Tjalang

Tjalang was the hoofdplaats of the onderafdeeling Tjalang of the Afdeeling Westkust van Atjeh — a bestuursstandplaats on the northern Westkust selected, in 1908, in preference to the more naturally favoured Poeloe Radja, and the seat of the keudjeuroeënschap of Kroeëng Sabé, one of the two great keudjeuroeënschappen that had arisen from the disintegration of the old sultanaat of Daja. De Buitenbezittingen records the choice as a political rather than a geographical one, and notes the establishment, in recent years, of new wegennet that has begun to concentrate in Tjalang. In the 1930 compilation of Zelfbestuursverordeningen Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, Tjalang appears as an onderafdeeling of the afdeeling Westkust van Atjeh in the Gouvernement Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, comprising ten zelfbesturende landschappen whose oeleebalang collectively issued the wapensmeden-verordening of 8 January 1927 (Reg. No. 13) — the only regulation in the 1930 compilation dealing with the supervision of blacksmithing and the manufacture of blanke wapenen (klewangs, sikins, rentjongs).

The Kroeëng Sabé keudjeuroeënschap

The groote keudjeuroeënschappen Lhoʼng and Kroeëng Sabé — both “ontstaan uit het uiteengevallen sultanaat Daja” — could not maintain their unity and were “al heel spoedig in tal van kleine landschappen gesplitst.” A great part of the formerly important Lhoʼng was later added to the onderafdeeling Lhoʼ Nga (the so-called Zuidelijke nederzettingen), while the remainder was joined with the landschappen of Kroeëng Sabé to form the onderafdeeling Tjalang. Many settlements in these landschappen arose as colonies of peperplanters, whose tuinhoofden (peutoeha seuneubèʼ) gradually acquired territorial power, often over several complexes. Alongside these, De Buitenbezittingen notes, one finds “de oorspronkelijke gampongs, met Keuthjïʼs aan het hoofd.”

Bestuursindeeling

The onderafdeeling Tjalang comprised the ten landschappen of Kloeang, Koeala Daja, Lambeusyë, Koeala Oengaj, Lhoʼ Kroeët (with the underhoorigheden Babah Awé and Djeunamprag, which until 1914 had been two zelfstandige landschapjes), Patéʼ, Lageuën, Rigaïh, Kroeëng Sabé, and Teunom. The hoofdplaats itself was withdrawn from the landschapsbestuur and placed under rechtstreeks bestuurd gebied by G. B. 28 Maart 1913 No. 37. The registered adult Atjehsche population of the onderafdeeling was 5,006 at the end of 1915.

The standplaats question

The selection of Tjalang as bestuursstandplaats, in 1908, involved abandoning the former standplaats on the islet of Poeloe Radja — a small rotsmassief lying close off the coast opposite Lhoʼ Kroeet. De Buitenbezittingen notes that Poeloe Radja “onderscheidde zich van alle andere plaatsen ter Westkust door zijne door het eiland beveiligde reede in de straat tusschen P. Raja en den vasten wal” — its roadstead, sheltered between the islet and the mainland, was unique on the Westkust. It lay opposite Daja, “het economisch meest belangrijke deel” of this northern part of the Westkust. “Politieke overwegingen gaven echter den doorslag bij de keuze van het veel minder gunstig gelegen Tjalang” — political considerations tipped the choice toward the much less favourably situated Tjalang.

Wegennet and trade

The B. O. W. (Bouwkundige Officier van den Weg, the engineering officer of the way) was, at the date of writing, seeking a trace for a great weg over the dwarsruggen between Lhong and the onderafdeeling Tjalang across the steep Glé Groetèë; once completed, this would open “het belangrijke Daja.” From Meulabôh a rijweg already ran south to meet the Tjalangsche weg; by end 1916 the section Lam Ië–Tripa–Koeala Tadoe would be ready, completing a primitive link between Tapaʼ Toean and Singkel. Tjalang’s haven received 52 steamers (179,000 M³) in 1913, dropping to 25 (59,000) in 1914 and 27 (64,000) in 1915 — the steepest decline of any Westkust haven.

