The North-East Coast (of Acheh) is the long littoral that extends from the neighbourhood of the capital eastward toward Pidie, Samalanga and the Tamiang border, forming one of the principal commercial and demographic zones of [[Acheh|the Achehnese] lands]. In The Achehnese Vol. I, Snouck Hurgronje cites the North-East Coast in connection with the prevalence of opium-smoking among the Achehnese.
Opium-Smoking and the Coastal Trade
In a footnote to his discussion of Achehnese habits and luxuries, the author remarks that “while opium-smoking is very common on the West and North-East coasts, it is not at all so prevalent in Acheh Proper as is usually supposed.” The remark is significant, for it places the North-East Coast — together with the West Coast — in a distinct cultural zone, in which a habit introduced by foreign traders had taken deeper root than in the inland districts of the kingdom.
The Populations of the Coast
The inhabitants of the North-East Coast, like those of the West Coast, have long been in close contact with the foreign merchants — Klings, Chinese, Arabs, and Europeans — who frequented the ports of Acheh. The same intercourse that brought opium also brought settlers, and the populations of the North-East Coast include, besides the Achehnese proper, a considerable admixture of Kling and other Indian elements, the descendants of strangers (ancu’ jamee) who settled along the sea-board and contributed their quota to the composition of the Achehnese race. The Klings in Great Acheh and on the East Coast, the author notes, have brought more half-caste progeny into the world than now commands recognition as such.
The Littoral and the Inland
The distinction which the author draws between the coast and Acheh Proper — the inland kernel of the kingdom — is one that pervades his whole account. The kernel of the kingdom, which has supplied the outlying districts with a considerable portion of their inhabitants, is bounded, according to the Achehnese idea, by a line extending from Kluang on the west to Krueng Raya on the north coast, and passing through Reueng-reueng, Pancha and Janthoe. Beyond this line, the North-East Coast forms an outer zone in which foreign influence, including the habit of opium-smoking, was more strongly felt than in the royal heartland.
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.