Lampoedaja — written in Dutch as Lampoedaja — was a mukim or region of Groot-Atjeh comprising “alle kampongs behoorende tot de VI Moekims” (“all kampongs belonging to the VI Moekims”), situated within or adjacent to the VI Moekims of Teuku Umar. As described in Kruisheer’s ATJEH ‘96, Lampoedaja is mentioned in the early context of the balso in connection with the sentiment of its five sub-districts after the defection of Teuku Umar of 29 March 1896. The balso records that “de stemming in de V meunatha’s Lampoedaja … was nog sterk tegen den afval” — “the sentiment in the five meunatha’s of Lampoedaja was still strongly against the defection.” Lampoedaja is not detailed further in the present volume but appears as a geographic reference in the broader Atjeh-oorlog theatre.
Description and Location
Lampoedaja lay within or adjacent to the VI Moekims of Teuku Umar on the western edge of Groot-Atjeh. The balso defines the mukim as comprising “alle kampongs behoorende tot de VI Moekims,” suggesting that it was either an administrative sub-division of the VI Moekims or a regional designation for the kampong-cluster of the VI Moekims taken as a whole. The five sub-districts, from Achehnese meunasah, originally a prayer-house and the settlement around it of Lampoedaja were the principal settlements of the mukim. The mukim adjoined the landschap of Lepong on the west, the IV Moekims on the south, and the inland gebergte on the east.
Historical Background
Lampoedaja had been part of the territory of Teuku Umar throughout his period as Panglima Prang Besar of the Government (1893–1896). The mukim was populated by Achehnese whose political loyalties were divided between Umar and the Dutch colonial government. The five meunatha’s of Lampoedaja retained, according to the information available to the Dutch after the defection of 29 March 1896, a sentiment “nog sterk tegen den afval” — still strongly against the defection. This made Lampoedaja a potential base for Dutch political influence within the VI Moekims, although the balso does not record any specific Dutch operation to exploit this sentiment.
Role in the 1896 Operations
Lampoedaja is not specifically named as the object of any Dutch military operation in the first semester of 1896. Its mention in ATJEH ‘96 is limited to the early contextual observation of the sentiment of its five meunatha’s after the defection. The general operations against the VI Moekims — the three-day offensive of 23–25 May 1896 and the two-colonne operation of 4–5 June 1896 — would have affected Lampoedaja as part of the broader VI Moekims territory, but no specific engagement at Lampoedaja is recorded.
Significance
Lampoedaja is mentioned in ATJEH ‘96 principally as evidence of the divided political sentiment within Teuku Umar’s own power-base after the defection of 29 March 1896. The fact that the five meunatha’s of Lampoedaja were “nog sterk tegen den afval” suggests that Umar’s defection did not command unanimous support even within the VI Moekims, and that the Dutch had potential political allies in the region. The balso’s failure to develop this theme indicates either that the opportunity was not exploited or that the information proved to be of limited operational value.
See Also
- VI Moekims
- Teuku Umar
- Lepong
- meunatha
- moekim
- Defection of Teuku Umar (29 March 1896)
- Groot-Atjeh
- 1896
Source
ATJEH ‘96, door A. Kruisheer, Kapitein der Infanterie O.I.L., met 2 kaarten en 4 portretten (Weltevreden: N.V. Boekhandel Visser & Co, 1913). Instituut Kern, Leiden. OCR-filename: 20260715_163243_DLP-89-Atjeh_96_Met_2_kaarten_en4_DOORA_KRUISHEER_Kapiteinder_Infanterie_nemoretriever-ocr-v1_OCR.txt, p. 60.