Awi Ditjoe — also Awi Titjoe — was the hoeloebalang (war-chief) of Sjahroe’n Noewi who, in chapter VIII of the Sadjarah Malajoe, sailed with 4,000 fighters in a hundred vessels to Samoedra, presented himself as the envoy of the king of Sjahroe’n Noewi, smuggled four champions each inside a chest, and sprang them on the radja of Samudra in his court — capturing him and carrying him back to Sjahroe’n Noewi, where he was made to “tend chickens” (menggombala ayam). The episode — the central set-piece of the Sjahroe’n Noewi chronicle narrative — is, in De Roo de la Faille’s reading, the bedekte taal record of the long rivalry between the Tandjoengpoera-Aroe complex and Pasej-Samudra.
The chronicle episode
In chapter VIII of the Sadjarah Malajoe, as De Roo de la Faille recounts, the king of Sjahroe’n Noewi — “a very great kingdom with many champions and countless people” — was told that Samoedra was a thriving trading-place. He asked his war-chiefs: “is there no one among you who can capture for me that radja of Samoedra?” Awi Ditjoe — “a very strong and brave man” — volunteered, on condition of being given 4,000 champions. The king gave him the 4,000 and a hundred vessels.
Sailing to Samoedra under pretence of trade, Awi Ditjoe presented himself as the king of Sjahroe’n Noewi’s envoy, then — before the audience — smuggled four champions each inside a chest, with the order: “when you have come before the king of Samoedra, open the chest from inside, come out, and seize the radja”. The chests were brought with great ceremony; the king’s letter was read; the champions sprang out and seized the radja of Samudra. The war-chiefs of Samudra fell upon the men of Sjahroe’n Noewi, but the latter threatened: “if you attack us, we will kill your radja”. The people of Pasaj held back; Awi Ditjoe sailed home with his captive.
The “tending chickens”
On arrival at Sjahroe’n Noewi, Awi Ditjoe presented the captive radja of Samoedra to his king, who “was much pleased, bestowed on the conquerors fitting ceremonial garments”, and ordered the captured king of Samudra to “menggombala ayam” — “tend chickens”. De Roo de la Faille decodes this as menggembala Pasaj semajam — “to tend the like of Pasaj” — i.e. to be made the keeper of one’s own kind: a bedekte taal form for the humiliation of being reduced from king to peasant-keeper, but also an allegorical comment on the original unity of the Pasej-Tandjoengpoera-Aroe complex, of which the Sjahroe’n Noewi king was now keeper.
The recovery of the radja
The humiliation drove Sidi Ali Ghiyat oed’dir and the elders of Pasaj to fit out a ship, buy Arab merchandise (for “in those days the people of Pasaj understood Arabic”), and dispatch Sidi Ali in person to Sjahroe’n Noewi. After three embassies — each bearing a fabulous golden gift (a golden tree with gemstone fruit, a golden chess-set, two golden ducks on a golden bowl of water) — the king of Sjahroe’n Noewi, on being asked “what is your desire?”, received the answer: “we ask for our king, the tender of the chickens”. The king returned him, observing “because he is a Muslim”.
Significance
For AcehWiki, Awi Ditjoe is the principal named actor of the Sjahroe’n Noewi chronicle episode — the hoeloebalang whose capture of the radja of Samudra is the central set-piece of the Sadjarah Malajoe’s chapter VIII, and whose “tending chickens” humiliation encodes, in De Roo de la Faille’s reading, the long Tandjoengpoera-Aroe–Pasej rivalry that the Atjehnese conquest of Aroe of 1539 finally closed.
See Also
- Sjahroe’n Noewi
- Tandjoengpoera
- Aroe
- Pasej-Samodra
- Sidi Ali Ghiyat oed’dir
- Sultan Malik at-Tahir of Pasej
- Atjeh-Aroe War (1539)
- Sadjarah Malajoe
- Hoeloebalang
- Bedekte taal
- Historische Curiositeiten uit Malajoe en Java
Source
Historische Curiositeiten uit Malajoe en Java, by P. de Roo de la Faille (Den Haag: Maart 1954), chapter “Over Sjahroe’n Noewi”, pp. 24-25.
