Habib Machmoed (also written Habib Mahmud) was a blind Arab sayyid priest who, with 25 followers, waited outside the fortification at Indrapuri on 30 July 30 July 1879 as the bearer of a letter from some chiefs, among whom Toekoe Moeda Daoed, who exercised authority at Selimoen and had hitherto been known as one of the Dutch army’s most stubborn enemies. The letter offered the governor and military commander their submission and declared that they would exhort their people to return from the mountains and the woods to the kampongs. Habib Machmoed’s mission opened the negotiations that culminated in the Selimoen expedition of 13 August 13 August – 15 August 15 August 1879 and the submission of Toekoe Moeda Daoed.
The Mission, 30 July 1879
On 30 July 30 July 1879 two Atjehers with a white flag presented themselves to the Dutch authority at Indrapuri, as envoys of the blind priest Habib Machmoed, “who with 25 followers waited outside the fortification and was the bearer of a letter from some chiefs, among whom Toekoe Moeda Daoed, who exercised authority at Selimoen and had hitherto been known as one of our most stubborn enemies.” In that letter they offered the governor and military commander their submission and declared that they would exhort their people to return from the mountains and the woods to the kampongs.
By another letter, addressed to Toekoe Kadli, the latter’s mediation with the governor was invoked: “The great misfortune, brought by the war upon the three sagis of the land, makes me decide to offer my submission.” The use of a blind sayyid as the bearer of the letter is itself remarkable — it suggests that the office of messenger was entrusted to him precisely because his blindness and his sacred character made him inviolable to both sides.
Significance
Habib Machmoed’s mission opened the negotiations that culminated in the Selimoen expedition of 13 August 13 August – 15 August 15 August 1879 and the submission of Toekoe Moeda Daoed. His role illustrates the part played by the Arab sayyids in the religious and diplomatic life of Atjeh, alongside the more famous Habib Abdurrahman Zahir and Habib Samalanga.
See Also
- Toekoe Moeda Daoed
- Selimoen
- Indrapoeri
- Selimoen Expedition (August 1879)
- Habib Abdoerrahman
- Habib Samalanga
- Sayyid
- Aceh War
Source
De geschiedenis van Nederland in onzen tijd, by J. A. de Bruyne, Directeur der Hoogere Burgerschool te Zierikzee. Deel IV. 1872-1883. Nieuwe uitgave. Schiedam: J. F. Dupont, 1912, Hoofdstuk I, pp. 107-108.
Habib Machmoed (also written Habib Mahmud) was a blind Arab sayyid priest who, with 25 followers, waited outside the fortification at Indrapuri on 30 July 30 July 1879 as the bearer of a letter from some chiefs, among whom Toekoe Moeda Daoed, who exercised authority at Selimoen and had hitherto been known as one of the Dutch army’s most stubborn enemies. The letter offered the governor and military commander their submission and declared that they would exhort their people to return from the mountains and the woods to the kampongs. Habib Machmoed’s mission opened the negotiations that culminated in the Selimoen expedition of 13 August 13 August – 15 August 15 August 1879 and the submission of Toekoe Moeda Daoed.
The Mission, 30 July 1879
On 30 July 30 July 1879 two Atjehers with a white flag presented themselves to the Dutch authority at Indrapuri, as envoys of the blind priest Habib Machmoed, “who with 25 followers waited outside the fortification and was the bearer of a letter from some chiefs, among whom Toekoe Moeda Daoed, who exercised authority at Selimoen and had hitherto been known as one of our most stubborn enemies.” In that letter they offered the governor and military commander their submission and declared that they would exhort their people to return from the mountains and the woods to the kampongs.
By another letter, addressed to Toekoe Kadli, the latter’s mediation with the governor was invoked: “The great misfortune, brought by the war upon the three sagis of the land, makes me decide to offer my submission.” The use of a blind sayyid as the bearer of the letter is itself remarkable — it suggests that the office of messenger was entrusted to him precisely because his blindness and his sacred character made him inviolable to both sides.
Significance
Habib Machmoed’s mission opened the negotiations that culminated in the Selimoen expedition of 13 August 13 August – 15 August 15 August 1879 and the submission of Toekoe Moeda Daoed. His role illustrates the part played by the Arab sayyids in the religious and diplomatic life of Atjeh, alongside the more famous Habib Abdurrahman Zahir and Habib Samalanga.
See Also
- Toekoe Moeda Daoed
- Selimoen
- Indrapoeri
- Selimoen Expedition (August 1879)
- Habib Abdoerrahman
- Habib Samalanga
- Sayyid
- Aceh War
Source
De geschiedenis van Nederland in onzen tijd, by J. A. de Bruyne, Directeur der Hoogere Burgerschool te Zierikzee. Deel IV. 1872-1883. Nieuwe uitgave. Schiedam: J. F. Dupont, 1912, Hoofdstuk I, pp. 107-108.