Taken from: Tijdschrift voor Indische taal-, land-, en volkenkunde 1936

The part of the inscription (on four copper plates) that concerns us deals with the founding of the freehold of Balawi which because being free can not be entered by the servants of its big neighbors. This inscription itself was found in Balawi Village, Lamongan, East Java.

Canka year 1227 

 

Plate IV

………. These are the borders of the freehold Bawali. And as far as the status of Balawi is concerned, it is a completely autonomous freehold, has a wayang position; it must not be entered by the servants of the three ministers: Pangkur, Tawan and Tirip (as also) the pinghe, wahuta, rama, nayaka, pratyaya (different officials and notaries). So also (it may not be trod upon) by the future kings (in the first place) up to all collectors of taxes, all sorts of wuluwulu-s (artisans of the king), having at their head ….. (list of 85 names of which I only give the last part)
Plate V
...kdi (unfertile) walyan (doctor), widu mangidung (song-singers), sambal, sumbul (police officers), hulun haji (kings slaves), singgah (slave walking in front of his owner) pawresi (carries the cushions), pawulung-wulung (the dark-blue ones), pujut (enslave-able ethnic group), bondan (slave from Papua? origin), jenggi (black slave), pandak (midget), wwal (dwarf), wungkuk (hunchback) watek I jro (court attendants) ityewamadi (and so forth) kabeh (everything) tan (not); all of them are not allowed to enter the free area of Balawi (they are not to intervene). Likewise with regard to the benefits and burdens, such as ……

Plate VI

And such; they have no authority over it. Only the municipality of Balawi is authorized to do so. And as for the manembul……. when they are in the free area of Balawi, then only the municipality of Balawi can regulate them. And as for the wargga kilalan (tax-farmer group): Kling, Aryya, [.....], Singhala, Karnataka, [.....], Cina (China), Campa (Champa), Mandisi (?), Caremin (Ramanyadesa), Kmir (Cambodia),...  ……. Every group no matter where they comes from……(This is a list of tax-farming foreigners.)

 

King Kertarajasa (who granted this inscription) had his capital at Majapahit in Eastern Java close to Surabaya.

Also in this inscription: the king had married with four daughters of Kertanagara, the last king of the Kingdom of Singhasari, namely Tribhuwaneswari, Narendraduhita, Jayendradewi, and Gayatri. He had a son from Tribhuwaneswari called Jayanagara who was made king Daha

See note on Inscriptions in Java