1) Compare Ju Karieng, a ilreaded tree on I'uló Lam Puyang, the subject ofmanyvows,
Eumph /.,ttn, a mountain on the eoast of the IV Mukims which plays a part in tlic rain- making superstition, Eumfc !1/icng, a holy well in the IX Mukims, which also hclps to :ausc rain, etc.

52

each with a name of its ovvn but without any collectivc appellation used to band themselves together in time of danger; and that at the time when the greatest efiforts towards centralization of control were being made in Acheh, this confederacy obtained four imeums to look after their mosques and maintain their connection with the territorial miers. Later on then, when this tribe had greatly increased in numbers and spread itself throughout every district, the name survived. Many however take the view that the name points to an original quartet of tribes, united to one another in the same way and for the same reasons as the three sukècs first mentioned {Lhee reutoih, Ju Sandang and 'Ja hater). Such a supposition finds some support in the description of the Achehnese people as the seven kawötns or bangsas, which is to be met with occasionally in their literature. This expression however, the meaning of which even the most intelligent Achehnese declare themselves unable to understand, is just as likely to have onginated in a totally different manner, nor have I met with any popular tradition according to which these «seven tribes" might be taken to be composed of four clans of the Imeum peiïét and the other three tribes. Be this as it may, human memory discloses nothing with respect to this fourfold division, and if it ever did exist, the fusion is now quite complete. Original even though not originally restintr on

territorial,., ^ significance a PurcIy genealogical basis, afterwards obtained a genealogical signifi- "bu tion into ' each kawötn was due in the first place to natural propagation, and that too exclusively in the male line. Beyond aH e was nothing territorial in this distribution; for no matter where a man may choose to take up his abode, the bond which attachés him to his kawötn remains unsevered. Still we may readily suppose that the kawötns were more or less territorially distinguished from one another by position, like the tribes of Israël or the liedouins of Arabia botli past and present. Indeed the instinct of mutual self-support that was unquestionably the weightiest factor 111 the formation of the kawoms, was most intimately connected with community of the place of abode. Concentration was especially resorted to against threatened danger from the other clans; and it follows as a matter of course that there could be no community of residence with an enemy. A manifest sur vival of this separation of clans, which was undoubtedly much more

53

markcd in ancicnt times, is to be found in the adat-rule, often trans- gresscd yct always recognized in theory, that marriage while permitted between members of the first three confederated tribes is forbidden between these and the Imeum Pciict. Had the territorial chiefs succeeded fully in carrying out their pur- pose, such a prohibition would of course have lost all its force. Indeed, where the kawöms have been constrained to live at peace with onc another and to submit their disputes to the arbitration of third parties, there lias been an end of all impulse to such a social separation, vvhich is besides opposed to the teaching of Islam. It is, however, equally certain that such severance and isolation were very much more preva lent prior to the time when the ulèëbalangs and other chiefs began to exert control over all alike without distinction of kawöm. Free intermarriage between the three allied kawöms dates of course from their federation. It does not require a great stretch of the imagination to realize the peculiar consequences of free intermixture of the kawoms, where the tribal distribution still retains its truc significance. We have already seen that the adat-prohibition just noticed is very frequently transgressed. When once the wall of separation between two families is thrown down, a feeling of kinship arises between them and they no longer trouble themselves over the circumstance that the one belongs to the Imeum 1'euet, and the other to one of the three allied tribes. Now all goes well as long as nothing occurs to disturb the peace between the kawoms. Suppose however that a blood-feud springs up between the two and is not at once amicably settled; suppose, as often happens, that such a />//kawöm of his mother, against his ovvn uncles and cousins, where he belongs say to the 7o' Hater and they to the Imeum Pciict. Or let us take the case of two sisters whose family belongs to the 'To Batic, and suppose that one manies a member of the Imeum Pciict (thus transgressing the theoretical rule), and the other a member of the Lhec Reutóih. The usual place of residence of the two husbands, if they do not neglect their wives, will, in accordance with the Aclieh- nese adat be in the same house or at least in the same courtyard. Should a conflict such as we have just supposed arise, the brothers-

WOUIÜ nave to avoid each other as enemies until peace wa; concluded. Such a state of things is not merely hypothetical, but often actuallj anses. It is true, most civil conflicts among the Achehnese express themselves rather in high words, empty burning of powder and un- executed plans than in sanguinary battles. Yet blood-feuds are distin- guished by a certain degree of violence, and it is these in particular which give rise to tribal dissensions.

W e can thus understand the rationale of this adat-rule, and perceive

that it must in earlier times have had a wider influence and been more strongly enforced than at present.

If the social separation of the kawöms is gradually ceasing to cxist,

their territorial severance lias long been a thing of the past. Even in the highlands the three allied kawöms do not live apart from one another, but reside peacefully side by side in the same districts or gampongs. Natural as it now appears, this gathering together within the same village enclosure and under the same territorial chiefs must at

one time have been a gigantic stride along the road of political deve- lopment. This reform cannot be ascribed to the influence of the sultans, since everything points to the fact that the ulccbalangs had made good their territorial power long before they were compelled to recog- niZe the supremacy of the port-king. We may assume that the efforts

<>f certain energetic individuals towards the establishment of territorial authority were crovvned with success because the time was ripe for political reform, and because all men, however disinclined they might be to leave the decisions of their bloodfeuds to others, saw that it was for their interest to adopt a regulated social system in which the kawom played but a secondary part.

This reformation has virtually abolished the clan system. In the lowlands as time goes on it is becoming entirely forgotten. In the highlands it still possesses considerable significance; but this must gra dually decrease unless unforeseen events arise to annihilate the compa-

rative order that now prevails there. Ihe most important panglimas of the Imeum Peuct are those in the \ II Mukims Ba et, and outside these at Lam Leu'ót. There are how ever chiefs of this most numerous clan to be found in other places as well» and in like manner the other three kawöms have their panglima in every place where they are at all well represented as regards num-

55

aers. The post of panglima kawom, like all Achehnese offices, devolves :>y inheritance, but as we have seen above, the holder of tliis office

TEUKU CIIUT EUMl'f f. AKA (XXII MUKIMS).

may take no share in the territorial government. As regards the panglimaship, the three allied tribes count as one; vvhere there exists a panglima of any one of them, he luis 110 colleagues from the other tvvo and attends to the interests of all alike. A blood-debt of any one of these kawöms is also regarded as resting 011 all three. Settlement of blood-feuds seems in ancient times to have been made Vengeance almost exclusively by the exacting of vengeance. While the latter isful expressed by a word of Indian origin (bila) the milder custom of bloed-money. money is only denoted by the Arabic appellation dict. Although the

56

a of a blood-price is not foreign to nativc customary Iaw in othc parts of the Eastern Archipelago, this method of settlement seems t( have been introduced into Achch through the medium of Islam, - though not without modifications. It is not necessary here to go into the rules of Mohammedan law in respect of the jus talionis and blood-money. It need only be bornc in mind that in case of wilful murder or hurt, the Moslim law give« the right of retributive vengeance to none but the heir of the victim or (in case of hurt) to the wounded man himself. The execution ol this vengeance is made subject to the supervision of the public authorities. At the same time the injured party is left free, nay in many cases advised to content himself with the blood-price fixed by law instead of exacting a personal vengeance. In Acheh however it has remained an etablished rule that blood- feuds are dccided without any interference on the part of the territorial authorities, simply under the direction of the panglimas of the kawöm, who are tribal and not territorial chiefs. Exceptions occur now and then through the authority of some unusually energetic ulèëbalan" or unusually influential ulama. Here again we find all the members of a kaW',m J°lntly and «everally liable as concerns bila, so that a blood-feud may keep two clans for years in a state of mutual hostility '). Should, however, the influence of the panglima kawöm or the pressure of the higher powers be ablc to prevent the feud and induce the in jured party to accept blood-money, then the guilty party, who is in most cases unable to make up the required sum \ considers himself more or less entitled to demand contributions from all his well-to-do fellow-tribesmen, or if he belongs to one of the three allied kawöms from all the members of these three tribes. Thus the highland blood- debtor, to whom a period of one or two years is granted for paying oft the dict, goes on a journey "to collect subscriptions" (cho ripb). Such debtors often comc down into the lowlands and apply for con tributions to those of wliose connection with their tribe the recol-

2) The ordinary blood-money for causing death in Acheh is 500 Spanish (Mexican) dollars.

for blood 1 r re 1C gl iUy Ca n0t >C K>intcd ut >el,,nBS inJUred is cntitled t y ay,nk r nd co JU

5 7

lcction still survives. The lowlanders even say that their highland brethren are in the habit of making a profit from their murders by collecting several times the amount due from the fellowtribesmen whose existence they only remember on such occasions. rhe relation of the Imeum Peuët to the three united kawonis lias Rhymes c found expression in a popular doggerel of a somewhat partial descrip- vclaüons o ti°n. As appears from the conclusion, which is the same in every thctribes- version, the verses may be considered to have originated with the Imeum Peuct, as this clan is therein celebrated as the most powerful of all. But the other sukèës have, partly by giving a special explanation of wliat is said of them in this popular ditty and partly by giving a difïtercnt version, extracted the sting so that they are able to quote it in honour of themselves '). Sukèc Lhèë Reutöïh ban aneu drang Sukèc Ja Sandang jra haletiba. Sukèc Ja Ba tic na bachut-bachut; Sukèc Imeum Peuct nyang gö'-gö' detnya. If we translate the verses in the sense originally given them by the Imeum Peuët, the meaning is: "The tribe of the Three Hundred is (insignificant) as the seeds of the drang (a bush which grows like a weed along fences); the people of the clan Ja Sandang are even as anise and cummin (thus a little more valuable); those of the Ja Batèë (count) for something; the Imeum Peuct it is which makes the world to tremble." When a member of any of the three united tribes explains these verses, he prefers to ascribe the comparison of the Lhèë Reutoïh with *drang-*seeds to their numbers and the cummin and anise to the choice flavour of the Ja Sandang, who though not great in point of numbers

58

yet as holders of important offices impregnate all Acheh vvitli their savour. Still more does he prefer to offer you another edition which clearly shows how the Imcittn Pcuct has through the united power of the other three clans been excluded from all high offices and has thus become subject to the latter so far as territorial supremacy is con- cerned. In this version the first verse runs as follows: Sukcc Lhec Reutoih ulecbalang. Sukèë Ja Satidang jcuct keuraja. I he clan of the 1 hree Hundred are uiïëbalangs, that of Ja Sandang may become rajas" '). Hefore taking leave of the lazvoms, the survivals of the Bedouin- period of the Achehnese people, we must notice one other important alteration introduced in their mutual relations by the territorial sub- division of Acheh which has gradually come into being. Although the members of a kawöm are and remain united for the purposes of ex- acting vengeance for blood, of protection against others who demand such vengeance or for the collection of the blood-money — in territorial or political contests the importance of the kazubms is entirely driven out of the field. We now find members of the Imcum Pcuct fightin»' side by side like brothers with those of the other clans, and vice versa, in two forces hostile to one another men can be found who belong to one and the same kawöm 2).

S 5- The Gampong, its Government and Adats.

TheGam-Next to the house and its enclosure, the smallest territorial unit is the Gampong (Malay kampang) or village, the external appearance of which we have to some extent described above. There are the court- yards, part of which are utilized as gardens, containing one or more

1) 1 he word raja which is chosen for the sake of the rhyme and of variety has here
2) [An official enquiry recently made has elicited the fact that the tribal life has lost

houses separated from one another and from the gampong-paths (jurong) by fences; then the whole gampong surrounded by a fence of its own, and connected by a gate vvith the main road (rct or rut) which leads through fields and gardens (blang and lampoih) and tertiary jungle (tamah) to other similar gampöngs. Real forest (uteiicn) is less often to be found in the neighbourhood of gampöngs in the lowlands than in the Tunóng, and virgin jungle (rimba) in the Tunóng only. Accepting as accurate our hypothesis with regard to the kawöms, namely that tliey were originally separate in a territorial as well as a tiibal sense, we may then assume that in former times each gampong comprised a kawöm or a subdivision of one, which added to its num- bers only by marriages within its own enclosure, or at most with the women of neighbouring fellow-tribesmen. The former headmen of the gampöngs would in this case have been the panglimas of the kawöms. Later on, however, came the great step in the advance of political development, by which chiefs or princes (tilecbalangs) were made rulers over the inhabihants of a certain district, without distinction of kawöm or suki'i'. lo this was added the residence together in one and the same village of people of different kawöms, their intermixture by marriage etc. So soon as this had come to pass, the liead of the tribe had to give place to the head of the village, and depended for his authority as much 011 the will of the lord of the province as on the recognition of his fellow-villagers. Many usages and customary laws may have succeeded in surviving this reform, and that sucli was the case appears probable from the primitive nature of adats which are still observed. In one respect, however, a change must gradually have crept in; the chief of the village naturally found duty coincide with inclination in wresting for himself as much as possible of the authority of the panglima kawöm, and the ulèebalang whose deputy he was, was certain to letul him his full support in this. Much, in fact most of the old adat kawöm was thus transformed to adat gampong, and the enforcement of this adat became the task of the headman of the gampong. Only the blood-feuds, which according to Achehnese ideas are matters of a most private nature, yet cannot be confined to the circle of a single family, remained in the hands of the chiefs of the kawöms. Such is, briefly stated, the most probable history of the formation

GAMPÖNG-FOLK IN THE MARKET OF KUTARADJA.

6i

of the present Achehnese gampöng; though all that we can know with entire certainty is the final result, which we must now proceed to describe. Before approaching the method of administration we must add to our sketch of the village itself a word respecting the meunasah '). In the gampöng or in its immediate neighbourhood there is always The meu- to be found a building constructed in the same way as an ordinary dwelling-house, but without windows, passage or any kind of division. Close to the steps leading to this building is a water-tank either simply dug in the ground or built of masonry. A pipe or gutter of bamboo sloping downwards from the mouth of the nearest well opens into the tank, so as to make it easy to draw the water daily from the former. 1 hese meunasahs serve as the nightly resting-place of all the fitll- grown youths of the gampöng, and of all men who are temporarily residing there and have no wife in the gampöng. This category includes both strangers and those whose mother for example lives in the gampöng, and who are not for the moment desirous of visiting tlieir wives who reside elsewhere. 1* or all such it would be regarded as improper except in case of illness to lodge in a house. Scapegraces who carry 011 intrigues with the women are shortly called ureuëng tamong gam pöng i. e. "men who come into the gampöng", in which expression night-time is meant to be understood, and the gampöng is supposed to mean all the dwelling-houses as opposed to the meunasah. It may be concluded witli certainty that this institution is of great antiquity, much more so than the present name applied to the building itself, which is derived from the Arabic. We find indeed amongst neighbouring peoples heathen as well as Mohammedan the same noc- turnal separation, and a balè or some such building in which the young

tt

men sleep and in which meetings are occasionally held for the discus sion of matters of public interest '). When Islam established itself as the rule of life in Acheh, this resting-place for men became also a house of prayer or chapel for the gampong, such as are to be found in Java under the appellations ar> boh ) or tajug. There are however few gampöngs in which rehgious zeal is strong enough to cause the assemblage of a consider- able number in the meunasah for the five obligatory daily prayers. AH are at work or employed in their own affairs, and whoever wishes to perform the appointed prayers (seumayang) does so at home or wherever he may chance to be at the time. The most that is done at the meunasah is to beat at sunset the great drum (fambu) made of a hollowed tree-trunk witli buffalo-leather stretched over one end. This is beaten to announce the time for the mugréb prayer which in all Mohammedan countries is more strictly observed than the other four and^ is ^enerally begun punctually at sunset, its appointed time. The da> s woik is then as a rule finished and the young men assemble at that hour in the meunasah in any case, albeit not for the purpose of performing the seumayang. lf the heads of the village are not particularly zealous and devout, the young m sh.ime or thiough fear of some religious teacher, it not unfrequently happens that few or none of thosc present perform the seumayang. It is only in the fasting month that prayers are ofifered up with regularity, at least in the evenings; but as we shall see in a later chapter the proceedings at these are of such a nature that really pious people avoid the neighbourhood of the meunasah as much as possible. In some gampöngs, however, the meunasah responds better to the rehgious purposes for which it is intended. Not only are the obligatory uligious exercises held there by a congregation of men under the leadership of a teungku, but tliey sometimes also while away the ^evenings or nights with non-obligatory acts of devotion. Prominent

