Teukoe Tjhï’ Meulabôh — the hereditary title of the Keudjeuroeën (originally the Sultan’s customs-collector) of Meulabôh on the West Coast of Atjeh — was historically borne by Pö Rachman, a rich Klingalese (Chulia) trader who, in 1185 A.H. / 1771 A.D., went to Koeta Radja with sixteen notables and received a sarakata (royal charter) from Sultan Mahmoed Sjah (reigned 1760–1781), designating him Keudjroeën Tjhi and tax collector. The historical position of the office as belastinggaarder des Sultans over the sixteen chieftains of the Kawaj XVI was transformed by Dutch intervention into a territorial chieftaincy over a substantial portion of the lower Kr. Meureubôh basin. De Buitenbezittingen describes the holder as one of the most consequential native rulers of the West Coast: a figure whose authority derived originally from a Sultan’s appointment of 1185 Moh. (≈ 1760 AD) but whose effective power was the creation of Dutch recognition, which “begiftigden Teukoe Tjhï’ van Meulabôh als loon voor zijne diensten met territoriaal gezag.”
Origins of the office: Pö Rachman and the sarakata of 1771
In the year 1185 of the Mohammedan era (approximately 1760 AD — Kreemer gives the equivalent date as 1771 AD), sixteen chiefs from the Meulabôh region, led by a prominent merchant of that harbour town, made their appearance at the court of the Sultan of Atjeh and received, in exchange for a promise of regular tribute, sarakata’s — letters of appointment confirming their authority. Their conductor — the prominent merchant, whom Kreemer identifies as Pö Rachman — was appointed the Sultan’s customs-collector, with the title Keudjeuroeën Tjhï’, to whom these sixteen chiefs were henceforth required to pay the tribute. Among the sixteen were the keudjeuroeëns of Wojla, Boebôn, and Seunagan (with the oelèëbalang-tjoet of Seunagan), the three dato’s of Meulabôh, and various heads from the Kr. Meureubôh basin; also included was the Panghoeloe-Sidik, charged with collecting the Sultan’s dues on the island of Simeuloë, which thereby became tributary to the Tjhï’ of Meulabôh.
The sarakata given to Pö Rachman by Sultan Mahmoed Sjah designated him as Keudjroeën Tjhi (a title of old Javanese origin, Këdjoeroean) and made him the principal tax collector in the Meulabôh region. The sixteen dignitaries who accompanied him or were designated in the sarakata formed the Kawaj XVI federation — a council of sixteen that governed the Meulabôh region under the leadership of the Keudjeuroeën Seunagan.
Klingalese origins
Pö Rachman’s Klingalese (Chulia, from the Coromandel coast of India) origin reflects the important role that Klingalese traders played in Atjèhnese commerce. The Klingalese were among the principal opkoopers (buyers-up) of Atjèhnese products, alongside Chinezen and Arabieren, and their network extended to Pinang and Singapore. The title “Tjhi” (“oldest” or “grandfather”) was used in Meulabôh for the Keudjroeën, reflecting the assimilation of Klingalese notables into the Atjèhnese administrative structure.
From collector to territorial chief
The Keudjeuroeën Tjhï’ gradually attempted to extend his territorial authority over the sixteen tributary chiefs — succeeding with the three dato’s of Meulabôh but failing with the others. Dutch intervention in the late nineteenth century transformed the office. As a reward for his services, the Dutch “begiftigden” — endowed — Teukoe Tjhï’ of Meulabôh with territorial authority not only over the three dato-ships already under him but also over a portion of the Kr. Meureubôh basin (excluding Beutông) that had not previously been directly subordinate to him. The new territory thus created — still called, by historical resonance, the Kawaj XVI — was, De Buitenbezittingen emphasises, “in werkelijkheid dus heel iets anders dan de Kawaj XVI, waarover hij vroeger belastinggaarder was”: not a federation of sixteen chiefs, but a consolidated chieftaincy. The earlier suggestion that the Kawaj XVI was analogous to a Groot-Atjehsche Sagi federation is explicitly rejected. The federation was renamed from “Meulaböh” to “Kawaj XVI” by Gouvernementsbesluit 6 June 1911 N°. 11.
The Teukoe Ali Tripa affair
The Tjhï’ of Meulabôh’s reach extended into the petty politics of the surrounding lands. The landschap of Teukoe Ali Tripa, De Buitenbezittingen records, was originally part of Tripa — itself once subordinate to Seunagan — but had been granted by the Keudjeuroeën of Seunagan to someone who had assisted him in war. That beneficiary’s grandson pawned the land for 500 dollars to a Klingalese; from him it passed to T. Tjhï’ Meulabôh, who in turn re-pawned it to another Klingalese. The Dutch eventually recognised the Klingalese as an independent landschapshoofd, severing the chain of pawning that had attached the territory to the Tjhï”s domain.
Significance
The Teukoe Tjhï’ Meulabôh — Pö Rachman and his successors — is significant in the encyclopedia of Atjèh history as the principal native ruler of the Westkust between Seunagan and Kroeëng Babah. The dual character of the office — a Sultan’s customs-collectorship transformed by Dutch recognition into a territorial chieftaincy — illustrates the broader pattern by which the colonial administration reshaped the indigenous institutions of the Westkust. Kreemer’s account, in turn, supplies the founder’s name (Pö Rachman), his Klingalese origin, the precise date of the founding sarakata (1771 / 1185 A.H.), and the title’s old-Javanese etymology (Këdjoeroean) — details that complement the institutional account given in De Buitenbezittingen.
See Also
- Meulabôh
- Westkust van Atjeh
- Kawaj XVI
- Keudjeuroeën
- Sarakata
- Sultans of Atjeh
- Sultan Mahmoed Sjah (Meulaböh)
- Simeuloë
- Kr. Meureubôh
- Seunagan
- Beutông
- Klingalezen
- Tjhi’
- Pinang
- Singapore
- Sagi
- 1185
- 1760
- 1771
- 1911
Sources
De Buitenbezittingen, Deel II, Aflevering 2: Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, bewerkt door het Encyclopaedisch Bureau, Mededeelingen van het Bureau voor de Bestuurszaken der Buitenbezittingen (Weltevreden: Landsdrukkerij, 1917), pp. 54–55, 58, 59.
Atjèh. Algemeen samenvattend overzicht van land en volk van Atjèh en onderhoorigheden, door J. Kreemer, Archivaris van het Atjèh Instituut. Tweede Deel. Leiden: N.V. Boekhandel en Drukkerij voorheen E.J. Brill, 1923. Identifier: Delpher MMKB02B:000001798; PPN 395084288. Koninklijke Bibliotheek.