The embassy from Acheh to the Sultan of Turkey is a traditional account, preserved in Achehnese popular history and recorded by C. Snouck Hurgronje in The Achehnese, of an early mission sent by an unnamed Sultan of Acheh to the lord of all believers, the Raja Rom — that is, the Sultan of Turkey — at Stambul (Constantinople). The story, though open to doubt as a historical record, is significant for the light it throws on the place of Acheh in the imagination of the Mohammedan East, and on the origins of certain Achehnese observances, notably the annual Mo’lot feast.
The Mission
According to the tradition, when the kingdom of Acheh had grown powerful, one of the Sultans — we know not which — thought that the time had come to bring his kingdom to the notice of the lord of all believers. He caused one of his biggest ships to be laden with pepper, the principal product of the country, as an offering expressive of homage to the supreme lord. Some say that he made the journey himself; according to others, he sent an embassy of wealthy chiefs.
At Stambul, however, no one had ever heard of the existence of Acheh. So when the ambassadors arrived there, though they found it easy enough to get a lodging in return for their money, all their efforts to induce the officials to ask an audience for them of the Sultan proved of no avail. Thus they remained there a year or two, and as their means soon became exhausted, they had gradually to sell their pepper to supply themselves with the necessaries of life.
The Audience
In the end, as chance would have it, the Sultan, while returning one Friday from the mosque to his palace, espied the Achehnese among the crowd of respectful spectators. They attracted his attention by their peculiar dress, and he enquired whence they came and what had brought them to Constantinople. The desired explanation was given, and the Sultan, after venting his wrath on the officials whose foolish pride had so long denied this embassy admittance to his presence, requested the strangers to come that same day to his palace.
The Achehnese were indeed delighted at having attained their object, but at the same time they were ashamed at having no clothing left suitable for such a visit, and also because, out of the whole cargo of pepper which they had brought with them, only a single chupa’ (a small measure) remained. When admitted to the Sultan’s presence, they told him about the kingdom of Acheh. They informed him that they had wished to present him with a cargo of pepper by way of first tribute, but were compelled to turn it into money for their needs, so that they could now only offer him a single chupa’ as a sample of that product.
The Return Gift: Lada Sichupa’
The Sultan accepted the gift most graciously, and requested them to tell him all about affairs in Acheh — the distance of that kingdom from Stambul, the difficulties of the journey, and so forth. Finally he ordered a great cannon to be given them as a return present, and to this was given the name of Lada Sichupa’ — “Pepper Worth a Chupa’.” In compliance with their request he also gave them a number of skilled artisans from his kingdom to instruct their fellow-countrymen in various arts hitherto unknown to them. It is said that a number of these instructors, who came from Syria, settled in a gampong close to the Dalam, and in remembrance of their native land gave the village the name of Bitay (Achehnese pronunciation of Bētal, an abbreviation of Bētal-makdis = Jerusalem). In Bitay may still be seen the grave of a saint, Teungku di Bitay, who according to the tradition belonged to this colony of strangers.
The Tribute of the Mo’lot Feast
The Sultan of Turkey also considered it unbefitting to bind his new vassal to the regular despatch of embassies or tribute, since the great length of the journey presented too many difficulties. “Let the faithful observance,” said he, “of a religious custom in your country take the place of the yearly payments which elsewhere constitute the mark of submission to a suzerain. The observance of the feast of Mohammad’s birth is among the most meritorious of works of devotion. So let there be no village in Acheh where the inhabitants do not publicly hold a Mo’lot feast — that shall be your tribute to the lord of the Faithful.”
Such is the explanation given in Achehnese tradition of the fact that the Mo’lot feast (the commemoration of the birth of the Prophet in the month of Rabīʿ al-awwal) has been so strictly observed in Acheh. In former times the headman of a gampong who did not make provision in due time for the holding of this annual feast was fined by the uleebalang for neglect of duty. Whether the story be history or legend, it bears witness to the imaginative link long felt in Acheh between the distant Caliphate and the religious life of the Sumatran Sultanate.
See Also
Source
The Achehnese, Vol. I, by Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje, translated by A.W.S. O’Sullivan, indexed by R.J. Wilkinson. Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1906.