<![CDATA[Before the region came to be known as Priangan, it was referred to by its earlier name, Sumedanglarang. After its transfer from Mataram to Sultan Agung, the name was changed to Priangan. When the region later came under the control of the Dutch East Indies administration, Governor-General H. W. Daendels renamed it Prefectuur Preanger-Regentschappen. During the British interregnum (1811–1816), Thomas Stamford Raffles further changed the administrative designation to Priangan Residence, which comprised five regencies: Bandung, Cianjur, Sumedang, Limbangan, and Sukapura. Each regency was governed by local aristocratic elites under colonial supervision. This local aristocracy, known as the ménak, consisted of regents, their assistants, and their extended families. These ménak elites led exclusive lifestyles and lived in houses that clearly distinguished them from the peasant class. This article specifically explores the residences of the Priangan aristocracy from 1800 to 1942. Various historical sources are corroborated to reconstruct an account of these elite dwellings. The study employs a four-step historical method comprising heuristics, criticism, interpretation, and historiography. It also integrates historical, philological, anthropological, and sociological approaches to offer a multidimensional understanding of the aristocratic residential spaces. The buildings often adopted architectural styles reminiscent of keraton palaces, typically featuring a front-facing pendopo. Due to the influence of European culture, this architectural style later evolved into a hybrid form, with Western elements incorporated. These residences became known as regent-woning (regent’s houses), furnished and decorated in ways that preserved keraton-inspired aesthetics.]]>
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