Account from Atjèh and the War with Japan (1949) — Tjalang

Tjalang is the subdistrict headquarters-town and subdistrict on the West Coast of Atjèh, the wild mountain landscape on the Indian Ocean “which adjoins the subdivision Koetaradja to the North (sagi of the XXV Moekims) and borders the subdivision Meulabóh to the South,” and the site of one of the three pre-invasion revolts that Piekaar’s Atjèh and the War with Japan analyses in Chapter III § 3 — a revolt that “discharged itself as suddenly as it was violent” in the night of 9–10 March 1942, led by the old Teukoe Sabi of Lageuën, “the bravest man of the West Coast.”

The geography of the subdistrict

The subdistrict “offers little space for human settlements. The wild mountain landscape of the Barisan reaches here, as in the adjacent area of the sagi of the XXV Moekims (oelèëbalangship Lhóng), right down to the coast.” The subdistrict contained “only two plains of significance: the plain of Kloeang-Lam Beusióë in the North and the plain of Teunóm in the South.” The main population centres were Lam Nó, 80 km. south of Koetaradja, as the centre of the so-called Daja-landschappen; Teunóm, 120 km. further along the West Coast road; and, “between these two centers, … in the Kroeëng Sabé landscape, where the Tjalang bay offers a favorable anchorage for seagoing vessels, as the third center the subdivision headquarters Tjalang.” The population “was therefore at the most recent census only a little more than 21,000.”

Political and religious life

“Until recently there was no continuous road connection along Aceh’s West Coast, and KPM vessels and regional craft served as the principal means of communication with the outside world, as well as between the administrative posts. Only the extension of the West Coast Road in the twenties, during which military-strategic considerations (Bakóngan uprising 1925–1927) were decisive, freed the subdistrict from its isolation.” The old religious traditions “remained here closer to the surface slumbering. The distance to the time in which the Aceh War called the devout Muslims to the fight against the ‘kaphé’ (unbeliever), seemed smaller in this region, where once Teukoe Oemar, after his betrayal in March 1896, sought refuge.” Of the ten oelèëbalang families, “Teukoe Hoesin, the acting self-governing authority of Teunóm, was considered the most prominent oelèëbalang in this district. In 1941 he was therefore designated as representative of Tjalang at the ‘administrative conference’ held in Koetaradja.” Teukoe Sabi of Lageuën, confirmed in 1906 and “the ‘bravest man of the West Coast’,” was the only Tjalang oelèëbalang openly to support the Poesa movement and the restoration of the Acehnese sultanate.

The revolt of March 1942

“The last military action of significance mentioned in the ‘Introduction’ took place in 1933 in the neighboring Lheng,” so that “continuous vigilance and military preparedness remained required in this region. Garrisons at Tjalang and Lam Nó and a detachment at Lam Soedjèn in Lhóng … made intensive patrolling possible.” After the outbreak of the war with Germany, the garrisons at Lam Nó and Lam Soedjèn were abolished, while that at Tjalang was reduced to “1 brigade of 19 men.” When the uprising broke out, “the entire military force consisted of two brigades, one in Tjalang and one in Lam Né, both under the command of a sergeant.” The revolt was “carried out in consultation with the Lageuën resistance center” under Teukoe Sabi, whose younger brother Teukoe Poelèh acted as “kepala berontak” (head of the uprising). At the 8 December 1943 ceremony of the soerat poedjian (certificates), “Teukoe Sabi, as representative of the 155 fallen and wounded in Tjalang” appeared as one of three representatives of the “martyrs of the resistance movement.” After the revolt, Tjalang was evacuated on the morning of 14 March 1942 by the acting troops commander of Meulabóh, captain L. H. J. Kloprogge; “the keudè Lageuën, which had been spared by captain Kloprogge, had been razed to the ground.” As first gun-chó to act under the Japanese, Teukoe Ali, oelèëbalang of Keureukón, a brother-in-law of the sagi head Teukoe Nja’ Arif, was installed.

