Teuku Ateue’ is the hereditary chief of the IV Mukims Ateue’ in the XXVI Mukims sagi of Great Acheh, and one of the two principal uleebalangs of that sagi. The chief is named after his mukim (the IV Mukims Ateue’), and his power, according to tradition, was in earlier times much more considerable than it is at the date of C. Snouck Hurgronje’s writing.
The political constitution of the three sagis of Great Acheh was such that, beneath the nominal authority of the panglima sagi, real power lay with a handful of hereditary uleebalangs. The Achehnese authorities on adat, fond of round numbers, spoke of the “twelve uleebalangs, who appoint and dethrone princes”, described as four from each sagi; this list, as Snouck Hurgronje cautions, at most represents the conditions that existed during a short period. For the XXVI Mukims the two principal uleebalangs named in this tradition are Teuku Ateue’ and Teuku Tungkob.
The “twelve uleebalangs” tradition has been criticised by Snouck Hurgronje as inaccurate in two respects. First, it includes the head kalis of the three sagis among the uleebalangs, “which is quite inaccurate”. Second, it represents a static distribution of power that in fact fluctuated: “the whole twelve had not in the long run a voice in the affairs of the capital, while some of them had absolutely no share therein”. Other uleebalangs in the sultan’s territory and the so-called wakeueh-districts — such as Teuku Kali, Panglima Meuseugit Raya, the Imeum of Lueng Bata and the Imeum of Chade’ — had much more weight in the scale than many of the members of the board of twelve.
That notwithstanding, the prestige of Teuku Ateue’ as one of the hereditary magnates of the XXVI Mukims is acknowledged in the same tradition, and his position was rooted in a territorial power whose foundations predated the decadent period of the sultanate. Snouck Hurgronje observes that the power of Teuku Ateue’ was, “according to tradition, much more considerable in earlier times than it now is” — a remark which places him among those chiefs whose authority was gradually eroded by the anarchy of the late sultanate and the upheaval of the Acheh war.
See Also
- Teuku Imeum Tungkob
- XXVI Mukims
- Three Sagis (XXVI, XXV, XXII Mukims)
- Panglima Polem
- Teuku Ba’et
- Achehnese War
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.
Teuku Ateue’ is the hereditary chief of the IV Mukims Ateue’ in the XXVI Mukims sagi of Great Acheh, and one of the two principal uleebalangs of that sagi. The chief is named after his mukim (the IV Mukims Ateue’), and his power, according to tradition, was in earlier times much more considerable than it is at the date of C. Snouck Hurgronje’s writing.
The political constitution of the three sagis of Great Acheh was such that, beneath the nominal authority of the panglima sagi, real power lay with a handful of hereditary uleebalangs. The Achehnese authorities on adat, fond of round numbers, spoke of the “twelve uleebalangs, who appoint and dethrone princes”, described as four from each sagi; this list, as Snouck Hurgronje cautions, at most represents the conditions that existed during a short period. For the XXVI Mukims the two principal uleebalangs named in this tradition are Teuku Ateue’ and Teuku Tungkob.
The “twelve uleebalangs” tradition has been criticised by Snouck Hurgronje as inaccurate in two respects. First, it includes the head kalis of the three sagis among the uleebalangs, “which is quite inaccurate”. Second, it represents a static distribution of power that in fact fluctuated: “the whole twelve had not in the long run a voice in the affairs of the capital, while some of them had absolutely no share therein”. Other uleebalangs in the sultan’s territory and the so-called wakeueh-districts — such as Teuku Kali, Panglima Meuseugit Raya, the Imeum of Lueng Bata and the Imeum of Chade’ — had much more weight in the scale than many of the members of the board of twelve.
That notwithstanding, the prestige of Teuku Ateue’ as one of the hereditary magnates of the XXVI Mukims is acknowledged in the same tradition, and his position was rooted in a territorial power whose foundations predated the decadent period of the sultanate. Snouck Hurgronje observes that the power of Teuku Ateue’ was, “according to tradition, much more considerable in earlier times than it now is” — a remark which places him among those chiefs whose authority was gradually eroded by the anarchy of the late sultanate and the upheaval of the Acheh war.
See Also
- Teuku Imeum Tungkob
- XXVI Mukims
- Three Sagis (XXVI, XXV, XXII Mukims)
- Panglima Polem
- Teuku Ba’et
- Achehnese War
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.