Awi Ditjoe — also Awi Titjoe — was the hoeloebalang (war-chief) of Sjahroe’n Noewi who, in chapter VIII of the Sadjarah Malajoe, sailed with 4,000 fighters in a hundred vessels to Samoedra, presented himself as the envoy of the king of Sjahroe’n Noewi, smuggled four champions each inside a chest, and sprang them on the radja of Samudra in his court — capturing him and carrying him back to Sjahroe’n Noewi, where he was made to “tend chickens” (menggombala ayam). The episode — the central set-piece of the Sjahroe’n Noewi chronicle narrative — is, in De Roo de la Faille’s reading, the bedekte taal record of the long rivalry between the Tandjoengpoera-Aroe complex and Pasej-Samudra.
The chronicle episode
In chapter VIII of the Sadjarah Malajoe, as De Roo de la Faille recounts, the king of Sjahroe’n Noewi — “a very great kingdom with many champions and countless people” — was told that Samoedra was a thriving trading-place. He asked his war-chiefs: “is there no one among you who can capture for me that radja of Samoedra?” Awi Ditjoe — “a very strong and brave man” — volunteered, on condition of being given 4,000 champions. The king gave him the 4,000 and a hundred vessels.
Sailing to Samoedra under pretence of trade, Awi Ditjoe presented himself as the king of Sjahroe’n Noewi’s envoy, then — before the audience — smuggled four champions each inside a chest, with the order: “when you have come before the king of Samoedra, open the chest from inside, come out, and seize the radja”. The chests were brought with great ceremony; the king’s letter was read; the champions sprang out and seized the radja of Samudra. The war-chiefs of Samudra fell upon the men of Sjahroe’n Noewi, but the latter threatened: “if you attack us, we will kill your radja”. The people of Pasaj held back; Awi Ditjoe sailed home with his captive.
The “tending chickens”
On arrival at Sjahroe’n Noewi, Awi Ditjoe presented the captive radja of Samoedra to his king, who “was much pleased, bestowed on the conquerors fitting ceremonial garments”, and ordered the captured king of Samudra to “menggombala ayam” — “tend chickens”. De Roo de la Faille decodes this as menggembala Pasaj semajam — “to tend the like of Pasaj” — i.e. to be made the keeper of one’s own kind: a bedekte taal form for the humiliation of being reduced from king to peasant-keeper, but also an allegorical comment on the original unity of the Pasej-Tandjoengpoera-Aroe complex, of which the Sjahroe’n Noewi king was now keeper.
The recovery of the radja
The humiliation drove Sidi Ali Ghiyat oed’dir and the elders of Pasaj to fit out a ship, buy Arab merchandise (for “in those days the people of Pasaj understood Arabic”), and dispatch Sidi Ali in person to Sjahroe’n Noewi. After three embassies — each bearing a fabulous golden gift (a golden tree with gemstone fruit, a golden chess-set, two golden ducks on a golden bowl of water) — the king of Sjahroe’n Noewi, on being asked “what is your desire?”, received the answer: “we ask for our king, the tender of the chickens”. The king returned him, observing “because he is a Muslim”.
Significance
For AcehWiki, Awi Ditjoe is the principal named actor of the Sjahroe’n Noewi chronicle episode — the hoeloebalang whose capture of the radja of Samudra is the central set-piece of the Sadjarah Malajoe’s chapter VIII, and whose “tending chickens” humiliation encodes, in De Roo de la Faille’s reading, the long Tandjoengpoera-Aroe–Pasej rivalry that the Atjehnese conquest of Aroe of 1539 finally closed.
See Also
- Sjahroe’n Noewi
- Tandjoengpoera
- Aroe
- Pasej-Samodra
- Sidi Ali Ghiyat oed’dir
- Sultan Malik at-Tahir of Pasej
- Atjeh-Aroe War (1539)
- Sadjarah Malajoe
- Hoeloebalang
- Bedekte taal
- Historische Curiositeiten uit Malajoe en Java
Source
Historische Curiositeiten uit Malajoe en Java, by P. de Roo de la Faille (Den Haag: Maart 1954), chapter “Over Sjahroe’n Noewi”, pp. 24-25.