Teuku Imeum Tungkob (also called Teuku Chut Tungkob) is the hereditary uleebalang of the XIII Mukims Tungkob in the XXVI Mukims sagi of Great Acheh, and one of the two principal uleebalangs of that sagi. He is “to this day a powerful chief in the XXVI Mukims”, in the words of C. Snouck Hurgronje.
The uleebalangship of the XIII Mukims Tungkob has a peculiar origin. It traces back to a teacher of celebrity named Teungku Hamba Alah, whose tomb in the mukim of Silang is still revered as a holy place. Teungku Hamba Alah exercised during his life a powerful influence on the people of the XXVI Mukims. The panglima of that sagi, “whether from respect for his learning or in order to neutralize his influence, made over to him the government of thirteen of his mukims and let him enforce Allah’s law there to his heart’s content”. The descendants of Teungku Hamba Alah managed to retain this control, and the hereditary uleebalangship of the XIII Mukims Tungkob “became established without any distinctively religious character, so that the later bearers of the title have exchanged the religious dignity of Teungku for the worldly one of Teuku Imeum Tungkob”.
The transition from a religious title (Teungku) to a territorial one (Teuku) is a notable example of a recurring process in Achehnese history: the transformation of a religious office or dignity into a hereditary worldly uleebalangship. Other examples cited by Snouck Hurgronje include Teuku Kali Malikon Ade (the hereditary chief judge whose family became territorial chiefs) and Teuku Keureukon (the hereditary royal secretary whose family likewise established itself in territory). The same tendency is illustrated, in the dependencies, by the Teuku Hakim of upper Daya (originally charged with the administration of justice) and the Pangulee Side of Meulaboh (originally an official charged with judicial enquiries, now no more than headman of Pulo U).
The Achehnese tradition of the “twelve uleebalangs, who appoint and dethrone princes” — four from each sagi — names, for the XXVI Mukims, the two principal uleebalangs as Teuku Tungkob and Teuku Ateue’. As Snouck Hurgronje cautions, the list “at most represents the conditions that existed during a short period”, but it confirms the importance of the Tungkob chief within the traditional political constitution of Great Acheh.
See Also
- Teungku Hamba Alah
- Teuku Ateue’
- XXVI Mukims
- Three Sagis (XXVI, XXV, XXII Mukims)
- Teuku Kali Malikon Ade
- Teuku Keureukon
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 Imeum Tungkob (also called Teuku Chut Tungkob) is the hereditary uleebalang of the XIII Mukims Tungkob in the XXVI Mukims sagi of Great Acheh, and one of the two principal uleebalangs of that sagi. He is “to this day a powerful chief in the XXVI Mukims”, in the words of C. Snouck Hurgronje.
The uleebalangship of the XIII Mukims Tungkob has a peculiar origin. It traces back to a teacher of celebrity named Teungku Hamba Alah, whose tomb in the mukim of Silang is still revered as a holy place. Teungku Hamba Alah exercised during his life a powerful influence on the people of the XXVI Mukims. The panglima of that sagi, “whether from respect for his learning or in order to neutralize his influence, made over to him the government of thirteen of his mukims and let him enforce Allah’s law there to his heart’s content”. The descendants of Teungku Hamba Alah managed to retain this control, and the hereditary uleebalangship of the XIII Mukims Tungkob “became established without any distinctively religious character, so that the later bearers of the title have exchanged the religious dignity of Teungku for the worldly one of Teuku Imeum Tungkob”.
The transition from a religious title (Teungku) to a territorial one (Teuku) is a notable example of a recurring process in Achehnese history: the transformation of a religious office or dignity into a hereditary worldly uleebalangship. Other examples cited by Snouck Hurgronje include Teuku Kali Malikon Ade (the hereditary chief judge whose family became territorial chiefs) and Teuku Keureukon (the hereditary royal secretary whose family likewise established itself in territory). The same tendency is illustrated, in the dependencies, by the Teuku Hakim of upper Daya (originally charged with the administration of justice) and the Pangulee Side of Meulaboh (originally an official charged with judicial enquiries, now no more than headman of Pulo U).
The Achehnese tradition of the “twelve uleebalangs, who appoint and dethrone princes” — four from each sagi — names, for the XXVI Mukims, the two principal uleebalangs as Teuku Tungkob and Teuku Ateue’. As Snouck Hurgronje cautions, the list “at most represents the conditions that existed during a short period”, but it confirms the importance of the Tungkob chief within the traditional political constitution of Great Acheh.
See Also
- Teungku Hamba Alah
- Teuku Ateue’
- XXVI Mukims
- Three Sagis (XXVI, XXV, XXII Mukims)
- Teuku Kali Malikon Ade
- Teuku Keureukon
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.