1) Among the Malays. of the Peninsula such nocturnal separation is practieally unknown.
2) In Bantcn the villagc chapel is callcd fiale desa, which seems to to a similar

the

point

among these is the simultaneous intoning of the terribly noisy ratéb saman (Ar. ratib Samman, from the saint of that name who lived at Medina a couple of centuries ago). This litany is also popular in Java and may be heard almost every week in many Batavian kampongs. The young people, however, delight more in the chanting of other ratébs which have in common with the religious litanies only the name and the noise, such as the ratéb pulèt and the ratéb sadati, which wc shall notice under the heading of games and recreations. Thus there are always to be found among the furniture of the meunasah, in addi- tion to the tambu aforesaid, certain objects required for these ratébs, such as the kettledrums called rapai or rapana, the wooden rings knovvn as pulèt etc. With these exceptions the furniture of the meunasah is butscanty; a large lamp (kandé) only lighted on the nights of the fasting month, it being left at other times to those who use the meunasah to bring their own lamps if tliey require them; sleeping-mats which eacli lays down for himself, and an occasional mosquito-curtain (kleumbn) form its entire equipment. Where the heads of the village *are not both pious and watchful, the meunasah it apt to become the sccne of all marmer of Achehnese ini- cjuities. In its courtyard fights of cocks and other fighting birds are held, while within the building gambling goes on and paederasty is shamelessly practised at night. Besides being a sleeping-place for the men, a rest-house for strangers and a house of prayer or chapel, the meunasah also serves as a place of assemblage on various special occasions. The affairs of the gampöng are there debated, village festivals held, contracts of marriage concluded etc. A person of rank who comes from elsewhere to pay an unexpected visit to the people of the gampöng, usually goes in the first place to the meunasah, and from thence sends someone to announce his arrival. Some gampöng-chapels are built not on posts but 011 a raised stone Déahs. foundation finished on the top with cement. A stone stairs gives access to the building which is itself generally of wood, with a masonry niche [mèhrab or mèrab) to indicate the direction of Mecca. lts courtyard is sometimes surrounded by a low stone wall forming a square. Such more imposing structures are called déah '), and fulfil the same purposes

1) This word, which is also pronounced deah and dt\' ah, is derivcd from the Arab.
zawiyah.

as the meunasah. 1 here are also howevcr certain teachers of notc who for their own use and that of their pupils construct a meunasah or dêah in their own courtyard. Similar chapels may also bc found near sacred graves, but the purpose of such buildings is obviously different from that of the meunasah or dêah of the gampöng. The Friday services are never held in these chapels any more tlian in the langgar in Java. In the neighbourhood of the meunasah or dé ah there often stands a ba/è i. e. a raised covered platform, which serves as auxiliary to the former. 1 headminis-i>0t us novv consider the administration of the gampöne. This is tration of the o r t» gampöng. composed of three elements:

I. The keuchhï with one or more wakis at his disposal. II. The teungku.
III. The ureuëng tuha. All three are worthy of closer remark. Ihe keuchi I. l he keuchi '), the headman or father of the gampöng, borrows his authority from the ulèëbalang of the province to which his village belongs. I his office, like almost all others in Acheh, has become hereditary, and even an infant son (under the guardianship of a male relation) often succeeds his father therein; but every keuchi' is aware that the first of his forefathers who held the post was appointed by the ulèëbalang and that the latter can at any moment deprive him of it. VVhere the appointment of keuchi's is, as occasionally happens, in the hands of the imeum of their district, this simply testifies to the great personal influence of such imeum, to whom the ulèëbalang lias delegated a portion of his own authority. 1 he fact that the keuchi' can as a rule exercise his authority without opposition is however due not so much to the support he enjoys at the hands of his chief, as to his being always the representative of the interests and as far as possible the wishes of the whole gampöng against the ulèëbalang himself as well as against other gampöngs, or against the exaggérated demands of some of his own subjects. It is no empty saying which the'Achehnese quote to one another in their councils —

keuchi' eumbah, teungku ma = "the keuchi' is (our) father and the teungku (our) mother". All peace-loving inhabitants of a gampöng are convinced of the necessity for having one person to speak or negotiate in the name of all; the more so because as we shall presently see, sundry family matters such as marriage, divorce, the bringing up of orphans or changes of residence are treated in Acheh as matters affecting the whole gampöng. Equally convinced are all, that this representative of their common interest should be someone who finds favour in the syes of the ulèëbalang. At the same time he is not likely to become too willing a tooi in the latter's hands, for he too is an inhabitant of the gampöng. His office is essentially an honorary one. It is no doubt much sought after, but is only desirable when the holder can hit it :>fil well with his own people. The devolution from father to son is also regarded as natural and ight, not only because other dignities are hereditary, but also because here is in the nature of things storcd up in an ancient family of ceuchi s a collection of traditional knowledge with regard to the laws ind usages of the country that might in vain bc sought for amone >thers. The best of keuchi's would fail to compel his people to obey un- easonable commands. Vain would be his interference with all trifling natters not classified in accordance with the adat as "interest of the [ampöng". This he knows too well to run the risk of burning his fin- ;ers. But when the keuchi' emphatically lays down that one of his ïllow-villagers shall not sell his rice-field to A or marry lus daughter o B, or himself not wed in gampöng X, or must yield to his neigh- '°ur somc disputed right, so little suspicion is entertained of the 'urity of his mtentions, that disobedience to his word is rendered ractically impossible by the agreement of the majority. Acheh is certainly to an exceptional degree a land of polyarchy nd misrule; in vain do we seek for discipline, whilst we meet with quarrelsome and capricious spirit at every step. Taking this into ccount, and disregarding tliose few individuals of unusual strength of ïll and capacity to lead whom one meets with as exceptions in every ink, we can safely assert that the authority of the keuchi' rests on a rmer basis than that of any other chief. Most keuchi's exercise control over a single gampöng only; tbere 5

are, however, somc who have from two to four gampongs in their charge. We have already noticed and shall presently deal with in greater detail the Achehnese adat according to which the husband takes up his abode with the family of his wife. In connection with this custom it will be understood that it is par- ticularly desirable for a future keuchi' to marry in his own gampöng as otherwise his place of abode as a married man would lie within the sphere of another keuchi', and he would appear in his own territory as a stranger and be obliged to lodge in the meunasah. Ihere are however exceptions to the rule that the husband follows the wife, and to these belong such cases as that of a keuchi' who finds himself constrained by circumstances to rr.arry a woman from a difterent villagc. With the approval of the family or rather of the authorities of the gampöng of the woman, the latter may then accom- pany her husband to the scene of his official labours. Sources of We have called the office of a village headman an honorary one,
incomeofthe 1:11.1 c • ....
keuchi'. indeed the sources of income to which he may lay claim according to the adat are scarcely worth mentioning. They are in fact confined to what is called the ha katib or ha chupéng, the fees for his indis- pensable help in the arrangement of the marriage of a woman of his gampöng. Even though everyone adds what his means allow to the amount, absurdly small for these timcs, of J of a dollar (samath — one mas) allowed by the adat, the total income derivable from tliis source remains extremely small. As the keuchi' lias no real judicial power, the only profit he can obtain from the fines and costs of process which the administration of justice brings in to the ulèëbalang takes the form of a present for his trouble in bringing the parties from his gampöng and collecting the requisite evidence for the questions at issue. The same holds good of the percentages levied by the ulèëbalang on the division of heritages and other similar sources of income. lliere are however other methods — part permitted, part under- hand, by which the keuchi can derive some slight profit from an office as burdensome as it is honourable. It is no part of his duty to augment the number of lawsuits between the people of his gampöng; on the contrary lie must try, like a good father, to bring every difterence to an amicable settlement. Suppose now that a case presents itself in regard to which he can say with certainty that if biought before the ulèëbalang it would involve payment of a

67

considerable fine by the party found to be in the wrong; or suppose again that his mediation is called in for the collection of a debt, and he can prove by examples that the ulèëbalang would not assist the creditor to recover his due without a deduction of one-third or one- half of the amount. Is it to be wondered at that the father of the gampöng impresses emphatically upon his children the advantage of submitting themselves to his decision, and the fairness of giving him for his trouble a small share of what tliey would otherwise undoubtedly lose ? An estecmed and intelligent keuchi' is able to give to these arbi- trative decisions (for which he is endowed with full powers) a very wide range, to his own great advantage and yet not to the detriment of the suitors, who know only too well that the judgments tliey would obtain by resorting to chiefs who have less sympathy in their interests, would be more costly but no whit better than those of the keuchi'. Other services which the keuchi' renders to his dependants are performed by him with greater or less readiness and zeal in proportion to the amount of the presents ') which "cement friendship"2). The father on his part can always make such claims on the good-nature of his "childreif" as are recognized as lawful. At all gampöng-festivals — and these include the most important family feasts as well the place of honour is allotted to the keuchi'. He has thus no lack of meals for which he has nothing to pay, and in Acheh such trifles form a serious part of the emoluments of office. Thus we may say upon the whole that the office of the Achehnese keuchi', the " father of the community", is held in high esteem chiefly on account of the honour, but also because of the more solid advant- ages connected with it. As subordinates, who are more properly at the keuchi's disposition than the people of the gampöng in general, he has his wakis •1), liter- al 1 y attorneys or deputies.

ensure

1) Presents made to a keuchi' to the proper presentation of a suit to the ulèë
2) 1 he Dutch provcrb is kleine geschenken onderhouden de vriendschap "little presents cement
3) From the Arab. wakil = attorney or agent. Waki is used in Achehnese in the same

Every keuchi' has at least one such subordinate, and where he exercises control over more than one gampöng, one for each gampöng. 1 he position taken by the vvakis greatly depends on their personal characteristics. Some are not much more than the messengers of their keuchi's, while others actually take the place of the father of the community in many cases, or even govern him to some extent through their greater strength of character.The profits enjoyed by them may be described as the gleanings of those which the keuchi' reaps from his office. In the dialects of the highlands (XXII Mukims) and of the VII Mukims Buëng '), which as wc have seen have so much in common with the Tunóng, the father of the community is called waki and his subordinate keuchi, or geuc/ü' as it is there pronounced. Authority of It is the duty of the keuchi', assisted by the other authorities of the the keuchi'. _, gampöng whom he can always summon to his aid, to maintain to the best of his ability the good order and safety, and also the material prosperity of his domain. Of this prosperity abundance of population is regarded as an important factor; and thus a closc supervision 011 the part of the "father" over the comings and goings of his "children", so far as these might tend to dispersal of the united body, is considered as amply justified. The keuchi' cannot without difficulty prevent a full-grown man from straying avvay as a pepper-planter to the Kast or West Coast or else- where, hovvever much he may deplore the gap caused by his absence. But the wanderer must leave his wife at home; the adat vvill not perniit her to accompany her husband except in performing the pil- grimage to Mecca or in the rare cases where the wife, after due deliberation of the two gampöngs concerned, leaves her ovvn house and gampöng for that of her husband. Change of residence of a family to another gampöng does not takc place without the consent of the keuchi', which is equally required for a strange household to establish themselves for the first time in his gampöng. No marriage can be concluded without the consent of the keuchi'. Only where the population is superabundant and the supply of marria- geable girls and women without husbands by no means excessive, will

1) In Buëng we find a further peculiarity. Under each imeum of a mukim there are

GROUP OF PEOPLE FROM THE MUKIM OF LUÈNG BATA.

he agree offhand to a man of his gampong marrying outside it. uThere are plenty of womcn here", he objects, "why should you go and scatter your seed elsewhere?" This hampering of the freedom of marriage, which is based alone on the adat and is positively in conflict with the hu kom or religious law, has at present much greater practical significance than the adat-theory forbidding intermarriage between certain kawöms, which we noticed some time back. The keuchi will rarcly raise objections to the marriage of girls of his gampong to men from elsewhere; the increase of population due to such unions is half of it pure gain. As we see, the Achehnese are far from being afraid of over-population. The gampong as a whole takes all the more trouble to keep its com ponent parts together and ensure increase of numbers, because the individuals aie often too little disposed to contribute their share. The Achehnese themselves assert that married couples with a number of children are very much in the minority; by their own confession they make much use both in and out of wedlock of expedients for preventing pregnancy or causing miscarriage '). ie teungku. II- 1 he teungku, says the proverb, is the mother of the gampong. Teungku is the title given in general to all in Great-Acheh who either hold an office in connection with religion or distinguish them selves fiom the common herd by superior knowledge or more striet observance of religious law. In Pidie and on the Kast Coast the holders of worldly offices or worldly distinctions also enjoy the title of teungku, but such persons are in Great-Acheh distinguished by that of teuku. The keuchi₁, the panglima, the uneum and the ulecbalang are all called by the latter title, and so also are wealthy people, elders and even persons without any real claim to distinction, by those who regard them as their superiors or wish to flatter them. In the case of ulèe- balangs or distinguished imeums the word ampon is affixed 2) both in the

1) Recipes for this purpose are to be found in all the books of memoranda of literate
2) l or example : Teuku amfön ka geupoh Ion = "Teuku

ampön (the ulèëbalang for instance)

7'

secontl ) and third persons. Both the words teungku and teuku appear to be originally contractions of tuanku (my lord) which in its full form, with or without the addition of ampon (always with it in the presence of the person meant) is only applied to the descendants of sultans. 1 he title of teungku 2) is applied both to the leubè 3) who, even though he be 110 scholar, observes his religious obligations faithfully, the haji who has performed the pilgrimage to Mekka, the malém₄) who has some knowledge of the kitabs or holy books, the alêm₅) who has brought his studies to perfection, the u/ama 5), who is looked upon as an authority on the subject of religious law and doctrine, and the sayyid (sayét) or descendant of Mohammed. It is also applied to both men and women who give elementary instruction (even if it be only in reciting the Quran) and to the kalis who act as ecclesiastical judges in an ulèëbalangship, as well as to the male " mother of the gampong" with whom we are now concerned. 1 his last teungku, when it is necessary to distinguish him from all the others who enjoy the same title, is called the teungku mennasah, using the latter word not so much in the sense of the mens' lodging as that of the chapel of the gampong. From this it may be seen that this office is connected with religion. Just as the keuchi devotes himself more especially to maintaining the adat, though the promotion of godly living among his people is also regarded as a part of his duty, so is the upholding of the huköm (religious law) the special province of the teungku, though a knowledge of and regard for the customary laws is in his case also regarded as indispensable.