Account from Zelfbestuursverordeningen Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden (1930) — the regulatory record

In the 1930 compilation of Zelfbestuursverordeningen Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, Tjalang was an onderafdeeling of the afdeeling Westkust van Atjeh in the Gouvernement Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden on the west coast of Aceh, comprising ten zelfbesturende landschappen whose oeleebalang collectively issued the wapensmeden-verordening of 8 January 1927 (Reg. No. 13) — the only regulation in the 1930 compilation dealing with the supervision of blacksmithing and the manufacture of blanke wapenen (klewangs, sikins, rentjongs). The signatory clause of Reg. No. 13 names all ten oeleebalang individually: Kami Oeleebalang dari Landschap: Teunom, Kroeeng Sabe, Rigaih, Lageuen, Pate’, Lho Kroeët, Koenla Oenga, III Moekims Lam Beusoë, Koeala Dajaa dan Kloeang (We, the Oeleebalang of the Landschap: Teunom, Kroeeng Sabe, Rigaih, Lageuen, Pate’, Lho Kroeët, Koenla Oenga, the III Moekims Lam Beusoë, Koeala Dajaa, and Kloeang).

The wapensmeden-verordening of 8 January 1927 (Reg. No. 13)

The wapensmeden-verordening of 8 January 1927 is the only regulation in the 1930 compilation dealing with the supervision of blacksmithing and the manufacture of blanke wapenen (white weapons — i.e. edged weapons). Its full Dutch title is Zelfbestuursverordening van 8 Januari 1927 houdende regeling van het toezicht op het smeden en den aanmaak van blanke wapenen in de landschappen der onderafdeeling Tjalang (goedgekeurd door den Gouverneur van Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden op 18 Maart 1927) (Self-government regulation of 8 January 1927 establishing a regulation on the supervision of blacksmithing and the manufacture of edged weapons in the landschappen of the onderafdeeling Tjalang, approved by the Gouverneur van Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden on 18 March 1927). The legal bases invoked are the Staatsblad 1919 No. 822 en 823. The regulation’s preamble characterises its scope as the supervision of blacksmithing in the various landschappen and the prohibition of the manufacture of blanke wapenen (klewangs, sikins, rentjongs, etc.). The regulation imposes a register-and-permit system on blacksmiths (smidsambacht / pertockangan besi): the oeleebalang keeps a register model A of all licensed smiths; each smith carries a personal verklaring volgens model B which must be shown to overheidspersonen or politiebeambten on demand; manufacture or repair of klewangs/sikins/rentjongs without oeleebalang permission is prohibited, with klewang of sikin defined as having a snijkant (cutting edge) longer than 50 cm. The penalty is boete tot f 100 or 3 months’ gevangenisstraf. The comparative table on Page 97 extends parallel regelingen to Meulaboh (18-12-1926, 18-3-1927), Tapaktoean (24-6-1927), the Zuidelijke Atjehsche landschappen (20-2-1927, 18-3-1927), and Simeulool (18-3-1927) — all één maand na goedkeuring door den Gouverneur (one month after approval by the Gouverneur). The choice of the onderafdeeling Tjalang as the originating seat of the wapensmeden-regeling reflects the onderafdeeling’s historical role as a centre of indigenous iron-working and weapon-manufacture on the west coast.

Tjalang in the Pantjang Alas and parallel-regelingen tables

The onderafdeeling Tjalang is one of the original onderafdeelingen of the 1912 Pantjang Alas regime, with a Pantjang Alas regeling dated 15 April 1912 recorded in the comparative table of Reg. No. 2: Tjalang 15-4-1912 — i.e. Tjalang’s Pantjang Alas regeling is one of the seven earliest landschap-level Pantjang Alas regelingen of April 1912. The Page 18 comparative table records Tjalang’s Pantjang Alas rates: Tjalang …… 15-4-1912 caoutchoue, getah pertjah, damar, rotan, vogelnostjes, was, benzoë en hout. The Page 54 comparative table extends the Alaslanden cattle-slaughter tax (Reg. No. 5) to Tjalang (1914). The Page 109 comparative table extends the Bireuën heerendienst-regeling (Reg. No. 14) to Tjalang — Tjalang 11 Febr. — with the synchronised inwerkingtreding of 1 January 1929. The Page 123 comparative table extends the Alaslanden cattle-transport regulation (Reg. No. 16) to Tjalang — Tjalang 15 10 1914 (15 October 1914). The Page 129 comparative table extends the Lhoksoekon klappercultuur-verordening (Reg. No. 18a) to Tjalang. The Page 97 comparative table extends the wapensmeden-verordening (Reg. No. 13) to Meulaboh, Tapaktoean, Zuidelijke Atjehsche landschappen, and Simeuloe. The Page 72 comparative table extends the Peureula’ inkomstenbelasting (Reg. No. 9a) to Tjalang with dagteekening 20 Dec 1920, inwerking 1-1-1921.

