Toekoe Nanta was the hoeloebalang of the VI Moekims of Groot-Atjeh, the principal enemy of the Dutch ally Toekoe Nek of Marassa, whose fortified position at Bilal was attacked by Lieutenant-colonel Van der Heijden on 12 February 12 February 1874. After his defeat at Bilal, Toekoe Nanta fled to the IV Moekims, where he and Toekoe Tjihik Lamnga were among the principal defenders expected to offer strong resistance to the Dutch advance of January 1876.
The Enemy of Toekoe Nek
After the fall of the Kraton on 24 January 24 January 1874 and the proclamation of annexation of Groot-Atjeh on 31 January 31 January 1874, some military operations in proper Atjeh proved still necessary, chiefly to protect the Dutch ally Toekoe Nek and his territory against the head of the VI Moekims hostile to him, Toekoe Nanta. On 12 February 12 February [1874] Lieutenant-colonel Van der Heijden advanced against the Bilal occupied by Toekoe Nanta. Had this expedition been finished in time, he would have withdrawn over Ketapan Doewa, to drive out the enemies present there and at the same time to punish the ally of Toekoe Nek, Imam Djempit, the head of the III Moekims. The expedition succeeded, but as the return was by a different way, on 15 February 15 February [1874] Lieutenant-colonel Pel advanced against the well-fortified Ketapan Doewa, where likewise after a stubborn fight the enemy’s fortifications were taken.
The Flight to the IV Moekims
After the conquest of the VI Moekims by General Pel in December 1875, the principal defenders of the VI Moekims fled to the IV Moekims. “As the principal defenders of the VI Moekims had fled thither, such as Toekoe Nanta and Toekoe Tjihik Lamnga, a strong resistance was to be expected, even though the head of the IV Moekims, Toekoe Lampassej, was on our side, and even though our last victories had made so much impression that on one of our reconnaissance expeditions the head of Lampagger offered his submission.”
Sources
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 Nanta Seutia was the hereditary title of the chief of the VI Mukims of the XXV in Great Acheh — a territory which the line had wrested in comparatively recent times from Teuku Ne’ of Meura’sa. The full title Nanta Seutia (literally “true grandparent”) reflects the prominent position attained by the family within the XXV sagi, where they ranked for a time alongside the two Ne’ houses among the principal wielders of power. The article treats of the office and its holders as illustrated in Vol. I. Atjeh gedurende de tweede expeditie en later, Een Oud Officier, Batavia: Ogilvie & Co., 1876, pp. 8-10, 14-16.
See Also
- Toekoe Nek Radja Moeda Setia
- Imam Djempit
- Toekoe Tjihik Lamnga
- Toekoe Lampassej
- VI Moekims
- IV Moekims
- III Moekims
- Bilal
- Ketapan Doewa
- K. van der Heyden
- J. L. J. H. Pel
- Aceh War
- Teuku Ne’
- Teuku Ne’ Raja Muda Seutia
- Teuku Raja Itam
- Teuku Uma
- VI Mukims of the XXV
- Treachery of Teuku Uma against the Dutch
- Panglima Polem
- J. van Swieten
- General Pel’s Campaign in Aceh
- Coastal Fortifications in Aceh
Source
De geschiedenis van Nederland in onzen tijd, by J. A. de Bruyne, Directeur der Hoogere Burgerschool te Zierikzee. Deel IV. 1872-1883. Nieuwe uitgave. Schiedam: J. F. Dupont, 1912, Hoofdstuk I, pp. 27, 73.
Toekoe Nanta was the hoeloebalang of the VI Moekims of Groot-Atjeh, the principal enemy of the Dutch ally Toekoe Nek of Marassa, whose fortified position at Bilal was attacked by Lieutenant-colonel Van der Heijden on 12 February 12 February 1874. After his defeat at Bilal, Toekoe Nanta fled to the IV Moekims, where he and Toekoe Tjihik Lamnga were among the principal defenders expected to offer strong resistance to the Dutch advance of January 1876.
The Enemy of Toekoe Nek
After the fall of the Kraton on 24 January 24 January 1874 and the proclamation of annexation of Groot-Atjeh on 31 January 31 January 1874, some military operations in proper Atjeh proved still necessary, chiefly to protect the Dutch ally Toekoe Nek and his territory against the head of the VI Moekims hostile to him, Toekoe Nanta. On 12 February 12 February [1874] Lieutenant-colonel Van der Heijden advanced against the Bilal occupied by Toekoe Nanta. Had this expedition been finished in time, he would have withdrawn over Ketapan Doewa, to drive out the enemies present there and at the same time to punish the ally of Toekoe Nek, Imam Djempit, the head of the III Moekims. The expedition succeeded, but as the return was by a different way, on 15 February 15 February [1874] Lieutenant-colonel Pel advanced against the well-fortified Ketapan Doewa, where likewise after a stubborn fight the enemy’s fortifications were taken.