1) In Achehnese it is less common than in many other native languages of the Archi-
3) Leubè thus means the same as the Sundanese li'be and the Javancse santri.
4) Krom the Arab. mu allim = teacher, master.

u

2)
tuanku,

though

5) c
meaning

7 2

Huköm and «Hukom and adat are inseparable, even as God's essence and his attributes' '), says the Achehnese proverb. To make the sense com plete we may well add, "but the greatest of these is adat". This may indeed be seen from the attitude of the representaties of these two inseparable clements. In most cases, it is true, vvhere a matter affecting the interests of the gampöng or its inhabitants has to be decided, father keuchi and mother teungku botli appear on the stage, but the teungku has as a rule little to say, and appears to be present rather honoris causa except in matters relating to marriage. We shall see presently that the relation between the ulèëbalang and his kali exhibits many points of resemblance to the above, but is if possible still less favourable to the huköm. As teungku meunasah it would naturally be the duty of the "mother" of the gampöng to see that this building answered to some extent the religious objects for which it is intended. Such however is very rarely the case, and in these exceptional instances it is more due to the piety of the keuchï than to the faithful fulfilment of his duty by the teungku. Not every teungku is able (and few indeed have even the inclination) to appear in the meunasah and lead the service, at the times appointcd for the five daily prayers; it is much if he does so faiily regularly at sunset (see p. 62 above). As regards the furniture of the meunasah he need take little trouble, since as we have seen it is exceedingly sparse and most of it is private property. 1 he task of sweeping the floor and keeping the kulam (water tank) full devolves 011 the younger occupants of the meunasah. This kulam is used for washing the feet or for ritual ablutions by all who enter the building and for bathing by the young men. Should the latter prove neglectful in the fulfilment of their duties they are remin- ded of them by their seniors. It is only in the fasting month (Puasa) that the teungku is notice- ably the man of the meunasah. When we come to review the calendar of feasts we shall see that during the nights of this month there is a great deal of vitality in the meunasah and that the presence of the teungku is indispensable for various matters, but especially for the performance

1) Huköm ttg'on adat Aan jeuët chré, lageé dat ngbn sipheuet. Another version is huköm

71

of the trawèh service (see Chapter II § 2). The popular idea of the Achehnese is that the pitrah which the teungku receives from all at the end of the fasting month is a sort of payment for this trawèh! If the teungku is more or less malêm (skilied in booklore), this will tend greatly to increase his revenues, as he will then be called in to give his help in all kinds of sickness or other misfortune, and receive payment for his ministrations. Sick children will be brought to him that he may blow on thcir heads after muttering a tangkay (prayer or formula to lay evil spirits), or else he will be requested to charm some water. On sucli occasions no great demands are made upon the skill of the exorcist; women are often heard to say to those who refuse to render such a service 011 the ground of absolute want of skill, "oh, do just blow a little!" 1 he teungku is also occasionally the recipient of votive gifts, either some flowers from the market, such as the Achehnese delight in attach- ing to their head-gear, or dishes with good things of various sorts. When a gift of this sort has been vowed to the Prophet, to the saint Mirah Sab or Meurasab (who lies buried at Nagore in British India) or even to Teungku Anjöng, whose tomb is in Gampöng Jawa, the vow may be fulfilled by handing over the thing promised to a teungku for his own use. All that the latter need do is to recite over the gift the first chapter of the Quran (the fatihah), and dedicate the celestial recom- pense for that recitation to him to whom the vow was made. Beyond these special sources of income (which in cases of total in- competence are withheld from the teungku and fall to the share of some leubè or malém) he has no lack of other more or less obligatory presents in kind. For instance, not only is it adat to invite the teungku to every kanduri or religious feast, but thcre are many kinds of kan- duris which cannot be held without his presence, even such as do not require the attendancc of the keuchi'. Where the teungku gives religious instruction this again brings him in no inconsiderable profit; though hcre of course some grasp of his subject is indispensable. The most certain sources of the income of the teungku are: i°. The pitrah, paid by almost every householder for himself and Sources of his faniily at the conclusion of the fast. It consists of two arcs 0fincomeof th teungku. husked rice for every person so taxable, which includes almost the whole community. This tax is, however, sometimes commuted for a

74

1) Continuous repetitions of the Mohammedan confession of faith "la ilaha illa'llah" =

(;zakat). This pailé), which consists of one-tenth Jakeuct

(mualah) for this jakeuct pitrah (pakt and meuseukin). ha' kaüb or chupen^ of 4 ever teuleukm or burial fee. According 4 ija peukréng or

There are no doubt some teungkus of capacity, but on the whole their ignorance is proverbial. Thus in the common speech of the Acheh- nese, when a teungku is specially referred to as teungku meunasah (in contradistinction to leubcs, maléms, etc.) there is generally a covert allusion to his lack of learning. This is not to be wondered at, as the office in most cases devolves on the son or nearest male heir oi a deceased holder of the post. A child is, however, seldom or never made teungku, and the ulèebalang more often diverges from the rule of devolution in the appointment of a teungku than in that of a keuchi'. Still hereditary succession remains the rule. It may be well imagined how much more scandalous are the results of adhering to this principle in the case of an office for the proper discharge of the duties of which some study of Mohammedan law is indispensable, than in that of appointments connected with adat, for which a practical knowledge of the world is more requisite than scholarly lore. A keuchi' of scant experience is merely a less useful man than others of his class, and finds in his gampöng plenty of people who can supply the gap by advice and practical help; but an unlettered teungku is absolutely useless. Many teungkus then simply hand over the discharge of all their functions to some better instructed fellow-villager. At the same time they make no abdication of their office, and none dares to perform their duties without their express authority or invitation. 1 hey take delivery of the profits themselves, giving some small recompense for their trouble to the leubès or maléms who act for them. The sphere within which the teungku exercises his functions is usually a single gampöng, or if the gampöng lias more than one meunasah, a single meunasah. III. The ureui'ng tuha, which is the exact equivalent of our word The elders, "elders". They are the men of experience, worldly wisdom, good man- ners and knowledge of adat in the gampöng. They are generally per sons who have reached a certain time of life, but if a younger man is distinguished by the above characteristics, he is equally eligible as an ureuëng tuhaand is reckoned as one of the body of elders, which lends an indispensable support to the keuchi' and teungku.

w 1 tt

76

The number of the members of this body is uncertain; thcy are neither appointed nor regularly chosen but so to speak silently acknow- ledged by common assent. When the teungku and keuchi' meet to discuss important gampöng affairs (including most family matters), the e ers are also to be found whether summoned or not. No unauthorized person vcntures to take part in these debates, as by doing so he would exposé himself to ridicule; but when calls have once or twice been made on the tact, experience and knowledge of adat of any individual,. e °ccomes known as an ureuéng tuha and his voice has its weight in all future deliberations. The Achehnese are great lovers of mupakat '), in form at least if not in actuahty. The most insignificant subjects give rise to diffuse ex- c lange of opin.ons. The more important chiefs are loth to deal with questions affecting their districts and their dependants except in the presence of some persons who as it vvere represent the latter; did they nc-Lct to-dehberate" with these delegates they would quickly lose ie.r influence. Habib Abdurrahman once told me that the mupakat forms the strongest factor in the statescraft of an administrator ') among the Achehnese; such deliberative gatherings are the instrument by w nel, he ensures the carrying out of many a scheme. By this device his weaker opponent* are terrorized, while the stronger are flattered, and finally many are won over and even persuaded tliat they tliem- selves were the originators of the proposed plan. I' thu. follows a., a mattcr of course that in thc gan]p0iigj that grïat lousohold of father keuchi' and mother teungku, the eldcst sons at

D ( r bCfüre labials) iS aImOSt the P t ln

2 2

r il 7 VOW£ in, U UTheS£ ( hC atiVe tl!bunaIs

realm f ancy Si,lce the

n mUSapaU differ reat, both in

mmean f fCÜUrSe an Achchnesc ra a r an iemp ::, pXer ' ° ° ^ ^ ™

77

any rate, and such of the citizens as may be regardcd as brothers of the two parents, have a voice in every discussion. In the orations which the Achehnese addresses either directly or by proxy to the authorities of his gampöng, the prelude alvvays runs thus Aozv, oh Teuku Keuchi, Teungku and ye who are elders of tliis gam pöng. To these are also addressed the notices employed on some few occasions to announce certain events (such as a divorce for instance) to the whole gampöng. These tliree components of the governing body of the gampöng are deputed to make proposals of marriagc, it is they that receive the bridegroom in the name of the gampöng and help to decide questions as to the bringing up of orphans, and in their presence all important bargains are concluded. Among them also are to be found the speech-makers of the gampöng. We shall meet later on some specimens of Achehnese speeches for particular occasions, which though tedious are sometimes not ungrace- ful» anc' arc very full of interest from an ethnological point of view as a storehouse of old formulas. They are almost invariable in form although there is 110 lack of local differences and individual embellishments. I he keuchi' or whoever may be acting as president of the assembly does not always know these long formal orations by heart, and it is thought quite the correct thing for a cliief to transfer the task of speech-making to another by a nod. In such cases the speaker is usually one of the ureuëng tit/ia. We have seen that the keuchi' and his colleagues take the position The adat of arbitrators in the widest sense of the word, but possess 110 judici.il mcu'ansga- authority properly so called. 1 here are, however, individual cases which are controlled by an adat of native growth, which has clearly lost much of its original severity, called the adat meulangga. In these cases the keuchi's appear in form as the representatives of the two parties, but as a matter of fact as settlers of the dispute. Occasion for the application of the adat meulangga is generally given by an actual injury or slight. For example, someone in gampöng A has without just cause maltreated or injured a child or rclative of someone in gampöng B, or has laid hands 011 something belonging to the latter in a manner clearly indicative of contempt for the owner. Independently of all rights of blood-vengeance or blood-money (which according to huköm and adat are the natural consequences of the deed, and are entirely unafïfected by the adat meulangga) something must at

once De none to vvipe out tlie insult, io this end the injured party calls upon the authorities of his gampöng, and the latter summon all who are able to bear arms to help their brother. The party vvho lias given the offencc knows that hc has this to expect, either from hearing the rumour of the preparations or because it is an obvious consequence that the ofïfended one should not let the matter pass without meidangga. Here too the authorities of the gampöng are notifïed and prepare for resistance. In due time the men of the ofïfended gampöng appear in the vicinity of the other, and the keuchi' of the latter goes forth to meet the uninvited guests and after greeting them respectfully (seumbah) asks what they require. "We have come" they reply, "to uproot by force the trees and courtyard-fence of your fellow-villager X, by reason of the injury he has done to one of our people". Thereupon the other keuchi says that he feels bound to acknowledge the fairness of the complaint, but that this just demand can be satisfied without having recourse to deeds of violence. 1 he father of the oftending community then brings to the other one or two plantain-stems from the courtyard and a glundöng-tree from the fence of the guilty party, saying "Ht*re is what you ask for". Sometimes, where the injury is a very serious one, he grants them permission to enter upon the courtyard of the offenders and cut down a certain numbcr of trees. Should the atone- ment offered by the keuchi not suffice for the satisfaction of honour according to the adat controlling quarrels, long-continued hostilities between two neighbouring gampöngs may supervene; but for the most part the mediation efifccted under the auspices of the two keuchi's is found sufficiënt. The day after this symbolical satisfaction the parties meet again to consult as to the guarantees for the establishment of peace. An idang of yellow gelatinous rice (bu kunyèt) and a piece of white cloth must without fail be offered by the oflfender for "cooling of the blood of others" (pcusijtie dar ah gbb) which he has shed, as the saying is. To this is often added a money present of some considerable amount. This method of. settling a quarrel is never applied to real cases of theft, adultery or homicide, or even of bodily hurt of a serious do scription. I he wounds inflicted must be healed before recourse is had to meulangga. If the injured party is a person of position or a member of the

muiuy ui bucu a one, or nis ionower, -li. tlien J i something lurthcr must b< done, as the injury is regarded as more serious in proportion to tlu high standing of him who is the subject of it. The ulèëbalang himsel when one of his folk is the injured party enters the lists not as chic or judge but as avenger. Either in person or by one of his next ofkii as deputy, he goes forth at the head of a host of followers to th< gampöng of the offenders, vvhere he is received with special tokens o humility and prayers for pardon. In addition to the traditional plantain-stalks and glundöng-trees whicl represent the destruction of the plantation of the guilty party, tin latter's house must in this case be symbolically burnt. Accordingly; hut (jambö) is constructcd of sliglit materials and set 011 fire amid th< plaudits (sura') of the avengers. Though all are aware that this burnim is the veriest farce, great insistence is laid upon its performance ii serious cases. The dependants of the chief can afterwards proudly saj to the people of the surrounding gampöngs: "Saw ye not the smok< rise from the burning of the house of X? Yes, we are no Niasese slave: or Klings to let ourselves be injured without exacting vengeance, o: to content ourselves with a mere indemnity!" Destruction of house and courtyard, probably accompanied by bodil) hurt or even death to the owner ') was the original meulangga as the word itself (cf. the Malay langgar) implies. More peaceful times and calnier manners have substituted for thi: the dramatic exhibition we have just described, a sort of gampöng duel, usually of quite a harmiess character. Meulangga may take place vvithin the gampöng also, when anyont has injured his fellow-villager. It is then the male relatives of the in jured party that proceed to make the demand, and those of the offen der who satisfy it, wliile the gampöng authorities merely take care tlia no excess is committed. In conclusion, it sometimes happens that one ulèëbalang has tc meulangga upon the territory of another. Suppose for instance that; servant (rakan) of ulèëbalang A has wounded a dependant of ulèëba lang B without clear proof of strong provocation. After preliminarj notice B proceeds with his followers to some place within A's territor)

80

and demands of him that the house of his guilty dependant be burned down. A small hut brought thither for the purpose is generally burnt to satisfy the claim, and thus honour is appeased; for the rest the case is dealt with in the ordinary manner, the blood-debt being made good in accordance with the adat.

§ 6. The Mukim and its Administration.

The Mukim. Between the gampöng-authorities and the ulèëbalang or territorial ruler stand the imeums, the chiefs of the nlukims. We have already concluded in regard to a certain portion of the political structure of Acheh, that it owes its origin to the centralizing activity of one or more port-kings. I he same analogy holds good beyond question as regards the distribution of the territory of an ulèëbalang into the districts known as mukims and the office of imeum or district chief. V\ e might even go further and assert that this institution has sprung from the influence of the ulamas and other representatives of religion at which we have already hinted (see p. 7 above). In this way alone c

8l

those assembled must liold in place of the Friday service an ordinary midday prayer. In places where the number of forty can never bc reckoned on, no arrangements whatever are made for the Friday ser vice; hence in the gampöng chapels in Aclieh as well as other part* of the Archipelago the requisite apparatus for this service is never to be found. On the other hand the Moslim law requires of every free male be- liever of full age that he should attend the Friday service if such be held within a certain distance of his abode, unless circumstances (which in theii tuin are clearly defined) prevent him from doing so. From this personal duty he is by no means excused on the ground that there is, for example, a full congregation of forty without him. Thus pious and influential Mohammedans must make it their object to multiply the opportunities for attending this service, and to further the erection of mosques for Friday prayer ') in all places where a congregation of forty or upwards can be reckoned on. In Acheh as well as elsewhere the dcvotees of religion have un- doubtedly laboured in this direction since the time that the creed of Islam began to take root there. \ liere a number of gampöngs lay sufficiently close to one another to admit of their being united into a single Friday association (if we may so term itj in accordance with the above-mentioned behests of the religious law, they constructed a mosque (meuseugit), choosing for the purpose the most central possible site. 1 his might sometimes fall within one of the gampöngs so united, where this gampöng happened to form the central point of the union, or again a place lying without all the gampöng enclosures might be con- sidered the most suitable position. For some of these associations the gampöngs of which are most widely dispersed and at the same time most numerous (some include from 10 to 12) "district" would be the most applicable name. Others, whose gampöngs rather resemble " wards"

lying si de by side and do not gcncrally exceed four, the normal number in Acheh, might more fitly be termed "townships". The Achehnese ca" them a11 "tukim; such distortion of the original meaning of Arabic words is no rare phenomenon in the native languages of the Indian Archipelago. The imeums. At first the chiefs of the mukims had without doubt a wholly or largely rehgious task to fulfil, namely to provide that God's Iaw should be enforced and especially that the prescribed rites should not be neglected. Tlieir official title of imeum (Ar. imam), brings them into close connection with the meuseugit, which forms the centre of their sphere of action, and with the religious worship held therein '). They should be for the mosque what the teungku is for the meunasah. The Achehnese mosque differs little from the déah described above (see P- 63). Like the latter it is built of planks and rests not 011 posts but on a raised stone foundation, and is provided with a stone niche. Close to the niche stands a pulpit (Inmba from Ar. mimbar). There is also the traditional staff (tungkat) which the preacher liolds in his hand, and some mats for those who perform the seumayang or service of prayer. Certain mosques the erection of which is among the institutions ascribed to the Sultan Meukuta Alam (1607—36) were recognized as "great mosques" {meuseugit raya) both on account of their size and the fact of their being erected by a sovereign prince, and also because they were regarded as being the liead mosques of a great number of mukims. Such is the great mosque par excellence, the Meuseugit Raya of the capital, from which the whole district surrounding the ancient seat of royalty takes lts name. Besides this there was 011c for each of the three sagis of Great Acheh viz. that of Indrapuri, which still exists, for the XXII Mukims, that of Indrapeurua (in the VI Mukims of the XXV) for the XXV, and that of Indrapatra, almost in the very place where Ladöng now stands, for the XXVI Mukims. Of the last two scarcely any tracé remains. In Pidië too there were a number of mosques which enjoyed the reputation of having been erected by Meukuta Alam and which were thus also called meuseugit raya. It is impossible now to tracé the extent of the supervision over the

1) use of the or
the K

THE MEUSEUGIT (MOSQUE) OF INDRAPURI.

gampongs allotted to the imeums according to the original intent of the distribution into mukims. In Acheh as in other Mohammedan countries, so soon as a degree of religious supervision is permitted to any individual, a wide field is opened to his ambition, since in theory everything can be brought within the scope of religion and religious law. At the same time the door is opened to manifold competition and strife, since the existing chiefs naturally set their faces against any unwonted invasion of their sphere of authority. So much is certain, that the imeums were necessarily always subor- dinate to the ulèëbalangs, to whom they owed their election, while they stood superior in some respects at least to the authorities of the gampöng. Dcgencration Their office, however, speedily degenerated; it went the wav of all of the office. J of imeum. Achehnese offices which have not sprung up of their own accord from native sources, but have been naturalized in the country at the will of individuals. In the times of some sultans of unusual power and cneigy, the central authority undoubtedly proved strong enough to carry out the ruler's wish to reform existing institutions. But to ensure the durability of such reforms, the moving power should have been less short-lived, and there should have been more continuity in the action and methods of the various rulers. Apart from the small interest which the port-kings were wont to display in the attairs of the interior, their government was always based on rapacity, and disorder was its only constant feature.

