A djambeu was the temporary primitive shelter erected by an Atjehnese cultivator on ground he had taken into clearance, and one of the practical signs that a clearance application was seriously meant.
Legal relevance
D. W. N. de Boer observed that the exercise of a clearance right once obtained appeared to be bound to no term, but that it could safely be assumed that in practice no native made an application before he had sufficiently explored the ground and had his djambeu upon it. Notice of termination of the clearance right came into question only if other applicants for the ground presented themselves, in which case the older applicant was always allowed some further delay before actual clearance.
Related institution
The thirhōm idja reserve at the head of a sawah served a comparable purpose: to secure the cultivator a place for a veldhuisje — a dwelling in the field — or a watch-house.
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.