The Sister of Habib Samalanga was the Achehnese woman who commanded the fortified position of Senelop in the XXVI Moekims of Groot-Atjeh against the assault of Toekoe Djohan on 12 March 1894, and who with fifteen other women had devoted herself to death in its defence.
The defence
G. B. Hooijer recorded that at Senelop de zuster van wijlen Habib Samalanga het bevel voerde en zich met 15 andere fanatieke vrouwen ten dood had gewijd — the sister of the late Habib Samalanga held the command and, with fifteen other fanatical women, had devoted herself to death. The struggle that Toekoe Djohan had to wage there was, in Hooijer’s word, ernstig — serious. It was only when he placed himself at the head of his troops with his sunshade in his hand and, together with Toekoe Hoessin Longbattah waving a handkerchief, ran in upon the fortification that he succeeded in mastering it. Dutch troops occupied Senelop three days later, on 15 March 1894.
Significance
The episode is one of the few in De verlaten posten in Groot-Atjeh in which women appear as combatants and commanders rather than as camp followers, and it illustrates the ideology of Prang sabi — the holy war whose participants sought death in battle — as it operated among the Moslemin of the eastern moekims.
See Also
Source
De verlaten posten in Groot-Atjeh, door G. B. Hooijer, Gep. Luit.-Kolonel O. I. Leger, met 24 platen (Haarlem: De Erven F. Bohn; Batavia: G. Kolff & Co., 1897). Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, Centrale Boekerij, Amsterdam. OCR-filename: 20260719_140140_DLP-134-De_verlaten_posten_in_Groot_Atjeh_Nemotron-OCR-v2_OCR.txt, p. 53.