I.vtry office instituted by them showed a tendency soon after coming
into being, to assimilate itself with one of true Achehnese origin, preferably such as carried with it social influence and opportunities for enrichment. No office was more distinguished by these characteristics than that of uleëbalang, and thus we see all holders of offices so arti- ficially created endeavouring by every means in their power to assume the róle of uleëbalang. This was done by the imeums among the rest, and they succeeded pretty well in their object. We have unequivocal proofs to show that nioie than half a century ago, the imeums were already minor ulèëbalangs. A celebrated Achehnese heroic poem, the hikayat Pöchut Muhamat, depicts with 110 small skill the conflict waged by that prince in behalf of his brother Alaédin Juhan Shah (1756—60) against the latter's Arab ïival Jamalul-alam. In spite of sundry embroideries which characterize

this poem, it is to bc noted that it was composed shortly aftcr the war which it describes, and gives upon the whole an accurate descrip- ti°n °f the events and condition of things at that period. Here, then, we find the imeums appearing as military leaders among whom the prince seeks his supporters, and as chiefs who of their own initiative take the part of the hero or oppose him. It is clear from this epic that even at that time some of the imeums troubled themselves little about the uleëbalang, to whom they were nominally subordinate, whilst others appear in the retinue of their chiefs as minor ulèëbalangs. So it lias continued. I he imeums are all adat-chiefs without any presentcha- religious character. Some of them have attained to the independence racter of lhe of ulèëbalangs and Iack the name only; wc nced only instance the imeuni. well-known imeum of Liieng Bata who played so distinguished a part in the war with the Dutch as a military leader, or the imeum of Chadé who in the last conflict for royal honours before the Achehnese war was the most powerful supporter of the finally defeated candidate. lhe majority are, howevcr, actually subordinate to their ulèëbalangs, though the energy of individuals may reduce their subordination to a minimum. With the mosques, which were the cause of their first creation, they The 0_ either do not concern themselves at all (this depends on their personal nelle ofthe 1, V 1 mosque. cnaracterj or only just as much as any uleëbalang who interests him-self in religion. I he personelle of the mosque in Acheh when complete, consists of the self-same group of three '), which we find elsewhere in Sumatra; the imeum₂) who should properly preside at all the daily prayers as well as at the Friday service, the hatib (cliatib), who takes the lead in the I'riday prayers and the bileue (bilal) who intones the call to prayer (at/au, bang) and keeps the furniture of the mosque in order.

2) Imeum here does not of course mean chief of the mukim, but a servant of the

the

The officials of the mosque are usually ignorant men, and whenever t ey can find others more devout and learned in the law they gladly makc over their duties to them. Should such be wanting, thcpersone/le of the mosque is often insufficiënt and it rests on chance from week to week whether the Friday service shall be held or replaced by an ordinary m.dday prayer. Sometimes again the congregation of 40 males d 10rt' and sometimes no one can be found who is able to read a sermon. service. Complaints of ulamas and other pious persons as to the lack of interest in public worship are universal. Should a mosque fall into disrepair, the greatest difficulty is experienced in collecting the neces- sary funds and building materials for its restoration. The general co- operat.on for the re-building of the Meuseugit Raya or principal mosque o Acheh, which took place in the prime of Habib Abdurrahman's activity, 1S always quoted as an exception to the rule. Such an unusual personahty, revered by many and dreaded by the rest, is required in order that even the most moderate demands of religion may be satis- fied. rhe true Achehnese, if he does not entirely neglect the calls of ns creed, takes part with more zeai in the religious or quasi-religious gathenngs m the meunasah than in the assemblages at the mosque, where he feels himself but half at home. Kanduris (religieus feast.,) W gives „„,1 attcub with pleasure, at

I.. • or recitations, whether real or only imitative like thtr,a,w,„, and „B, he can exeite himself to the highest pi,el,; b,„ the ritual prescribed by the law fails to rouse his enthusiasm. It is not surprising then that an imeum who tries to assume the part of leube or theologian is from his very rarity an almost ludicrous «>Jjcct m Acheh. 1 he real imeum goes armed like the ulèëbalang, with an armed following. His position is at once to be gathered from his distmctive appellation which is tcuku and not teungku, the latter being » Great Acheh the title of all who borrow their rank to some extent from religion. By his own dependents in his capacity of chief of the mukim, he is even exalted to the dignity of tcuku ampön when ad- dressed directly: I lus office also is generally hereditary '), subject to the power of
V *•'*appointment and dismissal vested in the ulèëbalanir.

I) See p. 65 above.

1 laving seen that hardly anything still survives of the original func- tions of the imeum, it novv remains for us to describe those which have arisen in its place. The imeum is regarded by the gampöngs subject to him as a sort of acting ulèèbalang, and the latter employs him as his deputy in making known and helping to carry out his commands and decisions ivithin his (the imeum's) jurisdiction. In some parts of the XXII Mukims which are situated too far from the headquarters of the ulèë- aalang to admit of all matters of importance being subjected to his lecision, the adat lias assigned a measure of judicial authority to spe- -ified boards of imeums. Groups of three or four mukims are united or tlus purpose, and the decision of the three or four imeums lias the ;ame force as that of the ulèëbalang '). This is however exceptional; as a rule the imeum lias just as little udicial authority as the heads of the gampöngs, hut in the quality >f arbitrator he can deal with questions that lie outside the reach of he village authorities, inasmuch as more tlian one gampöng is con- erned in them. As his income depends entirely 011 chance profits, lie laturally makes it his object to bring as many such questions as pos- ible vvithin his own scope, always 011 the pretext of acting as mediator, 0 that his clients may avoid the heavy fines and costs exacted by he ulèëbalang. Under a powerful ulèëbalang the imeum is not much more than a o-between; under a weak ulèëbalang an energetic imeum can withi 11 he limits of his own jurisdiction entirely supplant his chief. Not un- requently an imeum wlicn cal led 011 by the ulèëbalang to conie to is assistance with his followers in time of war, simply remains inactive 1 even categorically refuses. In times of disorder especially, such as he present, when parties are being formed by others than the tradi- ional chiefs, considerable independence is attained by many imeums.. is we have already shown, however, many of them succeeded in mancipating themselves from control in earlier times as well.

Sibréë,

S 7• The ulèëbalangships and their constitution.

bahngs!6" 1 he ulocbalangs, as we have repeatedly said, are the lords of the country, the territorial chiefs par excellence. They are thus called the rajas (in Achehnese parlance chiefs) of their territories in writings as wel' as in the «Poken language. As the word ulèëbalang signifies mili tary leader, it is not inconceivable that this name was given them under one of the most powerful of the port-kings, who endeavoured to ronder them subordinate and allowed them the command over the fighting men in their districts, while he tried gradually to monopolie the supreme power for himself. This eflfort however, was unsuccessful, for the uleebalangs have always continued governors, judges and military leaders in their own country, in which as a matter of fact they admit no higher authority. Ihe territory of an ulèëbalang has distinctive no name Achehnese, in like "mukim" and "gampöng". The expression "ulèëbalangschap" has been adopted by the Dutch, while the Achehnese speak of "the country [nanggroé] of ulèëbalang so and so" or of "the so many mukims". For the sake of clearness and distinction they sometimes unite the two expressions as in*-the seven Mukivts Ba ét"* i. e. the ulèëbalangship cons.st.ng of seven mukims, whose chief is called Teuku Muda Ba'ét. Although the title borne by these chiefs may have been derived from the court at Banda-Acheh, their authority is beyond all doubt of more anc.ent origin and dependant on no royal letters-patent. Their position was confirmed, not created, by the port-kings. Even the edicts of the most powerful rajas of Acheh express themselves with much circumspection touching the ulèëbalangs, which shows that these rajas wh.le endeavouring to establish a kind of hegemony, understood that they would do better to respect the powerful position of these poten- tates of the interior. I he ruling of the adat Meukuta Alam ') that the ulèëbalangs should receive no letters-patent of appointment from the sultan, was prompted by the consideration that they received their office as an inheritance :rom their forefathers. This rule however appears to have been forgotten later on; at least now-a-days botli ulèëbalangs and chiefs of depen-

i) See Van Langen's Atjchsch Staatsbestuur, pp. 4o, and 437.

dcncies rcgard their rights as by no means dependen! on such letters- patent, though both one and the other set some value 011 them as an embellishment of their rank. Kefore leaving the subject of the relation of the ulèëbalangs to the Confedera tions. Th( threc saizis

TEUKU MUDA DAVVÖT, ULÈËBAI.ANG OF SEULIMEUM (XXII MUKIMs).

sultanate, which will be dealt with more fully when wc come to spcak of the sultans themselves, we must make one or two remarks on the confederacies of the ulèëbalangs. We have seen tliat Acheh proper, outside the limits of the actual sultanate, is divided into threc sagöës (sagis) or «angles, eacli of which is composed of a certain number of mukims whence they derive their names viz. Dua plöh dua (the XXII Mukims), Dua plok nam (the XXVI Mukims) and Teungoh Iheé plok

9°

(the XXV Mukims). We may notice in passing that the gradual in- crease of population gave rise here and there (and especially in the XXII Mukims) to the formation of new mukims within the limits of •sucli a sagi ), so that ïts name does not alvvays correspond vvith its actual proportions. The question that excites our special interest is — to what are we to ascribe the origin of this distribution and what has been its significance in regard to the political life of Acheh ? The first question, like most enquiries into the history of Acheh, does not admit of a decisive answer. In the historical notes in the' possession of some of the Achehnese chiefs, we meet with the state ment that the distribution into sagis came into being in the reign of the sultana Nurul-alam Nakiatödin (1675— 77) ')• But such traditions are of very httle value. To judge of their reliability we have only to reflect that many Achehnese at the present time attribute the intro- duction of Islam into their country to the saint Chèli Abdöra'öh (Ab- dura'uf — Teungku di Kuala), although it is clearly established that this man lived no earlier than the i₇th Century. If we might assume that the institution of panglimas of sagis was brought about by a royal edict with. the view of emphasizing the authority of the sovereign over all the ulèëbalangs 3), it would appear very extraordinary that it should have attained its consummation under the weak rule of a sultana. The highest significance which I should venture to ascribe to the historical note in question is this, that under the weak female rule which was highly favoured by the ulèëbalangs for reasons easy to conceive, the latter were able to bring it to pass that every succession to the t irone should take place in conformity with the decision of the repre sentaties of the three sagis. Sagis, that is to say confederations of uleebalangsh.ps, had however undoubtedly been long in existence before they succeeded in bringing the sultanate like an infant under their joint guardianship. Wcrc it otherwise, and had the sagis been artificially constituted by the sultans or sultanas, they would have fallen into disuse again after the lapse of the shortlived period of prosperity of the port-kingship. This has not taken place. It is true-that there has been no lack —

M h S f he XXH Mukims now con a

2) See also Van I.angen's Atjehsch Staatsbestuur p. 393.
3) Van I.angen, Atjehsch Staatsies/uur r> 10^

• •

9'

WIIAI TISC couiu DC expected in Acheh — of quarrels and even petty wars between ulèëbalangs and imeums belonging to the sarae confe- deracy, and the people under the jurisdiction of the same ulèëbalang have always feit more united in mind and purpose with one another tlian with their other brethren of the same sagi. Still the great mass of chiefs and dependants of any one sagi are understood to form a single united body. Ihis may be regarded as due to propinquity, similarity of manners and dialect and above all community of interest. The origin of such confederacies is to be ascribed to the force of circumstances. I' roni ancient times, and still more in former years tlian at the present day, internal conflicts and wars of every description have been the order of the day in Acheh. Just as the gampöngs which standing alone would have lain at the mercy of the first freebooter, protccted themselves by uniting under a single ulèëbalang, so must the ulèëbalangs in their mutual strife have perceived the usefulness of offensive and defensive alliances with their neighbours. It of course remained open to all of them in case of need to scek their allies where they would. Nor was the federation so close as to prevent an occasional defection, or an absence of readiness to burn their fingers on behalf of their allies — a characteristic by no means confmed to Acheh. Self-interest has always been the ruling motive, but for this very reason we must admit that the ulèëbalangships which united themselves into sagis had in reality abiding communities of in terest; othervvise the very name of the institution would scarce have survived '). 1 hat each federation feit the necessity for a single head, and chose The pang to this end the most powerful and influential ulèëbalang from their n,a saBi' midst, is an obvious result of what has been said. The authority of such a panglima sagi extended however only to matters of general interest. I-'or the rest the remaining ulèëbalangs governed their own territories just as though there were no sagi in existence. All authority in Acheh is in the highest degree personal. Rank is acquired by inheritance, but whether its possessor exercises the in- fluence that attachés to it depends on his individual characteristics. Thus although the rank of panglima sagi became heritable in the

92

family of him vvho at the conclusion of the alliance was recognized by his fellows as chief, this could not prevent the inheritors of the office from being outvied by others at a later period. Still the feeling ol respect for tradition in Acheh is great enough to leave the name and certain outward forms intact. I here was besides the usual conflict between one who is endowed vvith a loosely defined supremacy and those who find themselves sub- jected to it; on the one hand eagerness to shake ofif the yoke as far as possible, and on the other efforts after extended power '). W ars and other such special crises always showed whether the panglima sagi had inherited the influence as well as the rank of his forefathers; in times of comparative order and repose he was and still is a mere ulèëbalang like the rest. l lcebalangs \ e may here make cursory inention of two other sorts of ulèëba- of the Sultan. langs, who exercise no authority within the three sagis. The first is the ulèëbalang poten, i. e. "ulèëbalangs of our lord (the Sultan)", who either held a position of trust within the Sultan's own territory, or filled a high post at Court, or else owed their titles simply to the royal favour. Such offices are hereditary like the rest. The second is to be found among certain of the chiefs in the outlying dependencies who take some pride in adopting the title of ulèëbalang as a general designation of their rank. 1 he chiefs in Acheh proper who rather look down on these aspirants, are wont to remark in contradiction of their claims, that the rulers of the dependencies are really only keujrucns (këjuruan) or nnuntr'oës (mantri) no matter what titles they may have gained from chance, royal favour or their own arrogance. Attendants To return to the ulèëbalangs of Acheh proper, we find then that they of the ulèë-,, balang. are botn rajas, military conimanders and judges in their own territories. I"or the exercise of their authority they have the following helpers: Hantas. a. Their younger brothers or more distant next-of-kin, generally known by the name of bantas. Of these one is the banta 2) par excel- letice, the ulèëbalang's right-hand man. Mis duties are something like those of the patih of a Javanese princedom or regency.

