Cheteria

The Cheteria are a group of royal dignitaries within the Sultanate of Brunei whose position ranks below the Royal Wazir but above the Manteri. Each carry specialized tasks and report directly to the Sultan of Brunei. The Cheteria hierarchy is structured around what is known as the Four Fold system which expands up to 32 folds. The title of Cheteria are only bestowed upon the Pengiran, especially to the caste of Pengiran known as the Pengiran Peranakan. The awarding of such titles are held in a ceremony called "mengangkat".

History
The word cheteria likely derives from the name of the Kshatriya warrior caste in Hinduism. These Bruneian traditional officials, who were part of the second class of officials in the country's traditional administration, were crucial to the state's decision-making process. In contrast to the wazir (vizier), who were solely picked from the core aristocracy, they were recited from both the core and common nobility. The Pengiran Shahbandar, or minister of commerce, was the highest-ranking representative in this group. Currently, the Cheteria 4, Cheteria 8, Cheteria 16 and Cheteria 32, which are primarily drawn from Brunei's nobility.

Copper, silver, and gold crafts used in royal traditions reveal the identity of the user or owner. Tools like daggers and betelwere given to royal dignitaries who received the titles of Wazir, Ceteria, and Manteri, for instance. The kaskol given to the Wazir and Kepala Ceteria is made of gold. Pehin Dato Perdana Menteri and Pehin Orang Kaya Di-Gadong received a silver-bearing tipa for the Besar Ceteria, Besar Pengalasan Ceteria, Damit Pengalasan Ceteria, and Manteri-Manteri. While copper-born tipa was granted for the other people.

Indera
The ruler of the Hindu gods is Indra, the god of heaven, battle, thunder, and storms. Indra means "possessing drops of rain" in Sanskrit because indu- means "a drop" and -ra means "possessing." Buddhism and Jainism devotees both adore Indra. In Malay languages, the word indera is frequently used in that context and has now come to denote royal.

Maharaja
The Kushns are thought to have first used the name sometime in the 1st century. The Scythian and Persian-Mongolian kings of northwest India had influenced them, and they preferred the title "great king" to "king." The title mahrjdhirja (great king of kings), which is a Sanskrit translation of the Persian shahanshah, was given to Chandragupta I, the third king of the Gupta era. Other, even more exaggerated titles followed, and at certain points even vassal kings with little possessions were referred to as maharajas.

Hierarchy
There are several levels within the Cheteria group:


 * Chief Cheteria
 * Cheteria 4
 * Additional Cheteria Under Cheteria 4
 * Cheteria 8
 * Cheteria 16
 * Additional Cheteria Under Cheteria 16
 * Cheteria 32

The Perdana Cheteria (Chief Cheteria) maintains the highest rank of the Cheteria. In general, however, the number of positions within each Cheteria level follows the number of the level e.g.; the Cheteria 8 would consist of 8 positions and Cheteria 32 of 32 positions. An exception to this would be the Chief Cheteria of which there are two ranks (Head and Vice Head) and the additional Cheteria to Cheteria 4 and 16 of which; there is one additional Cheteria under Cheteria 4 and two additional Cheteria under Cheteria 16.

Title and styling
Every individual who is bestowed with the position of Cheteria are given a unique title and referred to with the honorific style "Yang Amat Mulia" which roughly translates to "The Most Noble" or "His Highness". For example; for someone who is awarded the title of "Pengiran Kesuma Negara" which is a position in the Cheteria 8, would be fully styled as "Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Kesuma Negara",  followed by another title (if any) and then real name.

Cheterias
The list of Cheterias is as of 12 May 2023.