods which gives an impression of dominant brown color. However, this old palace still looks firm.

Historical background

Balla Lompoa Palace was built in 1826 at the time of the 33rd King of Gowa, I Mangngi-mangngi Daeng Matutu. There were two kings that lived in the palace, I Mangngi-mangngi Daeng Matutu and the 34th king, A Idjo Daeng Mattawang Karaeng Lalolang Sultan Muhammad Kadir Aidir. Before the building of this palace, the former king, Andi Makkalau, used his dwelling place in Kumala street, Makassar, as a palace. When I Mangngi-mangngi was on the throne, all of the kingdom regalia were transferred from Andi Makkulau’s palace to the new palace.

The royal kingdom now no longer has control over their ancestor’s heritage. Kompas (8/11/2008) reported that the descendants of the 36th king of Gowa were forced to leave by the city police. This was considered as a disrespect action. While the Regent of Gowa contended that custom house Balla Lompoa belongs to the Regency of Gowa, there is no official transfer from the royal family to the government.

Becoming Museum

The Balla Lompoa Palace is 1 acre complex that was bordered by high walls. The entire building was made of ulin woo or besi wood as well as its roof. Hence, the palace was strong against climatic changes. The main building’s architecture was that of Bugis, a stage house, with more than 2 meters stairways to ascend unto the terrace. The terrace was used to be the place to welcome guests or chat. Another Bugis builing characteristic is the many windows which this palace also has, 0,5 x 0,5 in each window.

The palace is now has been transformed into a museum. The interior was ivied into two main parts, i.e. the 60 x 40 meters court and the 40 x 4.5 meters terrace. There are three rooms, 6 x 5 each, in the court. The first room was the private room of the king, where a throne was place in the middle of it. The second served as storage for regalia, such as crown, the king’s umbrella, clothes, royal flag, an so on, and the last one is the royal room, while the other room at the back is the room of the queen’s and her family.

Curiously: if a visitor enters this palace, he will be welcomed with a dinner table covered with red cloth. However, there is nothing behind the red cloth, because there is only a blank white dish. In the past, the table was used to receive guests.

Some of the collection in this palace are crown, necklace, keris, and other items which were usually made of pure gold an furnished with diamond, ruby, or pearl. The average weight of the collections was 700 grams, and some even can reach 1 kilogram. Beside the jewelry, there are 10 lances, keris, 7 lontar manuscript, and two Al-Qurans written in 1848.

There is actually another palace locate in the complex, that is Tamalate Palace. It was located next to Balla Lompoa Palace. However, it is not the original palace left by the former king, but the replica of the mythical Tamalate Palace which was said to exist in 13th century and had been the first king’s palaces. Now, it serves as a public building.

Source:

Kompas & Kompas