1) As to this sec also Van Langen's Atjehsch Staatsbestuur, p. 398.
2) It must not however be always assumed from the of this word in the

occurrence

b. Their rakans (prop. "companions") i. e. the followers who live Rakans.
in their house or its immediate neighbourhood and receive from them food and clothing for themselves and their families. To these are sometimes added the ureiïèng salah as they are called, persons who have been enrolled in the following of the ulèëbalang by way of pu- nishment for some offence or for debt.

c. The panglima prang also ranks to some extent as a momber of
the ulèëbalang's suite. Anyone who has distinguished himself on some few occasions as a warrior is raised (in just the same way as the panghma kawóm '), to the rank of panglima prang, a rather empty dignity if considered alone. The weapons (sikin panjang and reunchöng) which he receives from the ulèëbalang on his appointment, he must return to him again if he should ever embrace the cause of an enemy of the latter. In times of peace these officers have no share in the government or administration of justice; in war the amount of confidence reposed by the ulèëbalang in his panglima prang as leaders of his fighting men depends 011 the personal qualities of the chief himself. In ordinary life the title panglima is given to anyone who is known to have taken a share in warlike operations on some few occasions; the abbreviation pang serves as a minor distinction. In Acheh proper as well as the subordinate districts there is in most gampöngs of im- portance 011e person who bears the title of panglima prang, but these so-called "war-chiefs" have really nothing to do witli war, being only the messengers or attendants of the chiefs. 'I' A further measure of help is derived by the uleëbalangs from the imcums aiul imenms and keuchis within his jurisdiction. These however represent ^l"''" other interests also besides those of their ulèëbalang, and are thus only conditionally at his disposal.

c. 1'or the administration of justice the ulèëbalang avails himself of
the services of a kali (kadhi), whom he himself nominates. The juris diction of this ofticer, as we shall immediately see, is limited to certain minor portions of the family law, and he does nothing except at the command or with the approval of his chief. A more important section of judicial work, which rests almost entirely on adat, is taken out of

1) See p. 46 above. We have thus three kinds of panglimas of vastly different position :

the hands of the ulèëbalang by the so-called friendly settlements efifected by his imeums and keuchi's. How far the ulèëbalang can, in the event for example of a hostile invasion of his territory, reckon upon the help of the above-mentioned officials and of his subjects in general, depends entirely 011 his personal tact and energy and the influence of his family connections. Though the bantas are his relatives, he must find means to attach them to his cause; the rakans elope if sufficiënt attention is not paid to their maintenance; the imeums and keuchi s in times of difficulty and danger vvill only follovv an ulèëbalang who is able to inspire them witli fear or with affection, and otherwise remain inactive or even lend their support to the enemy. Furthermore, the chief who has powerful allies outside his own territory can always exert more influence over his own people. 1 here is hardly any tracé of systematic management in regard to afïfairs of general interest. The maintenance of public order is efifected by the punishment of open offenders, unless the offence has been already avenged either privately (as in most cases of manslaughter, hurt or other personal acts of violence) or through the adats controll- ing the dwellers in the gampöngs. Administra-We now come to the administration of justice. We know that the tion of justice,,, inAcheh. Mohammedan law requires independent judges (kadhis or their depu- tics) who are indeed appointed by the licad of the community but who, though liable to dismissal for neglect of duty, need never conform to the will of temporal authorities but alone to the all-ruling law of Allah. I have repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that this ideal is never even approximately attained. Administra-This may be partly ascribable to the desire of all Mohammedan tionofjustice i 4. %• in Moham-kuiers monopolize power, which makes it impossible for them to "1L1 tries'"tölemte in their neighbourhood independent judges with so wide a generally. jurisdiction. But there is more than this: the Mohammedan law is unfitted for the practical administration of justice '), among other

1) The ideal character of the Mohammedan law, developed as it was for the most part
1886) and by Dr. Ign. Goldziher in Muhammcdanischcs Recht in Theorie und Wirklichkeit

of

De fiqh

rcasons because it greatly hampers the detection of crime, imposes impossible demands on witnesses and fails to takc cognizance of histo- rical changes. As the Mohammedan law itself excludes on principle all intrinsic reform, rulers have everywhere found themselves compelled to provide a practical method of administering justice, and this they have done by constituting themselves the judges in all cases, following partly the prevailing custom of the country and partly their own inclination. Respect for the admittedly perfect religious law (described in self- justification as too good for modern society) made a twofold concession desirable; first the admission of an appeal to the divine law, of which license it is well known that advantage will hardly ever be taken, and secondly the handing over to the kadlii of the decision of such cases as are more especially regarded as being of a religious nature, including the law relating to families. 1 he first of these two concessions is wanting in the judicial institu-Adat and tions of most peoples of the Indian Archipelago. 1 « In its 1 place it 10 is 1 law rell. 111 gun' the s represented as being God's will that the adat (conceived as the ancient lnd.ian Ar~ law of the land in the broadest sense of the word, altered but little ' by the spirit of Mohammedanism) and the hui-om or religious law should govern side by side '), though in practice the former plays by far the larger part. But in Acheh even the jurisdiction in matters affecting the family lias not been entirely made over to the kali. The latter's most usual duties are:

a. 1 he declaration of the pasah (fasch), the judicial dissolution of a
marriage at the instancc of 011e of the parties. Even tliis is only done by the kali by the authority of the ulèebalang specially given in each case. I he usual recompense to the kali for such a sentence is four dollars, lo this is sometimes added a handsome fee for the ulèebalang, especially when the grounds of a woman's request for />asa/i are of doubtful sufficiency.

b. Acting as the wali of maidens who wish to get married, and whose

1) See pp. 14 and 72 above.

walis dead (the

1 he fees for this service vary according to circumstances, just like that given to the teungku meunasah for concluding marriages, one of his duties under the adat.

c. 1 aking the lead in the very customary balc meudeuhab, a cnrious
evasion of the law, through which the Achehnese consider themselves justified in marrying girls who are not of age, even though the autho ritative walis (those in the ascending line) are wanting. Further details on this head will be found in our description of the marriage law. In this case again the regular fee is four dollars.

d. Making the requisite calculations for the division of inheritances,
a task which the ulèebalang is of course unable to perform for him- self. I he latter hovvever in such cases uses his kali simply as an ac countant, as he wishes to keep the control of such matters in his own hands. The ulèebalang receives the 10°/„ commission allowed him by the adat as ha pra c or succession duty, and even assumes control of the shares of absent heirs and some of those under age, the usual result being that these shares are considerably diminished or entirely disappear. For making these calculations, which are in all essentials worked out in accordance with the Mohammedan law (v. inf. in our description of customs connected with decease) the kali gets simply such recompense as the ulèebalang may choose to allow him. In all other cases or suits brought before the ulèebalang, the kali as a rule holds aloof. This is because not only the system of evidence adopted, but also the sentences passed, are in such direct conflict with the sacred law that the presence of the representatives of this law would only bring it into contempt. Yet there are some ulèëbalangs who summon their kali on such occasions for form's sake, and after enquiring of him with much apparent solicitude, what would be the fiat of the huköm in the case under consideration, beg of him to allow the decision in this one instance to be given in accordance with the adat; whereto the kali assents with a respectful seumbah. Some few pious ulèèbalangs, who of their own accord allowed their The kali kalis a larger sliare in the administration of justice, or conformed to rabon jalé their advice, are cited as rare exceptions. ld the kali alikönadé. dikönadé. The I he panglima panglima sagi sagi was was the the chief chief ulèebalang ulèebalang of of his his confederation, confederation, and and

Iiis kali was in likc manner the chief kali of the sagi. We may perhaps iscribe to the centralizing efforts of certain of the port-kings an attempt ivhich was made to reduce all the other kalis to the position of mere ieputies of the chief kali, nominated by him or at least with his con- :urrence, whilst the chief kali of eacli sagi received his appointment lirect from the hands of the sultan. The bombastic title of these kalis )f the sagis, Kali Rabön Jalé (from the Arab. Qadhi Rabbul Jalll) = Judge of the Almighty Lord '), undoubtedly dates from the times of ictive organization in the capital. Writers on Acheh have accustomed us to the idea that above the calis of the ulèëbalangs and of the panglima sagi there was enthroned n the capital a supreme hereditary judge who bore the title of Kali Malikon Adê (Qad/ü Malikul Adil) i. e. "Judge of the righteous King". Tor this notion it appears that we have again to thank Mr. Der Kin leren, whose chief guide in forming this conclusion was the bearer of he title himself. I he latter appears (for reasons not difficult to surmise) o have told Mr. Der Kinderen tales regarding his exalted position in lagrant conflict with the truth. Ile painted an idealized picture of the mportance of that position as it was at the time of its fïrst establish- nent, some two and a half centuries ago, and furbisjied this up as epresenting the actual state of things at the present day *). The original intention of the powerful port-king (whether Meukuta Uam or an earlier sovereign) who instituted the title of Kali Malikon ^dé, was undoubtedly to have a president of the royal court ofjustice iossessed of an adequate knowledge of the religious law. In making liis appointment it was of course never intended to apply this law in .s full extent. Such a scheme could have been realized in no Moham- ïedan country in the world within the last twelve centuries. The whole ohtical system of the port-town even at the zenith of its prosperity 'as in conflict with the law of Islam. 1 erhaps those Achehnese chiefs are not entirely wrong who assert lat the wish of the prince who created the office was that his kali

u

1) 1 his expression is also to be found in Malay works in the sense of The Judge, the
2) Ordonnantie van 14 Maart 1SS1 betrekkelijk de rechtspleging onder de inheemsche be•

V; sUJO As vjUij--LLiU stf

Groot-Atjeh, pp.

should apply the adat as vvell as the hukom, and on this account gave him, in contradistinction to the "judges of the Almighty Lord" in the three sagis, the title of "judge of the righteous king". In fact it is in this way that the difference in nomenclature can be best explained '). Degene»-Whether the sultan who established the office in question wished at tion of the, t 1 ofticeofKali s^nie time to endovv liis own judge with a measure of supremacy

a j th three chief kalis, remains uncertain. We only know that if such a scheme existed, nothing carae of it. In the first place the great independence of the three sagis would have resisted any such attempt, and in practice a higher appeal from the sentences of the judges of the Almighty Lord, ' to the royal court of justice would have miscarried owing to sundry insurmountable difficulties. Hut besides this the office of "judges of the righteous King" very quickly deterio- rated, until in the end it retained nothing more than the title indicative of its origin. \aiious causes combined to bring about this deterioration. First the hereditary nature of the office which did not of course endure that the heir should be as learned as his predecessor; then the residence of the holder of the title in the immediate neighbourhood of the court, by which he gained a favourable opportunity of having his office con- verted into a sort of ulèëbalangship, the end and aim of all Achehnese office-bearers; and lastly the rapid decay of the central power, by which various offices created during the brief period of prosperity lost the reason for their further existence. Lven in the later edicts, which always more or less idealize facts, we find the Kali Malikon Ade represented as a distinguished courtier, a sort of master of court ceremonies, to whom a fixed portion of the harbour dues was assigned. He became what was called uleëbalang pbteu, "uleëbalang of our lord" (the sultan), equal in rank to the almost independent provincial chiefs, with all the worldly pretension apper- taining to their rank, but without territory. The official title of Teuku which he bore and still bears, points unequivocally to the complete secularization of his office. h inally one of the holders of this title, making use of the special favour of the prince towards him and of the weakness of the then

Niemann geschriften,

THE LATE TEUKU KALI MALIKÖN OF HIS NEW HOUSE.

IOO

Panglima Meuseugit Raya (the hcad of the 24 or more gampöngs on either side of the Acheh river, in the neighbourhood of the court and principal mosque) succeeded in gaining control over half the latter's jurisdiction. Since then we find the Teuku Kali at the acme of the wishes of an Achehnese official, chief of a small but important territory, and at the same time, in his capacity as a court dignitary, not without influence in the choice of a successor to the throne. We thus see that Mr. Dei Kinderen quite missed the mark in finding anything extra- ordinary in the fact that the "hereditary supreme judge" of the king- dom could neither read nor write. Teuku Kali was ulèëbalang of 12 gampöngs, and shared this ignorance with many of his equals in rank, while those who are charged with administering justice according to ïcligious law can all read and write and have most of them carried their learning much further than these rudiments. The rule that the chief kalis of the three sagis should be appointed by the sultan speedily became a dead letter, and the practical results of the aims at centralization founded on this rule proved very trifling. linVhf' 1 '1C offlce of bah raböti jalé also, in complete opposition to its character and object, became in the end hereditary; nay more, during the latter part of the century, the son, brother or nephew of a deceased title-bearer has succeeded the latter without even having to demand a sealed deed of appointment from the sultan. Such being the case, we may be surprised to find that this kali-ship did not deteriorate so much as that of Mr. Der Kinderen's "supreme judge". 1 hc kali raböti jalé of the XXII Mukims, though according to custom he acquires his office by inheritance, is as a matter of fact a man of learning. According to Achehnese custom the late kali, like his fore- fathers before him, was called after the gampöng he lived in, Teungku Tanoh Abèë '). By reason of his learning this chief esteemed himself too highly to act as a sort of acolyte of the Panglima of his sagi, and refused to appear at the call of the Panglima Pölém. This powerful uleebalang was thus constrained when need arose to seek the help of teungkus of inferior qualifications»), while his hereditary kali devoted his time to study and the instruction of his disciples.

1) He died in 1893.
2) I he chief of those who rendered in this way was Teungku di I.heue,

service an

IOI

In the XX\ Mukims in like nianner there flourished for a short time a tolerably learned head kali, Teungku Lam I'aya '), who died some years since. He enjoyed, at least in the later years of the sultanate, a certain precedence on otiicial occasions, and was sometimes bidden to the Dalam, probably because he lived nearest at hand. I lis son, who succeeded him under the sarac title, is said not to be particularly learned in the law, but very ready of speech. When the Dutch first came to Acheh, the chief kali of the XXVI Mukims was a man named Teungku Lam Gut, the grandfather 011 the mother s side of the present hatib (preacher) of the principal mosque at Kuta Raja. Born in Lam Gut and appointed as the successor of his father, who had some reputation for learning, he subsequently changed his abode, in consequence of his marriage, to Lam Bhu' close to the Dalam. Fiere he married his daughter to a scholar of Pidië named Chèh Marahaban, long a resident in Mecca, who was ulama and kali to the sovereign of the portJ) during the last years of the Sultanate. Teungku Lam Gut was thus able to rely in his official work on the superior knowledge of his son-in-law, for he himself though a man of sound intelligence was devoid of learning. The principle of inheritance could not of course be applied to the kali-ship in the same degree as in the case of offices controlled by adat; still it was sometimes pushed to a great extremity. Thus it by 110 means rarely occurred that in the very smallest duties of his office the kali, like many a teungku meunasah, :') had to invoke the assistance of some learned man of only second or third rank. 1 his is equally true of the ordinary kalis of the ulèëbalangship, who according to the intention of the centralizing ruler were supposed to be appointed by the chief kali, but as a matter of fact inherited theii office as a .family chattel, and were only hampered in their right of succession by the occasional interference of their ulèëbalangs. Accor- dingly we find side by side in all these offices functionaries without title and title-bearers without function.

