Atra boeloeng was the Atjehnese term for the division of an estate during the lifetime of the prospective testator — a practice which, D. W. N. de Boer recorded, occurred very frequently in Atjeh.
Occasions
The division took place, among other occasions, when a man was on the point of departing for Mekka. In view of the possibility that he might die during the hadj, a Mekkaganger preferred to settle his affairs in advance, fearing that through sudden death or other circumstances he might not be in a position to draw up a proper wasiët (testament); and not wishing in any case to run the risk that a disposition drawn up on the journey or in the Holy Land would not be transmitted, or would not be executed according to his wish.
Assignment in boeloeng also took place in the case of great age of the prospective testator, or in the event of such illness that he no longer dared reckon on being able to manage his goods himself again.
Revocation
After a safe return from Mekka, or sufficient recovery from illness, such a disposition made during life was often undone again.
Relation to the atra peunoelang
The atra peunoelang — the gift made to a married daughter on the birth of her first child — was not brought into deduction from the estate of the wife’s father, either on division during life (atra boeloeng) or on division after death.
See Also
Source
Het recht op den grond in Atjeh, by D. W. N. de Boer, dated Scheveningen, November 1931, pp. 59-80. Offprint DLP-141, Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, ‘s-Gravenhage; Bibliotheek KITLV accession 0060 4460 60 081470 428.