Teuku Ne’ Peureuba Wangsa was the chief uleebalang of the IX Mukims of the XXV sagi of Acheh, and one of the two great territorial magnates of that confederation who bore the hereditary title Ne’ — Achehnese for “grandfather” — of the sultan. The title,Snouck Hurgronje explains, typified the original relation between the powerful sagi-chief and the sultan; in the same way that the Panglima Polem of the XXII Mukims was styled the “elder brother” of the prince, the two Ne’s of the XXV Mukims were addressed as his grandfathers.
Snouck classes Teuku Ne’ Peureuba Wangsa, together with his fellow-Ne’ Teuku Ne’ Raja Muda Seutia of Meura’sa, as one of “the true potentates of this sagi”. He contrasts them with the nominal panglima of the XXV Mukims, Teuku Seutia Ulama — also known as Teuku Siah Ulama — who “has occupied himself but little with the government of the district, and for a long time past the power of some of the other uleebalangs appears to have put that of their nominal chief in the shade”. Effective authority in the sagi lay, in other words, with Peureuba Wangsa and his fellow-Ne’, rather than with the bearer of the panglima title.
Both Ne’s are listed among the so-called “twelve uleebalangs, who appoint and dethrone princes” — the native adat classification, four from each sagi, who were traditionally regarded as the kingmakers of Acheh. Snouck cautions that this list “at most represents the conditions that existed during a short period” and that the number twelve is the product of the Achehnese “predilection for round numbers”; nevertheless, the two Ne’s of the XXV Mukims clearly held a permanent place in any realistic enumeration of the chiefs who could make or unmake a sultan.
The title Peureuba Wangsa itself — meaning approximately “the dynasty’s resort” or “refuge of the royal house” — further underlines the close relation between this line of uleebalangs and the sultanate, and explains the ceremonial role played by its holder at the installation of a new sovereign, alongside the other hereditary chiefs of the Three Sagis.
See Also
- Teuku Ne’ Raja Muda Seutia
- Teuku Ne’
- IX Mukims
- XXV Mukims
- Meura’sa
- Panglima Polem
- Teuku Seutia Ulama
- Panglima Polem
- Coronation of the Sultan
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 Ne’ Peureuba Wangsa was the chief uleebalang of the IX Mukims of the XXV sagi of Acheh, and one of the two great territorial magnates of that confederation who bore the hereditary title Ne’ — Achehnese for “grandfather” — of the sultan. The title,Snouck Hurgronje explains, typified the original relation between the powerful sagi-chief and the sultan; in the same way that the Panglima Polem of the XXII Mukims was styled the “elder brother” of the prince, the two Ne’s of the XXV Mukims were addressed as his grandfathers.
Snouck classes Teuku Ne’ Peureuba Wangsa, together with his fellow-Ne’ Teuku Ne’ Raja Muda Seutia of Meura’sa, as one of “the true potentates of this sagi”. He contrasts them with the nominal panglima of the XXV Mukims, Teuku Seutia Ulama — also known as Teuku Siah Ulama — who “has occupied himself but little with the government of the district, and for a long time past the power of some of the other uleebalangs appears to have put that of their nominal chief in the shade”. Effective authority in the sagi lay, in other words, with Peureuba Wangsa and his fellow-Ne’, rather than with the bearer of the panglima title.
Both Ne’s are listed among the so-called “twelve uleebalangs, who appoint and dethrone princes” — the native adat classification, four from each sagi, who were traditionally regarded as the kingmakers of Acheh. Snouck cautions that this list “at most represents the conditions that existed during a short period” and that the number twelve is the product of the Achehnese “predilection for round numbers”; nevertheless, the two Ne’s of the XXV Mukims clearly held a permanent place in any realistic enumeration of the chiefs who could make or unmake a sultan.
The title Peureuba Wangsa itself — meaning approximately “the dynasty’s resort” or “refuge of the royal house” — further underlines the close relation between this line of uleebalangs and the sultanate, and explains the ceremonial role played by its holder at the installation of a new sovereign, alongside the other hereditary chiefs of the Three Sagis.
See Also
- Teuku Ne’ Raja Muda Seutia
- Teuku Ne’
- IX Mukims
- XXV Mukims
- Meura’sa
- Panglima Polem
- Teuku Seutia Ulama
- Panglima Polem
- Coronation of the Sultan
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.