Kesiman, as an administrative region, is located in the City of Denpasar. According to Eka Ilikita Desa Adat Kesiman (1990), the name Kesiman comes from the words "Ku" and "Sima." This term is mentioned in the Babad Wanggayah, which tells the story of Ida Dalem Batu Ireng. Ida Dalem Batu Ireng built a prahyangan named Dalem Tungkub, which was disungsung by the Pasek Dangka. Then, from Taman Hyang Batur, he continued his journey to Bukit Bali, Batu Belig, and Sumerta. The arrival of Ida Dalem Batu Ireng in Desa Sumerta was ignored by Anglurah Bongaya, and he continued his journey to wander angider bhuwana (angrebong) towards Desa Tangkas, seeking a river and intending to attain moksa using water as a medium, as he believed that achieving moksa through water was the best way and could bring blessings. The river was later named Sungai Ayu or We Ayu, where “we” means water and “ayu” means peace; today, this river is known as Sungai Ayung. After Ida Dalem Batu Ireng attained moksa, his followers established a memorial in the form of a large stone named Batu Sima. The three descendants of Dalem Batu Ireng followed the yadnya moksa at Sungai Ayung, and then Bendesa Mas and Gaduh built a grema (desa pakraman) named Pendem, complete with Prahyangan Desa Puseh and Manik Aji in the Abian Nangka ambengan forest (Eka Ilikita Desa Adat Kesiman, 1990: 3-4).
When Adipati Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan became the Adipati of Majapahit in Bali, one of his companions, Arya Wang Bang, established a palace on the banks of the Ayung River, right at the place where Ida Dalem Batu Ireng attained moksa. Arya Wang Bang Pinatih Majapahit there met the Balinese community, declaring himself as the envoy of Sang Prabhu Majapahit to continue Sima Krama practiced by the Balinese in the territory of Dalem Batu Ireng, which was called Ngerebongan. After Arya Wang Bang received the inheritance from Ida Dalem Batu Ireng (Dalem Moksa) on the banks of the Ayung River, he then affirmed the legacy of Ida Dalem Batu Ireng by naming the place Kusima and the core place of Ida Dalem Batu Ireng moksa apengrebongan, named Amuter Bhuana. Arya Wang Bang emphasized the meaning of Kusima, which is “ku” meaning strong or firm, and “sima” representing the territory of Prahyangan Dalem Muter. The Prahyangan built by Arya Wang Bang on the banks of the Ayung River was completed on the day of Wrespati wuku Sungsang (Sugihan Jawa), marking the occasion when the Balinese community from Java performed the Sugihan Jawa ceremony. Over time, the term Kusima evolved to be called Kesiman up to the present day (Eka Ilikita Desa Adat Kesiman, 1990: 4).
Kesiman, with its long historical journey, began as a kingdom, district, sub-district, village, and eventually as an adat village. Chronologically, it is also necessary to outline a brief history of the civilization of Denpasar City, as Kesiman is administratively located in Denpasar City. The establishment of the Denpasar Palace in 1788 marked the crowning of I Gusti Ngurah Made as king, with the abhiseka title I Gusti Ngurah Made Pemecutan (1788-1813), as he was a descendant of Pemecutan. The successor to I Gusti Ngurah Made Pemecutan at the Denpasar Palace was I Gusti Gde Ngurah, with the abhiseka I Gusti Ngurah Jambe (1813-1817), serving as King of Denpasar II. Meanwhile, his brother named I Gusti Gde Kesiman founded a palace on the eastern side of the Badung Kingdom, named Puri Kesiman, in 1813 (Geriya et al., 2011 in Amerta et al., 2018: 11-12).