1) Not to be confused with his contemporary, the still greater pandit Teungku Lam 1'aya,
2) Thus even in the rare cases the Sultan of Acheh had need of the advice of
3) See above p. 75.

where

I02 102

(>keitchiand

nof'justicè ThUS the administration ,11,0 u!èc-

blDog a n H dily injurieS lu,rt or mans od-money to balance

oïmeulangga

1) See p. 77 above.
2) See p. 78 above.

compensation in which all ceremonies are dispensed with. Indeed it sometimes happens that an injured villager on receiving compensation at the hands say of an ulcëbalang's son who has done him an injury, actually begs the latter for forgiveness. Injuries done to persons of position by those of inferior are never injuries to atoned for without a formal request for pardon. iankC °f hlgïl One of the lower orders who has committed some ofïfence against a chief below the rank of ulèëbalang, seeks the presence of the chief with gifts, accompanied by relatives and friends who plead in his behalf. To an ulèëbalang the offender is brought wrapped up in a cloth as though he were dead or seriously ill. Keuchi's or persons of higher rank who go into the presence of their ulèëbalang as penitent sinners are generally accompanied by a number of their fellows of like rank. Either the offender himself or one of his colleagues who out of friendship for him assumes the part ofsubstitute or scapegoat, covers his head with a white cloth, and thus habited as a corpse takes his stand before the ulcëbalang's door, while his com- panions rëiterate the cry: ampon! atnpon! For a long time the ulèëbalang feigns to take no notice, so that nothing may be wanting to the publicity of the aftair, which he deerns indispensable for the satisfaction of his honour. Finally he comes for- ward and says: "It is well", whereupon the suppliants enter the house and sit down for a short time, without however being made partakers of any hospitality. Ulèëbalangs who desired to atone by an appeal for pardon for a sin of commission or omission against the Sultan, were generally summoned to the Dalam for this purpose. Here they received from their royal master a costly platter (dalöng) on which lay an iron chain under the usual covering (a conical plaited cover sangè and a cloth = seuhab). This served as a gentle reminder that they must consider themselves as prisoners and not return home until they had received forgiveness. Thereupon followed a discussion as to the ternis of the pardon. Tovvards the ulèëbalangs of Acheh proper, however, the sultans never indulged in such highhanded methods; it was only the less important diiefs of the dependencies that would submit to such ignominy. Where the ceremony of "cooling" takes place between two persons of L>qual rank, the offender asks forgiveness of the injured party who is seated opposite, and to this end rises first from his place; bilt if the

104 injured o„e is somewha. yolm„er Qr jn ^ ^ ^

itóiative Pe"itent s° M '°-'PP™' to take the

In cases of manslaughter the dB, is seklon, aceepted, more substanüal vengeanee bang sought for. The guilty party i„ s„ch cascs usua|| fl.es fron, the highlands to the lowlands „r viee versa, and enioys the proteet.on of the gampöng whose hospitality he invokes The ulèe- balang whose subjeet the deeeased „as, after having aseertained the aets, proclaims that the offender may be slai„ by anyone into whose hands he falls.

Where the bloodguilty party dies eithe, a violent or a „ataral death, the aflair is regarded as settled. It was understood that persons guilty of manslaughter could save themselvos by flying to .he Dalan., but they were then regarded as chattels of the raja. 'i'heft A thief is according to Achehnese law n„ni,h,KU. .„ui, •r. . * UCdlU, even not caaght red-handed •>. I„ additie,, to ,he great divergenee fron, the law of Islam ,„ ,egard to the severity of ,hc „enalty, we f„„, a further confl.et w„h that law in the estimation of the punishment a, an act of pnvate vengeanee, whicb „nly ,he vietim of the theft or his representative has the right to exact. If he whose goods are stolen has caught the thief red-handed and sla.n him, he must „i accordance with the rules of evidence required y the adat, prove that the deceased has actually committed theft as otherwise he would become involved in a blood-feud. Where the thief 'S n0t 3t °nCC c;iPtured, the fact must in like manner be "proved" so as to g,ve the aggrieved party the right to slay him without be'ing exposed to the vengeanee of his kindred.

Muk,ms

fc d ffic ult tü rovc

inflicti r Cent years ,hls W m St Pr bab y paid f

According to tlie adat the only proper method of proving the crime is for the ulèëbalang to establish the fact by personal investigation at the scene of the theft, and to identify the thief, a process known to the Achehnese as peusah ') panchuri. In the XXVI Mukims this peusah should according to the adat be carried out only by the panglima sagi 2), and in the XXV by any ulèëbalang; in some parts of the XXII Mukims the ulèëbalang ifhe reside at too great a distance may be replaced by a conclave of three imeums 3). I he elders and those learned in adat are wont to enumerate four sorts of testimony, which whether taken alone or in conjunction give the right to regard the accused as a thief. The Achehnese have a great preference for the numbtr four. They are also fond of employing in the discussion of adat-subjects terms which no one fully understands, and in regard to which every successive speaker can thus exhibit greater wisdom than his predecessor. These four traditional forms of proof are as follows: i". yad (Arab. properly = "hand") i. e. that the suspected party has been seen lurking in the neighbourhood of the house of him whose goods have been stolen; 2". kinayat (Arab. — "covered or metaphorical proof') i. e. that he has been seen to enter the house; 3". penny abct (from Arab. thabit — established, "that which establishes a fact") i. e. that he has been seen holding or touching the stolen object; and 4". halen'c tneuë (properly halal ~ "perniitted" anti mal — "goods, object of possession ') i. e. that he has been discovered with the stolen object in his possession. Other kinds of evidence are mentioned, but these are all equally remote from the original as well as the technical sense of the Arabic words; and these words themselves do not appear in any such con- nection in the Mohammedan law, with the exception of yad, which means actual possession. I11 practice however they do not confine themselves to these rather more than vague rules. I he peusah generally rests 011 the ground that the body of the slain thief has been found lying close to or in the neighbourhood of the stolen object, which token (tanda) is still further

1) Ihe causative of sah (Arab. <;alih) = true, certain; the word thus means: to declare

2)
3) 87

strengthened by traces of housebreaking. It may also be supported by the fact that the thing stolen is found in the possession of another (the receiver) to whorn compensation is paid on the condition that he points out the thief; or again, the fact that it is found in the gampöng and that various circumstances point to a particular person as the thief who has escaped pursuit. In order to give some idea of the peculiar adats among the Achehnese in crimmal cases, which are characterized no less than their family life by set speeches and dramatic display, we append an example of the peusah panchuri in a case in which the thief has been killed on the spot. 1 he attendant circumstances are imaginary, but most of the formulae are invariable. Ihe body of the thief, with the objects which serve as testimony, are left undisturbed till the ulèëbalang who is notified as soon as possible, appears in the gampöng attended by some imeums and keuchi's. ' hese authorities seat themselves over against the slayer of the thief, and the people of the gampöng crowd around on all sides. The slayer is usually represented by a speechmaker of the gampöng, but he may of course speak for himself if he wish. Standing up in his place he delivers himself on this wise: "I beg forgiveness of you all, oh *Teungkus * ye that are my kings, for the reason for which 1 stand here, oh Teuku ampön, is threefold. ' " 1 he first reason is, that I desire to pay homage to you, oh Teukus, who are my kings. The second reason is, oh Teuku ampön, that I wish to relate to you that which has befallen me. The third reason is, oh Teuku ampön, that I have to inform you as follows. During the past night, I riday the 151)1 of Mo lot, I was sleeping in the meunasah. At about midnight, as well as I could guess, I was startled and awaked from sleep with a feeling of uneasiness. I took my weapons, a sikin, a reunchong and a spear, and went back into the gampöng -1), for I keep a beast there.

sagi,

1) Or else, .is we saw above, the panglima or a council of three imeums, as the
2) Although al most all those present actually bear the title teuk,,, it is the traditional
3) Ihe hotises of the gampöng in contradistinction to the are here meant

meunasah

IO7

"So then, oh Teuku ampön, having come into the gampöng, I took some buffalo fódder and laid it in the manger. Then I saw that the beast did not approach. I feit for the rope; there was 110 rope to be found. Then I approached the door of the stall and found it standing open. Then I wandered hither and thither till I came upon a man leading a buffalo in a place which is only separated from my house by a single garden. "Thereupon, oh Teuku ampön, I cried out, who is that leading a buffalo? but he answered not. Then I drew my sikin and called help! help! He took his stand against me, I smote at him and there lay the leader of the buffalo dead! "As to the buflalo, oh Teuku ampön, it is my property. For the rest, as concerns the man, if the Supreme God so will, it shall be as ye, oh Teukus who are my kings, shall be pleased to decide. VVhat name shall wc call this dead man by?1) "Thus much only have I to say." After the hearing of this or a similar story, the ulèëbalang says to those present: "What is your opinion, Teukus, in regard to what this man (or this master) has related ?" A chorus of the viliagers here interrupts: "That is clear enough, it may at once be answered, oh Teuku!" The ulèëbalang however transfers this task to his proxy speaker, one of the elders, and says to the latter, "let answer be made." "How am I to answer?" he enquires. "What means this 'how,' is it not clear enough?" pursues the ulèëbalang. After this authorization the elder speaks thus: "Good then, as to what this man has related, how stands it ? Know ye that are here (this to the next of kin, neighbours etc. of the slayer) aught of it ? Teil us what ye know." The answer, given more or less in chorus, runs thus: "It is established, even as this man has related it, oh Teuku ampön, so is the knowledge of all of us." The ulèëbalang to the elder: "well, if that be so, then is this fellow (the deccased) buffalo-flesh, it is permitted us to eat it!"

i) That is to say: 1 leave it to you to decide, whether he shall be esteemed thief 01' not.

The cider: "This fellow is even as the flesh of buffaloes, it is permitted us to eat it! Let us cry aloud now all together, the name of 1 fellow 18 thief! Cry w'th one voice, let us kill the thief dead !" These last words are loudly repeated by all present, and thus the case is concluded. It might be almost expected that at this last cry d simultaneous attack would be made upon the body of the thief, but now-a-days at least this does not take place. Not till the conclusion of this ceremony can the thief be buried Before the formal pat sak the body may be moved to the extent of ciragg.ng .t a few paces along the ground, but to raise it cntirely from the earth would according to the adat have the effect of making the sentence impossible. It is obvious that proofs such as those we have enumerated are not always forthcoming 111 all the numerous cases of theft in Acheh and especially in the highland districts, yet the adat with its peculiar rules of evidence demands "tanda" or tokens, and it is an established rule that where such tokens are wanting, no crime can be taken to be proved. ün the other hand it often happens that all are morally con-

v.nced that a certain person is in the habit of stealing or has done so in a particular instance, without their being able with the best will in the world to adduce the requisite proofs. It may for example be safely asserted, in view of the habits of life of the Achehnese, that any one who after nine o'clock in the evening is found lurking in a strange gampöng where no festival is being held, has come there with cnminal intent.and generally with the object of committing theft. In such cases there prevails a custom, not indeed tbeoretically recog- nized, but in fact commonly practised, of artificially supplying the necessary tandas or proofs after the evildoer has been put to death. 1 he slayer for instance breaks a piece out of the wall of his house, and places a chest which he has himself taken out of his house near the body, or ties his buffalo to the leg of the slain man, so as to give the appearance of his having met him leading the animal away. Though all who attend at the verification {peusah) are well aware of the true origin • of the evidence, they lend their support before the uleebalang (who is often as much in the secret as themselves) to x solemnly paraded fictitious story of the theft, and the declaration This fellow is as the flesh of buffaloes, it is permitted us to eat it," iets the slayer free from all guilt.

Nay more, this facile method of peusah panchuri is frequently resorted to even vvhen there is no question of theft. Suppose for in stance that a man has dctected his daughter, who is unmarried or whose husband is away, in the act of illicit intercourse, and has slain her lover. According to Achehnese adat he would now be exposed to blood-vengeance unless he had also killed his daughter, and if he ad- mitted the true nature of the case, he would subject her to the penalty of death by strangling and drowning combined (cheuki'e ) by command of the ulèëbalang. Por a moderate consideration, however, the latter may be induced to recognize as true the "tokens" of theft brought for- ward to suit the case of the honiicide, accompanied by a story that harmonizes with the circumstances, and which is upheld by the un- animous voice of the fellow-villagers of the slayer, who are not likely to leave their comrade in the lurch. Even ordinary murders attributable to no such circumstances as the above, but merely to liatred and the desire for revenge, are sometimes settled by the peusah panchuri through the venal connivance of the ulèëbalang. For the tracing of the criminal in case of a theft established by proofs, various methods are furnished by the adat; and these, while especially applicable in case of theft, are also employed in detecting those guilty of other crimes. When strong suspicion rests 011 a particular individual, and it is desired to extort confession, recourse is had to the method called wéng or srèng ba pha siblaïh. This consists in fastening a strip of rottan round the thigh of the suspect, and tightening it by twisting the ends together while the interrogation proceeds. Various other similar tortures are also employed. When a thief chances to be captured instead of slain, his relatives are given opportunity of ransoming him. In theory the blood-price or dict has to be paid in such cases, but in practice a sum proportioned to the resources of the family is accepted. Such ransoms are especially customary in the highlands, where theft is very common. Elsewhere, for instance in the XXV Mukims, thieves are more usually put to death on the spot. I he follovving methods serve to identify the thief from among a Ordea number of persons one of whom is believed to be the guilty party. Peutasa' or peuklo minyeu' ("the boiling of oil" or "the plunging

I IO

(the hands) into oil") is an ordeal requiring for its success tliat he who boils the oil should be able to do so in the proper manner and should know by heart the necessary incantations. Then the hand of the guilty person and none other will be scalded. In like manner pumuc breiich («bolting of ravv rice") has the desired result only when the requisite incantations are uttered over the rice. I hen ït is the guilty one alone that fails to swallow the rice. Another ordeal is teumanöm ("burying something"). The ulèëbalang calls together all the suspected persons into the meunasah, and gives them three days time to restore the stolen object secretly to its owner. Should this not be done they must again assemble. Then some person skilled in magie art "enchants" a kundur-fruit [boh kundö), and this is buried where the main road enters the gampöng. The result is that the stomach of the guilty party quickly swells up or bursts. Peulich beusoc ("licking the hot iron") is also in use. This kind of ordeal is even expressly recognized in the so-called edict of Sham- sul-alam '). A simpler plan, but one less effective than these ordeals, is the summoning of all the suspects into the meunasah, where the teungku causes them one by one to swear a solemn oath of exculpation J). The usefulness of ordeals of course lies in the belief which the majority of the people have in them. Where they are made ready with the requisite circumstance and solemnity, the guilty party often confesses at once, before recourse is had to the actual trial, and even if this be not so, the demeanour of the criminal at the commencement of the ordeal generally proclaims his guilt. Knowing this, some ulèëbalangs have been wont to invite the atten- dance on such occasions of a teungku from some distant place, distin- feuished by a yreat beatd or some other such impressive characteristic; this startling apparition has often resulted in confession. In cases of petty theft it is not unusual for the thief to be kept imprisoned for some days in or near the residence of the ulèëbalang. Before being released he has to promise under oath never to steal again. lllieit inter-Next to theft illicit intercourse (Arab. sitia. Arli *,H„n* course. attention.

1) See Van I.angcn, Atjehsch Staatsbestuur, p. 469.
2) Such administratie, of oaths i an affair of the gampöng, which the keuchi'

s Caü

1 11

1 hc punishments imposed by Mohammedan law for this offence sexual intercourse between two persons not in the niutual relation of man and wife or master and slave) differ in proportion as the guilty parties may or may not have at some time in their lives had sexual ntercourse in a lawful marriage. If so the punishment is stoning to ieath, if not, 100 stripes with the lash, followed (according to the shafiite school) by banishment for at least one year. I he application of this law is extremely rare in Acheh, although its urovisions are pretty generally known. This is undoubtedly due to iome extent to the great difficulty of proving illicit intercourse according :o the requirements of the Mohammedan law of evidence; it is not jermissible to apply a punishment ordained of Allah to a crime which, :lear though it be to human insight, is insufficiently proved in accord- mce with the rules of evidence prescribed by Allah's law. In has happened in some few cases that some influential supporter >f religious law has endeavoured to make an example by applying it n all its rigour to this sin so universally prevalent in Acheh. This was lone for instance by Habib Abdurrahman, and the news spread hroughout the whole country that a couple had indeed been stoned or illicit intercourse. \ hen however some ulèëbalang conceives the ame idea, there is generally found something lacking both in the >roofs which the law requires and in the complete execution of the lunishment. As a matter of fact ditm is the order of the day in Acheh, whilst ts punishment is of exceptional occurrence unless where the injured lusband takes active measures. Many chiefs carry on intrigues with he daughters of men of lower degree, and are generally able to ullify or prevent the visible consequences. The same is done by ersons who hold forbidden intercourse with women of their own tanding (generally ***balei-***i. e. widows or divorced women). Dina with ïarried women is also far from uncommon. I here are two different sorts of punishment for this offence, when- ver any cognisance is taken of it. i". Wreaking of vengeance by the injured party (the husband, father, rother or other neai relative of the party concerned), sometimes )llowed by a further punishment at the order of the ulèëbalang, if ie injured party has only half finished 'lis task according to the •quirements of the adat.

