Toeankoe Machmoed Radja Keumala was a member of the Sultan’s family of Aceh — one of the three voornaamste Atjehse hoofden who, at the request of Generaal Swart, wrote the letter urging the Tiriō Teungkoes to submit. The letter was refused. His signature on that letter — alongside another Sultan’s-family member and Panglima Prang Polim — is the book’s marker of the political closing of the Acehnese Sultanate: two members of the Sultan’s own family, having come over to the Dutch, now asked the last religious resisters to come in too.
The letter to the Tiriō Teungkoes
At Generaal Swart’s request, “de drie voornaamste Atjehse hoofden” wrote the Tiriō Teungkoes a letter urging submission. The three were “twee leden van de Sultansfamilie, de Toeankoes Machmoed Radja Keumala, benevens Panglima Prang Polim, de vroegere legeraanvoerder van de Sultan, die zich tenslotte had gemeld bij kapitein Colijn.” The letter is the book’s clearest example of Swart’s preferred method — to bring moral and political pressure on the remaining resisters through the most authoritative Acehnese leaders.
The Teungkoes “bespraken de brief, doch besloten tot het einde te vechten; hen zou geschieden naar Allah’s wil.” The refusal is doctrinal: the religious resisters would not accept the authority of the Sultan’s family to override their doctrine of prang sabi.
The political closure of the Sultanate
The signature of Toeankoe Machmoed Radja Keumala on the letter — alongside another Sultan’s-family member — is the book’s marker of the political closure of the Acehnese Sultanate. Two members of the Sultan’s own family, having come over to the Dutch, now asked the last religious resisters to come in. The letter therefore marks the moment at which the formal Acehnese political establishment had passed under Dutch authority, leaving the religious resisters alone.
Significance
Toeankoe Machmoed Radja Keumala is significant in Oom Ambon van het K.N.I.L. as the Sultan’s-family member who, alongside another Sultan’s-family member and Panglima Prang Polim, wrote the letter urging the Tiriō Teungkoes to submit. The book’s argument is that the letter marks the political closure of the Acehnese Sultanate: the Sultan’s own family, having come over to the Dutch, now asked the last religious resisters to come in — and was refused on doctrinal grounds.
Account from Atjèh by J. Kreemer (Deel II)
Kreemer gives a fuller account of Toeankoe Machmoed Radja Keumala, whom he identifies as the son of Toeankoe Asém (Pangéran Asem), described as the “fiercest opponent” (hevigste tegenstander) among the Atjèhnese notables during the early phase of the Atjèh-oorlog. He received an onderstand (monthly allowance) of ƒ50 from the Dutch colonial government.
Toeankoe Machmoed Radja Keumala submitted to Koeta Radja in 1903 and was appointed geestelijk adviseur (spiritual adviser) to the governor. He later became a member of the Raad agama established by Stbl. 1920 N°. 398. He was deeply learned in Arabic and mystical studies, and had performed the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) twice.
His sister Teungkoe Ratna married Panglima Pölém (personal name Teukoe Moehamat Dawöt), the sagi-head of the XXII Moekim’s. His niece Teungkoe Djam — the daughter of Pö Tjoet Meurah — had married the pretender Sultan Moehamat Dawöt, connecting the Keumala line to the last ruling dynasty.
A report by R. A. Kern, Rapport 16 December 1921 N°. C 234, provides additional documentation of his religious and advisory role.
See Also
- Panglima Prang Polim
- Generaal Swart
- Teungkoe Sjech Saman di Tiri
- Colonne Schmidt campaign against the Tiriō Teungkoes (1910-1911)
- Prang sabi
- Aceh Sultanate
- Raad agama
- Moehamat Dawöt (Pretendent Sultan)
- XXII Moekim
- 1903
- 1920
- 1921
Sources
Oom Ambon van het K.N.I.L., by G. W. T. Dames, Maj. Inf. K.N.I.L. b.d. (‘s-Gravenhage: Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 1954), chapter “De colonne Schmidt.”
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.