Significance (Zelfbestuursverordeningen account)

Tjalang’s significance in the 1930 compilation rests on its being the originating seat of the only wapensmeden-verordening in the compilation — Reg. No. 13 of 8 January 1927, the only regulation in the book dealing with the supervision of blacksmithing and the manufacture of blanke wapenen (klewangs, sikins, rentjongs), with its register-and-permit system on blacksmiths and its 50-cm snijkant definition of the klewang of sikin; one of the original onderafdeelingen of the 1912 Pantjang Alas regime — its Pantjang Alas regeling of 15 April 1912 is one of the seven earliest landschap-level Pantjang Alas regelingen in the entire compilation; and the demonstration — through its ten-oeleebalang signatory clause (the largest individually-named signatory-collective in the compilation after Meulaboh’s ten in Reg. No. 19) and through its recurrent role as a recipient of parallel regelingen across nearly every regulation in the book — of the west-coast regulatory pattern: a fragmented onderafdeeling of many small landschappen, each with its own oeleebalang, collectively issuing regulations that the Gouvernement then extends by parallel regelingen to the other west-coast and south-coast onderafdeelingen.

Account from Atjeh Patchouli-Olie (1932)

Tjalang is a place on the Westkust van Atjeh, one of the four chief centres of patchouli cultivation in Atjeh, the others being Tapa Toean, Meulaboh and Langsa. The patchouli-leaf harvest of Tjalang is part of the Atjeh nilam-oil industry surveyed by Ir. W. Spoon in Atjeh Patchouli-Olie (1932). By 1931 there was a patchouli-distillery near Langsa, alongside the older factories of the Westkust.

Account from Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu

Locality on the west coastof Aceh where European coconut (klapper) enterprises were first established as rust en orde (peace and order) progressed.Onderafdeeling in the afdeeling Westkust van Atjeh; direct bestuurd gebied.

Source: J. Jongejans, Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 50, 51, 196, 331, 336.

Sources

De Buitenbezittingen, Deel II, Aflevering 2: Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, bewerkt door het Encyclopaedisch Bureau, Mededeelingen van het Bureau voor de Bestuurszaken der Buitenbezittingen (Weltevreden: Landsdrukkerij, 1917), pp. 11, 15–16, 25, 29–30, 38, 56–59, 126, 216–217.

Atjèh and the War with Japan, by Dr. A. J. Piekaar, translated from the Dutch original Atjèh en de oorlog met Japan (1949) (‘s-Gravenhage/Bandung: N.V. Uitgeverij W. van Hoeve; English edition), Chapter III § 3, Chapter V § 4.

Zelfbestuursverordeningen Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, Serie A No. 9 of the Mededeelingen van de Afdeeling Bestuurszaken der Buitengewesten van het Departement van Binnenlandsch Bestuur, Weltevreden: Landsdrukkerij, 1930, esp. Reg. 13 (p. 83) and comparative tables passim. OCR-filename: 20260719_030404_DLP-112-Zelfbestuursverordeningen_Atjeh_en_onderhoorigheden_Nemotron-OCR-v2_OCR.txt.

Verkenningen in Atjeh, by Dr. R. Broersma (De Locomotief, October 1923), passim.

Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu, by J. Jongejans, Oud-Resident van het Gewest Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, with a foreword by Dr. H. Colijn (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 50, 51, 196, 331, 336.

tags	place, hoofdplaats, westkust, achehnese, onderafdeeling, atjeh, colonial, 20th-century, zelfbestuur, town, westkust-van-atjeh, patchouli, nilam, spoon
aliases	Tjalang, Tjalang onderafdeeling, Tjalang subdivision, Tialang

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