I 12

The injured party may for instance slay the violater of the honour of his house on the spot, or elsewhere afterwards, if he can prove by a tanda (such as a garment of the offender who at first escaped him) that the deed has actually been pcrpetrated. If however he does not also slay the guilty woman (she being his wife or his blood-relation) he exposes himself to blood-vengeance, unless the other party chooses to refer the matter to the ulèëbalang and the Iatter Iets the adat penalty of cheukie be executed on the woman. This is done by taking the guilty woman to the bank of a river where she is laid on her back and held down under water; a bamboo is at the same time placed athwart across her throat, and on either end of this a rakan, or follower of the ulèëbalang, stands so as to throttle her. As a rule however her family forestalls this public scandal; she is secretly put out of the way by one of her own relations, though not before her lover has preceded her to the next world. It is to be noted that it very rarely occurs, and thcn only by mis- take that the injured party slays the woman (his own wife or biood- relation) whilc letting the man escape and yet retaining some article belonging to the latter as evidence. lo fulfil the (Iemands of morality in such cases there was in ancient times a custom, described by Van Langen in his Achehnese Dictionary, p. 35, but known to the present generation by tradition only, so long has it been discontinued. This custom was as follows: the escaped offender was dressed in the peculiar garments assigned by tradition to those guilty of manslaughter, and placed 111 the nndst of a square, one side of which was formed by his own blood-relations, and the -other tl,ree by those of the slain woman and her husband. He had then to cleave a piece of wood, after which the injured side had the right to chase and kill him, unless he suc- ceeded in escaping to the line occupied by his kinsfolk. In that case he was exposed to no further persecution. But as we have said, such a state of things rarely occurs and this method of dealing with the offender has now fallen entirely into disuse.

and

11 may be seen trom what has been just said, that illicit intercoursi is usually treated in Acheh as a private rather than a public breacl of law and order. 2". 1 he ulèëbalangs are quite ready to punish the offence of dina even when no one has complained of it, provided no disagreeabli consequences result to themselves or their friends. Here again thel action is dictated not so much by a vvisli to maintain law, order anc morality as to enlarge the profits of their privy purse. Occasion for such interference especially arises when the pregnanci of an unmarried woman (the most unequivocal tanda of all) become publicly known. 1 he causer of the pregnancy is traced down and th< guilty parties reminded by the ulèëbalang that they are really liabl< to the penalty of death (by suflfocation and drowning), but at the sam< time given to understand that the affair can be settled by paymen of a ceit.iin fine, provided that the tanda disappears. The fine is gene rally paid and abortion procured at the command of the ulèëbalang or else the latter (and this often happens) compels the guilty partiei to wed one another. Artificial abortion is of the commonest occurrence in Acheh, botl in and out of wedlock, and is especially resorted to in order to destroj that tanda of illicit intercourse which is the foremost means of proo prescribed by the adat. Even where the guilty parties are unable to pay the fine, the ulèë balang seldom exacts the extreme penalty of the law. He prefers t( punish them by incorporating thern among his followers as servant: without pay [ureucng sala/i), a step which is often accompanied by; compulsory marriage between the parties. 1 he rakans, or followers of the ulèëbalang, sometunes try to catcl couples in forbidden amours, in order to hale them before the ulèë balang, who squeezes them to the limit of their paying capacity b^ threats of other punishments. Nay, reliable witnesses declare that in the highlands especially, the rakans of the chiefs, in order to increasc these fines (a share of which they receive for their trouble) have women in their service who make it their business to entrap men into quite innocent convcrsations in lonesome places. 1 he woman can easily the man to sit down by her for a moment, a thing quite feasible owing to the comparative freedom of intercourse between the sexes in Acheh. Then the rakans rush up to them, tear off a portion of the clothing 8

i 14

of both man and woman and set this aside as "tanda." Where this is confirmed by the woman's "admission" that she lias had prohibited intercourse with the accused, it becomes easy for the ulèëbalang to extort a fine from the victim of the trick. iiishments. the CaS° °f those who are cntirely without means, the adat is sometimes made to appear to have as its sole purpose the punishment of immorahty. The following are among the punishments inflicted; fifty or more strokes of the lash inflicted by the rakans of the ulèë balang, in the presence of a crowd of the fellow-villagers of the accused; holding up to public gaze for a few moments by suspension from a tree by a rope passed under the arms; exposure for a wliole day to the sun; being tied up for a whole night in a place swarming with mosquitos or close to a nest of red ants etc. lliere are 110 definite adat-rules in regard to all these punishments. lliey are applied at the whim of the ulèëbalang not only in the case of illicit intercourse but also of other favourite sins of the Achehnese, whether some sacred occasion or place has been thereby extraordinarily polluted, or where the offence has been perpetrated with outrageous shamelessness, or by persons who are specially obnoxious to the chiefs or whose misdeeds they do not feel bouiul to overlook. I'or ill-treatment of women an adat punishment now little in vogue was formerly resorted to. The offender was set on a cow-buflfalo and led round followed by a hooting and jeering crowd. The late chiefofLhö'- Kruet 011 the West Coast used to apply this punishment to all sorts of other offences, not excluding dina '). Imprisonment, generally in cliains, serves less as a punishment than to accelerate the payment of a heavy fine, or to detain the prisoner for furtlier enquiry when it is feared that he might otherwise make good his escape. All acts are rigorously punished which in the opinion of ulèëbalangs or other chiefs amount to a slight upon the honour or dignity ofthem- selves, the members of their families or their friends. Thosc who are without

1) lil Acheh and its dependencies, just as in other Mohammedan countries, arbitrary

"5

means are put to death for such offenccs, vvhilc otliers are heavily fined. io ensure the payment of the fines in such cases a peculiar method I.anggch of compulsion is employed, called langgéh umong or the "excommuni-llmuns" cation of the rice-fields." The ulèëbalang causes a stake to be fixed in the rice-field of the guilty party, with the white spathe of a young cocoanut palm fixed to its upper end. From that time forth it is forbidden the owner to till his rice-field until the ulèëbalang is pleased to remove this token. Such removal, however, does not take place until the case issettled,

i. c. until the owner as it were redeems his right of possession by a money offering. Where he is unable or disinclined to do this, the excommunication lasts sometimes for years. The ulèëbalang proceeds gradually to have the field tilled by his servants or (as a sortoffeudal service) by his subjects, or else by private contract in consideration of '/2 the nett produce (mawaïh). After some years it passes irretrie- vably into his possession. This langgéh umong takes place when the offender has been guilty of striking (be it even on strong provocation) a member of the ulèëbalang's family, or lost a weapon entrusted by the chief to his charge or the like. Wilful provocation is often given in order to increase the cases of confiscation and more than one of the ulèëbalangs has the name of being "very clever in annexing rice-fields." With the daily life of the gampöng in the narrower sense of the words the ulèëbalang has little to do. Even the meulangga described above (pp. 77 et seq.) is carried out without his intervention. He must however be consulted in certain cases of change of residence and of alienation of rice-fields. Changes of residence are opposed as much as possible by the heads change of of the gampöng, and as good as forbidden in the case of females. residence-For changes of abode on grounds recognized by the adat, e. g. in order to exercise personal supervision over a part of the paternal inheritance situated elsewhere, permission is required from the keuchi's both of the gampöng vacated and of that where it is intended to reside. Where however the cause of the removal lies in the fact that the would-be emigrant has always lived on bad terms with his fellow- villagers, his rice-field in his former gampöng remains his own property, but he is not permitted to take his house with him; this is confiscated by the ulèëbalang.

Sale of lamls.

cover₅deins!'

Souices of evenueofthe ilèëbalangs.

I 16

should rathcr have said "her house," bccause in the division of inheritances houses are as far as possible assigned to female heirs. The father of the fannly can hardly be said to "cliange his residence," sinre he either lives in the house of his wife or occupies a temporary lodging. Sale of rice-fields, sugarcane gardens or court yards ') cannot take place before the owners of the lands bounding those that are for sak- have vvaived their privilege of buying in the immovable property in question for the price ofifered by the would-be purchaser. Both sale and mortgage of real property are executed witli some ceremony in presence of the authorities of the gampöng, and also, where possible, of a large number of witnesses. On such occasions certain formahties of the Mohammedan law are also observed '*). i°/0 or over of the value of every rice-field sold must be paid to the ulèëbalang. Sl"tS ^ ^ rccovcry of debts are submitted to the ulèëbalang when al' otIlcr means of settlement are found to be fruitless. The chief requires both parties to deposit a sum equal to that in dispute. This deposit is called ha ganchéng, lit. = means of including or binding. 1 his the Achehnese regard as a tanda jih maté lam jaroc hakim = a token or pledge that the suitor hands himself over as a dead body into the hands of the judge to deal with as he will. After the decree of the ulèëbalang has been carried out, he restores the ha ganchéng, but deducts from the debt settled by his intervention a portion (some-times amounting to from one-half to one-third of the whole), by way of recompense for his trouble. So far we have sketched the functions of the ulèëbalang as militarv „j • •. .... •' acltr, administrator and judge; we shall now add, partly by way of recapitulation, and partly to complete the picture, a resumé of the principal revenues and profits arising from the office.

a. The three chief ulèëbalangs or panglima sagi used to receive a
present from the sultan 011 the latter's accession to the throne. This wedding gift (jinamcc) has in later times amounted to 3 500, but against this it became later the established rule for a newly constituted panglima sagi to pay at least an equal sum to the sultan for the letters patent by which he confirms his appointment. These three chiefs also

1) Houses are not included, as in Acheh these belong to the category of movable property.
2) I' urther details as to these formalities, which are also required by the adat at the

"7

received gitts 111 money from the sultan 011 the occasion of some ol the important events of their family life.

b. I- ines imposed 011 his subjects for sundry offonces or illegal
omissions. Under this hcad we may especially mention the confiscations of rice-fields.

c. Fees for the peusah panchuri (verification of thieves), sometimes
paid even though tliere is 110 question of theft, and various other profits which are the fruit of venality.

d. In some districts, one or more per cent of the value of rice-fields
sold under supervision of the ulèëbalang. Where the sale takes place without his interference, these profits fall to the imeums or to the teungkus and keuchi's, while all witnesses of the sale are treated to a feast by the vendor.

e. ion/0 of all inheritances distributed by the intervention of the
ulèëbalang (ha' praé), a small share being reserved for the teungku or kali who prepares the accounts and for the keuchi' of the gampöng. ƒ. A share of all fish caught by means of drag-nets (pukat) wherever such fisheries exist within the jurisdiction of the ulèëbalang.

g. Where tliere are navigable rivers, wasé knala, a toll of i dollar
(according to some originally samaïh = >/4 dollar, or a certain quantity of husked rice) on every vessel that sails up the river, 5°/0 on all goods imported by foreigners, and 2 to s'/Ï'VO on those imported by natives of the country. li. A portion, often very considerable, of the debts recovered by the ulèëbalang's help.

i. The adat peukan or market tax, levied by the rakans of the
ulèëbalang (011 the Last Coast by separate officials known as haria) 011 the frequenters of all markets.

j. Houses declared forfeit by reason of change of residence 011 the part
of the owners owing to continual quarrels with their fellow-villagers.

k. Untenanted rice-fields or gardens whose owners have long since
left the neighbourhood and have not since been heard of; also the heritages of strangers who have formed 110 household in Acheh and of natives of the country who have died without leaving any lawful heirs. /. Contributions (almost compulsory in character) of imeums, pang- limas, keuchi's etc. to defray the expenses of important family festivals of the ulèëbalangs and their relations.

m. The services of those who are embodied in the following of the

uleebalang eithcr by way of punishment for ofifences committed, or on account of thcir inability to pay the fines imposed upon them.

n. Unremunerated services required of their subjccts by influential
uleebalangs for the construction of their houses and strongholds or the tilling of their rice-fields. Bcsides the above, the uleebalangs lay claim to a number of other sources of profit which vary with the locality, such as imposts on the sa of firewood, bricks, cocoanuts, cocoanut oil etc., a share of all jungle-produce or plants sawn in the forests, gifts of the rice or fruits that fust ripen, a portion of all cattle slaughtered, fees for the right to collect turtles' eggs, a share of the profits of gambling, a portion of the pitrah and jakeuët etc. The uleebalang is also paid for the certifi- cates required for the issue of ordinary passports and those for the haj. Where pepper is grown, the chief gets so much a pikul as wasé. As we have already seen, a portion of the administration of justice is taken out of the hands of the uleebalangs by the imeums and keuchi's by the way of amicable settlement. It is only however by like amicable means that the latter officials can obtain payment of their dues. They dare not for instance apply the punishment of cheukic or other adat-penalties or fines, or excommunicate rice-fields, or identify thieves, or exact a deposit of ha' ganchéng in dealing with suits to recover debts, or embody men among their followers etc. At any rate, imeums who venture on such measures have already reached the rank of independent uleebalangs. Attitude of subject to

rhe Achehnese has been accustomed for centunVs

^ tr. v,v/u.-Mutiauit „:.i ui. chief. c eg ree of independence in the management of his own afiairs. He pays but little heed to the uleebalang or other authorities in matters apper- taining to his family and gampöng, and is wont to show a certain impatience of control more akin to license than to servility. Yet he approaches the representatives of territorial authority with deep sub mission. The ordinary man of humble rank makes his seumbah (the habitual native greeting) at their feet or knees or, if at a distance, by placing his hands on his head with the words seumbah ulön tuan = "your servant's respectful greeting" '). If the uleebalang wishes to be very polite, he replies seumbah keu pbteu A/ah «respectful greetings

leubès salam sa/cu'ém).

ire ire for for our our Lord Lord God' God';; or or where where the the reverence reverence consists consists only only in in an an jbcisancc jbeisance made made at at his his fcet feet or or knees, knees, by by receiving receiving this this as as it it were were with with lis lis hands hands (sambot). (sambot). Many Many however however take take 110 110 noticc noticc at at all all of of the the seumbah seumbah )f jf their their dependants. dependants. The The Achehnese Achehnese are, are, comparatively comparatively speaking, speaking, among among the the least least well-well-nannered nannered of of the the inhabitants inhabitants of of the the Archipelago, Archipelago, yet yet in in their their behaviour behaviour :owards :owards their their chiefs chiefs they they pay pay regard regard to to sundry sundry formalities. formalities. If If a a man man se se sitting sitting 011 011 the the roadside roadside as as the the ulèëbalang uleebalang and and hls hls retinue retinue pass pass by by md md omits omits to to ask ask men men ah ah or or forgiveness forgiveness for for his his presence, presence, he he may may feel feel mre mre at at the the least least of of a a beating beating from from the the rakans rakans by by way way of of correction. correction. Both Both the the chiefs chiefs and and all all the the members members of of their their retinue retinue are are as as a a rule rule /ery /ery free free with with such such sharp sharp admonitions admonitions towards towards persons persons of of low low degree. degree. 1'he 1'he ordinary ordinary Achehnese, Achehnese, who who is is prone prone at at the the smallest smallest insult insult to to draw draw bis bis reunchong reunchong or or si sikin kin on 011 his his equals, equals, shows shows no no rancour rancour against against ill-ill-treatment treatment on on the the part part of of the the uleebalang ulèëbalang and and his his folk folk or or even even the the meum. meum. He He fears fears them, them, and and it it is is his his natural natural impulse impulse to to bow bow to to superior superior power power alone, alone, but but to to this this he he submits submits unconditionally. unconditionally. Impossible Impossible as as it it is is for for the the uleebalangs uleebalangs to to exercise exercise despotic despotic power, power, :hey :hey loom loom before before the the individual individual as as irresistible irresistible forces, forces, even even though though he he bas bas the the support support of of his his kawöm kawöm to to rely rely upon. upon. The The ulèëbalang uleebalang lias has a a powerful powerful and and numerous numerous kawöm kawöm united united to to him him through through interest interest and and Jtherwise; jtherwise; he he has has also also his his various various rakans, rakans, who, who, though though taken taken as as a a ivhole ivhole they they would would not not be be likely likely to to make make an an imposing imposing impression impression 011 011 1 i European, European, constitute constitute a a formidable formidable force force in in the the eyes eyes of of each each kawöm kawöm ind md gampöng. gampöng. Every Every real real or or supposed supposed shortcoming shortcoming on on the the part part of of their their subjects subjects is is heavily heavily punished punished by by these these chiefs; chiefs; but but who who can can help help the the former former to to abtain jbtain justice justice against against an an uleebalang? ulèëbalang? They They have have only only to to hope hope for for his his mercy, mercy, and and as as a a rule rule he he inspires inspires mistrust mistrust rather rather than than hope. hope. It It is is only only ivhen ivhen he he can can shelter shelter himself himself among among the the ranks ranks of of some some rival rival leader leader that that the the Achehnese Achehnese will will put put himself himself in in opposition opposition to to a a chief'). chief').

entirely

§ 8. The Rajas (Sultans) of Acheh.

