72
Hukōm and adat."Hukōm and adat are inseparable, even as God's essence and his attributes"[1], says the Achehnese proverb. To make the sense complete we may well add, "but the greatest of these is adat". This may indeed be seen from the attitude of the representatives of these two inseparable elements. In most cases, it is true, where a matter affecting the interests of the gampōng or its inhabitants has to be decided, father keuchiʾ and mother teungku both appear on the stage, but the teungku has as a rule little to say, and appears to be present rather honoris causâ except in matters relating to marriage. We shall see presently that the relation between the ulèëbalang and his kali exhibits many points of resemblance to the above, but is if possible still less favourable to the hukōm.
As teungku meunasah it would naturally be the duty of the "mother" of the gampōng to see that this building answered to some extent the religious objects for which it is intended. Such however is very rarely the case, and in these exceptional instances it is more due to the piety of the keuchiʾ than to the faithful fulfilment of his duty by the teungku. Not every teungku is able (and few indeed have even the inclination) to appear in the meunasah and lead the service, at the times appointed for the five daily prayers; it is much if he does so fairly regularly at sunset (see p. 62 above).
As regards the furniture of the meunasah he need take little trouble, since as we have seen it is exceedingly sparse and most of it is private property. The task of sweeping the floor and keeping the kulam (water tank) full devolves on the younger occupants of the meunasah. This kulam is used for washing the feet or for ritual ablutions by all who enter the building and for bathing by the young men. Should the latter prove neglectful in the fulfilment of their duties they are reminded of them by their seniors.
It is only in the fasting month (Puasa) that the teungku is noticeably the man of the meunasah. When we come to review the calendar of feasts we shall see that during the nights of this month there is a great deal of vitality in the meunasah and that the presence of the teungku is indispensable for various matters, but especially for the performance
- ↑ Hukōm ngòn adat han jeuët chré, lagèë dat ngòn sipheuët. Another version is hukōm ngòn adat lagèë mata itam ngòn mata putéh; hukōm hukōmōlah adat adatōlah. i.e. "Hukōm and adat are like the pupil and the white of the eye; the hukōm is Allah's hukōm and the adat Allah's adat."
