kali (English: “Religious judge (now advisor)”) is a term or concept described in Jongejan’s Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu in relation to Aceh. Originally religious judges in Atjeh; now function as Islamic scholars attached to the judiciary, advising the judge.
Translation
Religious judge (now advisor)
Description
Originally religious judges in Atjeh; now function as Islamic scholars attached to the judiciary, advising the judge. Originally heard family- and inheritance-law cases. Appointed by the oelèëbalang, the kali became a tool of the chief and gradually shifted from judge to judicial advisor. Currently a kali-moesapat is government-appointed for each moesapat.
Significance
The term kali is recorded by Jongejan as part of the cultural, administrative, or institutional vocabulary of Aceh.
See Also
Source
Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu, by J. Jongejans, Oud-Resident van het Gewest Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, with a foreword by Dr. H. Colijn (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 350.