Tuanku Muhamat was a son of Tuanku Abdomajet (Husain, or Abdulmajid) of the Kuala Batee branch of the Achehnese royal family. He is depicted, together with his brother Tuanku Ibrahim, in a photograph caption reproduced in The Achehnese. Like his brother, he represents the younger generation of a family whose relations with the Sultan of Acheh form one of the more colourful episodes of late-sultanate history.
The Kuala Batee Branch of the Royal House
In Kuala Batee (Pidie) there was settled, in the decades before the Acheh War, a branch of the royal family which was on bad terms with the Sultan. These tuankus had been repeatedly declared outlaws by the Sultan on account of piracies committed even on Achehnese prahus and to the detriment of the Sultan himself; yet none dared to assail them, “being well assured that there was much danger and little honour to be gained by the slaughter of scions of the royal house.” The family of pirates to which Tuanku Muhamat belonged is the same as that of the Tuankus Usen and Abdomajet (Husain and Abdulmajid) who subsequently submitted to the Dutch Government. The Sultan himself wedded a daughter of Tuanku Abdomajet, an alliance which, however, did not prevent the continued bad blood between the court and the Kuala Batee branch.
A Note on the Name
The name Tuanku Muhamat was a common one in the Achehnese royal house, and care must be taken not to confuse the son of Tuanku Abdomajet with other bearers of the name. The most notable of these is the young Tuanku Muhamat Dawot, the child selected to succeed Sultan Mahmut Shah after the loss of the Dalam, whose guardian was Tuanku Asem (Hashim). The Tuanku Muhamat of the Kuala Batee branch is a distinct figure, known to us chiefly through the photographic record preserved in Snouck Hurgronje’s work rather than through any extended biographical notice. His inclusion in that record, however, marks him out as a member of the younger generation of the Kuala Batee house — a generation that stood between the old order of piratical autonomy and the new order of Dutch administration.
See Also
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.
Tuanku Muhamat was a son of Tuanku Abdomajet (Husain, or Abdulmajid) of the Kuala Batee branch of the Achehnese royal family. He is depicted, together with his brother Tuanku Ibrahim, in a photograph caption reproduced in The Achehnese. Like his brother, he represents the younger generation of a family whose relations with the Sultan of Acheh form one of the more colourful episodes of late-sultanate history.
The Kuala Batee Branch of the Royal House
In Kuala Batee (Pidie) there was settled, in the decades before the Acheh War, a branch of the royal family which was on bad terms with the Sultan. These tuankus had been repeatedly declared outlaws by the Sultan on account of piracies committed even on Achehnese prahus and to the detriment of the Sultan himself; yet none dared to assail them, “being well assured that there was much danger and little honour to be gained by the slaughter of scions of the royal house.” The family of pirates to which Tuanku Muhamat belonged is the same as that of the Tuankus Usen and Abdomajet (Husain and Abdulmajid) who subsequently submitted to the Dutch Government. The Sultan himself wedded a daughter of Tuanku Abdomajet, an alliance which, however, did not prevent the continued bad blood between the court and the Kuala Batee branch.
A Note on the Name
The name Tuanku Muhamat was a common one in the Achehnese royal house, and care must be taken not to confuse the son of Tuanku Abdomajet with other bearers of the name. The most notable of these is the young Tuanku Muhamat Dawot, the child selected to succeed Sultan Mahmut Shah after the loss of the Dalam, whose guardian was Tuanku Asem (Hashim). The Tuanku Muhamat of the Kuala Batee branch is a distinct figure, known to us chiefly through the photographic record preserved in Snouck Hurgronje’s work rather than through any extended biographical notice. His inclusion in that record, however, marks him out as a member of the younger generation of the Kuala Batee house — a generation that stood between the old order of piratical autonomy and the new order of Dutch administration.
See Also
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.