The Flight to the IV Moekims
After the conquest of the VI Moekims by General Pel in December 1875, the principal defenders of the VI Moekims fled to the IV Moekims. “As the principal defenders of the VI Moekims had fled thither, such as Toekoe Nanta and Toekoe Tjihik Lamnga, a strong resistance was to be expected, even though the head of the IV Moekims, Toekoe Lampassej, was on our side, and even though our last victories had made so much impression that on one of our reconnaissance expeditions the head of Lampagger offered his submission.”
See Also
- Toekoe Nek Radja Moeda Setia
- Imam Djempit
- Toekoe Tjihik Lamnga
- Toekoe Lampassej
- VI Moekims
- IV Moekims
- III Moekims
- Bilal
- Ketapan Doewa
- K. van der Heyden
- J. L. J. H. Pel
- Aceh War
Source
De geschiedenis van Nederland in onzen tijd, by J. A. de Bruyne, Directeur der Hoogere Burgerschool te Zierikzee. Deel IV. 1872-1883. Nieuwe uitgave. Schiedam: J. F. Dupont, 1912, Hoofdstuk I, pp. 27, 73.
Account from Onze vestiging in Atjeh (Borel, 1878)
Toekoe Nanta was the hoofd (chief) of the VI Moekims — the confederation of six mukims adjacent to Marassa — and, in Borel’s phrase, “onzen ijverigen tegenstander” (our zealous opponent), the most determined and resourceful of the hostile Atjehneesche chiefs of the stelling-Pel period. He built the fortified places at Lampanti, Lamti and Sabang along the lagune of the Kwala Tjangkoel, dominated the waterway so that no vessel could pass without being under his artillery fire, and held out against the Dutch until Pel’s great offensive of December 1875 – January 1876 finally drove him from his forts.
The Forts at Lampanti, Lamti and Sabang
The gebied of the VI Moekims lay between Oeleh Leh and Soerian — the single weak point of the stelling-Pel, where the line of Dutch posts came closest to the sea but could not close it. Toekoe Nanta exploited the lagune of the Kwala Tjangkoel, which gave access from the sea to the interior, by building versterkingen at Lampanti, Lamti and Sabang along its banks. These works, armed with artillery, dominated the waterway so that no Dutch vessel could pass without coming under fire. The Dutch forward line at Soerian — established by the battle of Soerian of 26 July 1874 — was intended, in Borel’s account, to threaten his gebied and bring his forts under observation. The battle of Soerian itself had as one of its stated aims “to threaten flank and rear of Toekoe Nanta of VI Moekims.”
Reduction and Expulsion
The Dutch could not close the Kwala Tjangkoel as long as Toekoe Nanta held his forts. The conquest of his gebied was therefore one of the principal objects of Pel’s Buitenzorg plan of July 1875: to invade the VI Moekims, occupy Sinangri (which was done without opposition in July 1875), and sweep the western bank of the Kwala Tjangkoel. The plan was executed in the great offensive of December 1875 – January 1876. On 26 December 1875 the drie-colonne movement was launched; by 28 December 1875 Toekoe Nanta’s geduchte versterkingen west of Sinangri had been ontruimd. The conquest of Lamtengah on 8 January 1876 carried the VI Moekims themselves. By mid-January 1876 the entire XXV Moekims was in Dutch hands, and the demarcatie-linie ran from the mouth of the Kroeng Raba on the west coast to Atoch, then northward to Pager Ajer on the left bank of the Atjeh-rivier.
Significance
Toekoe Nanta is, in Borel’s narrative, the prototype of the resolute Atjehneesche hoofd — a chief who combined personal authority with engineering skill and a clear strategic sense of the stelling’s weak point. His forts at Lampanti, Lamti and Sabang had made the stelling-Pel incomplete and had allowed the contraband trade through the Kwala Tjangkoel to continue for almost two years. Their reduction was, in Borel’s reading, the precondition of the afsluitingslinie Kroeng Raba–Kroeng Raya that Pel had projected.
See Also
- VI Moekims
- Marassa
- Kwala Tjangkoel
- Lampanti
- Lamti
- Sabang
- Soerian
- Sinangri
- Generaal Pel
- Toekoe Nek
- Pel’s offensive against the VI, IV and IX Moekims (1875–1876)
- 1874
- 1875
- 1876
Source
Onze vestiging in Atjeh, critisch beschreven, by G. F. W. Borel, Kapitein der Artillerie. ‘s-Gravenhage: D. A. Thieme, 1878. pp. 125, 176, 288, 298, 304, 314, 323.