Nyai Ageng Serang

Raden Ajeng Kustiyah Wulaningsih Retno Edhi (1752–1838), better known as Nyai Ageng Serang, is a National Hero of Indonesia. Biography Nyai Ageng Serang was born under the name Raden Ajeng Kustiyah Wulaningsih Retno Edhi in Serang ( north of Solo), in 1752. Her father was Pangeran Natapraja (also known as Panembahan Serang), a ruler of Serang and Pangeran Mangkubumi's war commander.

She helped her father to fight against the Dutch colonial government, which attacked them because her father still maintained troops, in violation of the Treaty of Giyanti. After the battle, she was arrested and taken to Yogyakarta. Then, she was sent back to Serang.

At the beginning of Diponegoro War in 1825, 73-year-old Nyai Ageng Serang commanded the force on a stretcher to help Pangeran Diponegoro fighting the Dutch. During the war, she was accompanied by her son-in-law, Raden Mas Pak-pak. She fought in several areas, including Purwodadi, Demak, Semarang, Juwana, Kudus, and Rembang. She was also assigned to defend the area of Prambanan from the Dutch. She stopped fighting after 3 years, although her son-in-law continued fighting. Despite fighting the Dutch, beginning in 1833 they gave her an annuity of 100 gulden per month.

Legacy Nyai Ageng Serang was awarded the title National Heroine of Indonesia through Presidential Decree number 084/TK/1974 on 13 December 1974. One of her grandsons, Raden Mas Soewardi Soerjaningrat, is also a national hero. Her name is used for the building of the Culture and Museum Office in South Jakarta.