I Gusti Gde Kesiman, as the first King of Kesiman, previously served as the regent of the Badung Kingdom. After the death of I Gusti Ngurah Jambe, the second King of Denpasar, in 1817, I Gusti Made Ngurah took over the throne as the third King of Denpasar from 1817 to 1829. Due to his young age, the governance was managed by his uncle at Puri Kesiman. I Gusti Gde Kesiman's influence facilitated cooperation based on mutual understanding among the three palaces in the Badung Kingdom: Puri Pemecutan, Puri Denpasar, and Puri Kesiman. This collaboration strengthened the Badung Kingdom, making it respected by neighboring kingdoms. His proficiency in the Malay language also allowed I Gusti Gde Kesiman to communicate easily with foreign traders visiting the Badung Kingdom (Gora Sirikan, II, ANRI, 1964 in Geriya et al., 2011: 38-39).
When I Gusti Gde Ngurah ascended to the throne as the fourth King of Denpasar in 1829, he held the title of Cokorda Denpasar. Following the death of I Gusti Gde Kesiman in 1865, the leadership of the Badung Kingdom began to shift towards Puri Denpasar. At least three more kings ruled from Puri Denpasar before the outbreak of the Puputan Badung war in 1906: I Gusti Gde Ngurah as the fifth King of Denpasar (1863-1883), I Gusti Alit Ngurah as the sixth King of Denpasar (1883-1902), who bore the title I Gusti Ngurah Jambe Pemecutan, and finally, I Gusti Ngurah Made Agung, who became the seventh King of Denpasar in 1902, ultimately falling in the Puputan Badung war on September 20, 1906. In addition to I Gusti Ngurah Made Agung, I Gusti Ngurah Pemecutan (1890-September 20, 1906), the eighth King of Pemecutan, also perished. Furthermore, on September 18, 1906, the King of Kesiman, I Gusti Ngurah Agung/I Gusti Gde Ngurah Kesiman, had already succumbed, pierced by a kris (traditional dagger) within the palace.
After the Puputan Badung war in 1906, the Badung Kingdom with its three palaces—Puri Pemecutan, Puri Denpasar, and Puri Kesiman—officially became a colonial territory under the Dutch Colonial Government. Dutch colonial influences began to be implemented, such as the construction of immigrant settlements, museums, schools, offices, markets, ports, roads, bridges, and more. The city of Denpasar was used to refer to the capital of the afdeling of South Bali, with the site of the former Puri Denpasar utilized as the government center of the Dutch East Indies at the afdeling and onderafdeling levels, along with its officials, namely the Assistant Resident and the Controller (Boon, 1938 in Geriya et al., 2011: 63-64). Kesiman also became one of the district names, namely Kesiman District, overseeing areas located in Benculuk, Tegehkuri, and Tonja, led by a Punggawa named Jero Gede Rai from Singaraja. Around the year 1920, the Kesiman District Office was moved to Bencingah Puri Kesiman (now the East Denpasar Sub-District Office).
The sequence of officials who served in Kesiman District includes I Gusti Ngurah Gde Kesiman (1921 – May 1954), I Gusti Ngurah Anom Pacung (1954 – December 12, 196), I Gusti Ketut Redung (1960 – 1963), I Gusti Kompyang Rogig Sugriwa (1963 – 1965), and I Gusti Ngurah Gde (1965 – 1970).
Around 1970, Kesiman District changed its name to Kesiman Sub-District, overseeing 11 villages: Kesiman Village, Tonja Village, Penatih Village, Sumerta Village, Sanur Village, Renon Village, Sesetan Village, Panjer Village, Serangan Village, Ubung Village, and Peguyangan Village. In 1978, there was an expansion of sub-districts in Denpasar City, which initially only had two, namely Denpasar Sub-District and Kesiman Sub-District, which were divided into three: West Denpasar Sub-District, East Denpasar Sub-District, and South Denpasar Sub-District. After the subdivision of the sub-districts, the expansion of villages followed, along with the change in status from village to kelurahan. Thus, Kesiman, which was originally a sub-district, became Kelurahan Kesiman on December 1, 1979, along with the addition of two expanded villages, namely Kesiman Petilan Village and Kesiman Kertalangu Village, which are traditionally overseen by the Kesiman Adat Village in the East Denpasar Sub-District.
