Meanings
nounpuputan (plural puputans or puputan)
plural puputans
- historicalA suicidal march towards an enemy as carried out by the aristocracy or ruling class of a Balinese kingdom.
The puputan was both a sign to other kings of an end, and a way to achieve liberation of the soul by death in battle.
2012, Adrian Vickers, Bali: A Paradise Created, 2nd edition, Tuttle, page 581 more example
According to their own records, the Dutch believed that the royal family had determined upon a fight to the death—another puputan—which left them with no alternative but all-out assault.
2009, Jeff Lewis, Belinda Lewis, Bali's silent crisis, page 18
Origin
- Balinesepuputan
- Englishpuputan
From Balinese puputan.
More words from Balinese
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
puputan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/puputan
MLA
“puputan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/puputan. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “puputan,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/puputan.
Source: puputan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.