. °"r 'L"C"l,,",n politica] system of the Aehehneae has mad Ath.h. lt. apparent that the-Sultan of Acheh" is far from being 1111 a„ i„di,pe„ «1UI3UCI1- cnKl*» «14-1. • i r y 1 dement therein. Yet so far back as the sn,™ of Acheh has always had her kings. In the official (Malay) documents ie 'ing is called sultan. The Achehnese, however, term him raja Acheh and also call him pbteu (= «our lord") in the third person, and in the second harab meulia, sometimes pronounced *haram lia (*lit. "may splendour be thy portion"; but the expression has obtained the force of a title and is used to signify "Your Majesty"). The affirmative answer to a question, command or remark of the sultan is dèclat') (i. e. (/aula/, prosperity or happiness). In the introduction we have already learned in a general way the true significance of these port-kings in the history of the country of wh.ch they are the nominal rulers. There is nothing to justify us in misrule in which we find the country as

t [ ° P ll"°rdered government. Even the demands made on the uleebalangs by the port-kings in the most flourishing period of t ' of the löth and first half of the i₇th century were extremely moderate and bear witness partly to the want of power on the part of these princes to control the government of the mter.or and partly to the small interest they seem to have taken in any such interference. Even the edicts ascribed by general consensus to Meukuta Alam (1607-36) confine themselves within very narrow although tl,at prince had at his command a considerable fleet and a small standing army. Besides, these documents are not evidence of a state of things that ever actually existed, but simply the expression of the wishes of the king and his councillors as to what they would see carried out. It was enough for the successive Sultans to have immunity from annoyance at the hands of the numerous potentates of the ïnterior, and this object they easily gained by the means that lay beneath their hand.

,Th' rr,i°" 0f "'C '°Wla"dS ^ ®°vcrncd dire«ly thcir the Sultan. actual domain was not very extensive J), and even this small territory

JaVaneSe f r confi

2) As 'egards this question see Van Langen'. Atjchsch Staatsbestuur pp. 405 et seq.

was in a great measure withdrawn from their direct control in the period of their decline. Some few gampöngs, peopled for the most part by strangers or servants or slaves of the sultan, remained subject to the private lordship of the rajas, but the major portion of the territory adjoining the Dalam, about 24 gampöngs in all, was administered by a Panglima as an appurtenance of the principal mosque {Meuseugit Raya). The office of Panglima Meuseugit Raya was hcreditary, and thus soon came to be distinguished from an ordinary ulèëbalangship only through the name and proximity of the Dalam. The anibitious eftbrts of Teuku Kali Malikön Adé towards the acquisition of a territory which would rnake him an ulèebalang in the full sense of the word, were crowned with success at a favourable moment, and he wrested from the weak Panglima Meuseugit Raya the half of his territory, twelve gampöngs 011 the right bank of the Acheh river. How little these two ulèëbalangs can be rccognized as simply servants of the sultan, may be judged from the fact that they occasionally made war on one another. The sultan helped first one and then the otlicr with money and munitions of war, and his followers were to be found in both the rival camps. \ hen a dispute arose as to the succession to the throne the Panglima Meuseugit Raya and the Teuku Kali Malikön Adé usually espoused opposite sides. Besides this special territory of the sultans, which quickly dwindled to such slender proportions, Achehnese tradition notices an important means adopted by the earlier sultans for strengthening their internal authority, namely the institution of wakeuëh lands '). Wakeiieh (zuakap in Javanese, Malay and Sundanese) is the Arabic Wakeuëh waqf. This last word signifïes property withdrawn in perpetuity by lands" its owner from all alienation, and devoted to some object permitted by the Moslim law. Wakeuëh is known to the Achehnese also in this sense; they use it especially to denote things the use or proceeds of which are devoted by the original owners to the purposes of a mosque,

this institution

1) It is impossible to fix the exact time when was first established. Sundry

have originated

as for example gardens, the furniture of a chapel etc. Rice-fields which are made waqf for the benefit of a mosque are however usually described by another term, sara ') and are spoken of as umong sara or umbng sara meuseugit or ineusara meuseugit. But wakeuëh is much better known in the sense of a territory or a piece of land which has been placed in a peculiar legal position by the sultans. What this position originally was cannot now be easily traced, as the institution has entirely degenerated. From the information given by the Achehnese we might conclude that wakeuëh lands were those the usufruct of which the sultans had presented to some one or other of their favourites after duly compensating the owners. The epithet is also applied to the strip of ground seven great fathoms (deupa meunara) on each side of the Acheh river, reserved from ancient times to the sultan. Subjects might build or plant within this reserve but the land never became their property, and the sultans could always withdraw the right of user. This royal privilege no doubt onginated in the interest of an unimpeded exercise of their sovereignty by the kings of the port. The name tanbh raja is indeed more com- monly used than wakeuëh to describe this reservation. Then again we find this latter word applied to the inhabitants₂) of a certain district who have been relieved from sundry burdens and duties exacted from the rest, and exempted from the authority of the local chiefs, a con- dition which we find elsewhere described by the term bibeuëh 3). Another explanation given for this word assigns to it a purely

3) rhe term tilWuèh is also applied persons who enjoy a kind of independence owing

a W th lhus Malay u of Acheh,

to

() e Clams W Ch he 0rdinaiily made 011 his

'23

political meaning. According to tliis 011e of the carly sultans succeeded in getting the ruling chiefs both in Acheh proper and the various dependencies to consent to a ccrtain portion of their territories (usually 3 mukims) being severed from their control. The chief or chiefs of these smaller districts were thus brought directly under the sultan's rule and withdrawn from that of the ulèëbalangs. It is said that the inhabitants of some of these wakeuëh-districts were bound to render certain services to the sultan on particular occasions. At the same time there is clear evidence that the institution of wakeuëh-districts was not due to the sultan's requiring labourers or servants. 1 heir object was to possess within the sphere of each powerful ulèëbalang a territory of their own on which they could rely to give support to their efforts at centralization. 1 he inhabitants of such a district were required to refrain from taking any part in the incessant quarrels between great and small ulèëbalangs, to stand without and above parties, and to maintain a neutral field of observation and operation for their superior lord, who could appoint as chiefs of these districts persons in whom he reposed the greatest confidence. '1 he word tvakaïèh in the Achehnese vernacular represents more than one of the ideas just alluded to. That some truth lurks in the last mentioned political explanation may be gathered from certain features of the condition of the country as the Dutch found it at the commencement of the Achehnese war. 1 he district of the "III Mukims" par cxcellenceJ), generally called Mukim Lhcc, and now officially known as the III Mukims Keureukön, belonged to none of the three sagi of Acheh. Both the sagi of the XXVI and that of the XXII Mukims claimed that this district originally belonged to them, but both allowed that it had for a long time past been withdrawn from all connection with their Panglimas. The people of the "Mukims I hree ' were also well aware of this, though tliey acknowledged that they were urcuéng Tunöng, thus admitting the cor- rectness of the assertion of the sagi of the XXII Mukims. In the wars between the two above-named sagi, the Mukims III took part with neither side. The people of the latter thus removed the

mukims 1

corpses of the slain for both parties, and permitted no fighting to b< carried 011 within thcir own tcrritory. The only instance of the administration of these Mukims by a singh rulcr within living memory is that of a certain «lama named Teungku Chot Putu, who succecded in attaining to some degree of authority there in the middle of the present century. This expounder of the aw derived from his piety, learning and severity such an overwhelming influencc over the three imeums and their subjects, that although not .nvested with any political power, he acted in fact as ruler of the Mukim Lhcë. Before his appearance and after his death these mukims were self-governing, yet held in due respect the tradition of their pecuhar constitution. His son Chèh Chot Putu, though essentially a worldly man and no scholar, inherited some of the respect paid to his father, but his efforts at playing the róle of ulèëbalang of the III Mukims have not been crowned with success. 1 he name of 111 Mukims Keureukön now usually given to that dis trict, coupled with the fact that a family resided therein, one male member of which enjoyed the hereditary title of Teuku Keureukön, pomts to the efforts made by the holders of that dignity to gain the supremacy there. Here we have anothcr example of that samc degene- ration of offices in Acheh, which we have seen above ') in the case of the Teuku Kali Malikon Adé etc. Among the principal court officials in the period of prosperity of the sultanate there was a royal secretary with the title Keureukön Katibulmuluk₂) (vuig. «Katiböy mulut"). This title coukl more easily pass fiom father to son than the art of composing and writing Malay letters; and besides, the importance and extent of such correspondence dwindled with the decay of the court. The work performed in earlier times by the Keureukön Katiböy Mulut, in so far as it did not altogether fall into abeyance, was carried on by common servitors of no rank, who were called Kram Poten or " writers to our supreme lord." As however all official documents have even down to the present day been modelled on the pattern of those of the prosperous period, there were and still are often to be found at the beginning of letters and edicts of the sultans of Acheh

krui/, ul-mulk, «writcr

ine worus: nis iviajesty ordered this to be wntten by the Keureukön katibulmuluk \ e have here thus another example of an hercditary title-bearer who became an ulecbalang pbteu without work or fixed income and without territory. Since the establishment of one of their number in the Mukim Lhèë, the Keureuköns have been among those whose in- fluence was a factor to be reckoned with in that wakeuëh-district, although they have never come to be recognized as its chiefs. 1 hree of the XX\ I Mukims were in like manner free from tlie control of the Panglima Sagi-); and though it cannot be said that the sultans held supreme control there in more recent times, it still seems probable that this district also was made wakeuëh originally with the intention just indicated. The mukims Luëng Bata, Pagarayé 3) and Lam Sayun are regarded as properly belonging to the XXV Mukims, yet this trio seems also to have been formerly wakeuëh. Within the memory of man however, the only tracé of such a status lias been the independence of the chiefs of these mukims. 1 he influential and powerful imeum of Luëng Bata was indeed on many occasions the adviser and ally of the sultan, but this very relation made it necessary for the latter to liold this chief in great respect and treat him with marked distinction. We must thus regard these wakeuëh-districts of 3 mukims as being merely the relics of earlier conditions; the period during which they served to advance the political aims of the sultans was in any case of very short duration. Siinilar survivals of wakeuëh districts of tliis description are to be found in Pidië and some other dependencies, but their chiefs have long been free from the control of the sultans. It is said that there were 011 some of the islands (Pulö Wè for example) wakeuëh lands of a different class, reserved by the sultans with the view of appropriating their produce. Of the remaining methods resorted to by the sultans for the mainte-Maintenanci nance of their authority, we have already made mention of several in of,hecourt-

1) Some waters have made a false deduction from this circumstance, and would have us
2) See \ an Langen s Atjehsch Staatsbestuur, p. 406, sub. 5.
3) From the Malay pagar ayer, the Achehnese for which is pageué ie.

I 26

the course of our description of the system of government in Acheh. I lic edicts quoted above (sce p. 5), dealing with the ceremonial ob- served at court on all solemn occasions, have given an exaggerated impression of the importance of the port-kings, which has been still further corroborated by the reports of European travellers who saw them at the zenith of their prosperity. In these edicts are set forth the names, relative rank and high-sounding titles of a considerable number of court dignitaries. In some cases they also mention the duties which these officials had to perform, though it is impossible in many instances even to guess at the truc significance of the offices they held. 1 here is no doubt that many of them served simply to enhance the glitter of the court. These gradually disappeared, leaving 110 tracé behind, when the kingdom and the power of the sultans dwindled away, and the latter were forced to share with others even that little that was left them. Some again underwent the change we have so often referred to; their titles became hereditary, and they found means on the one hand to have allotted to themselves a portion of the revenues of the port-town, and on the other to seize some favourable opportunity of changing from ulèëbalang poten into ulèëba- langs with a territory of their own. Kfforts of To the examples of Tcuku Kali Malikon Adc ') and Teuku Keureu kon₇) he courtiers.,, .... _,. o attain the Q₁₁₀*0" above in ïllustration of this revival of offices, wc may now adel ulèëbalang-onc or tWO others. ship. Icuku Nanta Seutia was originally an "ulèëbalang of our supreme lord, with which hereditary rank he was invested for exceptional services to one of the princes. Sucli a rank carried with it no more than dignity and claim to respect, but it made its holders unwished- for guests in the ulèëbalangship where they established themselves. Here they were of course free from all control (bibeueh) and in a position to make inroads on the rights of others. Nanta Seutia suc- ceeded in detaching the VI Mukims from the control of Teuku Nè', chief of the great mukim of Meura'sa, and the protests of the latter refterated down to the present day have been of no avail against this secession. [In 1896 the Nanta family having taken a prominent part in the treachery of Teuku Uma against the Dutch, the Nè' family was

1) See p. 98 above.
2) See p. 124 above.

12 7

restored to power. When the Nantas were expelled, the Dutch Govern ment appointed as Chief Teuku Raja Itam, a son of the Teuku Nè' who was ulèëbalang of Meura'sa at the beginning of the Dutch opera- tions in AchehJ. A teacher of celebrity, Feiingku Hamba Alah whose tonib in the mukim of Silang is still revered as a lioly place, exercised during lus life a powerful influence on the people of the XXVI Mukims. The panglima of that sagi, whether from respect for his learning or in order to neutralize his influence, made over to him the government of thirteen of his mukims and let him enforce Allah's law there to lus heart's content. Circumstances favoured the efforts of his descen- dants to retain this control, and thus the hereditary ulèëbalangship of the XIII Mukims I ungköb became established without any distinc- tively religious character, so that the later bearers of the title have exchanged the religious dignity of Teungku for the worldly one of leuku Imeum Tungköb. lo take one or two further examples from the dependencies, the title Teuku Hakim borne by one of the three chiefs in the upper part [>f 1 ).iyPangulèf Sidc 'f Meulaböh, who who was undoubtedly at one time an official under he chief of that place, charged with the task of making judicial en- luiries, is now in fact 110 more than headman of Puló U (vuig. Simalur). So little control had the Sultans of Acheh over the course ofevents, hat whatever may have been their purpose in establishing these /arious offices, the latter became in a short time part and parcel of he indigenous institutions of the country, or else disappeared altogether. rhe portion of the port-king's supremacy which survived longest was i kind of lordship exercised over the neighbouring seas and harbours, md tllls 's in which we must seek the true significance of the :ultanate from the very commencement. With the shortlived period >f prosperity ended all such glorious expeditions as those undertaken 11 the 17'h century against Malacca and Pahang, but the bold seafarers nul pirates of Acheh continued to make themselves dreaded along the :oasts of Sumatra and among the surrounding islands. The monopoly >f trade claimed by the great sultans could in the end no longer be