75
There are no doubt some teungkus of capacity, but on the whole their ignorance is proverbial. Thus in the common speech of the Achehnese, when a teungku is specially referred to as teungku meunasah (in contradistinction to leubès, maléms, etc.) there is generally a covert allusion to his lack of learning. This is not to be wondered at, as the office in most cases devolves on the son or nearest male heir of a deceased holder of the post. A child is, however, seldom or never made teungku, and the ulèëbalang more often diverges from the rule of devolution in the appointment of a teungku than in that of a keuchiʾ. Still hereditary succession remains the rule.
It may be well imagined how much more scandalous are the results of adhering to this principle in the case of an office for the proper discharge of the duties of which some study of Mohammedan law is indispensable, than in that of appointments connected with adat, for which a practical knowledge of the world is more requisite than scholarly lore. A keuchiʾ of scant experience is merely a less useful man than others of his class, and finds in his gampōng plenty of people who can supply the gap by advice and practical help; but an unlettered teungku is absolutely useless.
Many teungkus then simply hand over the discharge of all their functions to some better instructed fellow-villager. At the same time they make no abdication of their office, and none dares to perform their duties without their express authority or invitation. They take delivery of the profits themselves, giving some small recompense for their trouble to the leubès or maléms who act for them.
The sphere within which the teungku exercises his functions is usually a single gampōng, or if the gampōng has more than one meunasah, a single meunasah.
The elders.III. The ureuëng tuha, which is the exact equivalent of our word "elders". They are the men of experience, worldly wisdom, good manners and knowledge of adat in the gampong. They are generally persons who have reached a certain time of life, but if a younger man is distinguished by the above characteristics, he is equally eligible as an ureuëng tuha[1], and is reckoned as one of the body of elders, which lends an indispensable support to the keuchiʾ and teungku.
- ↑ Ureuëng tuha properly means "old people". Like keuchiʾ which also means "old", it conveys in this connection no idea of the actual age of the persons spoken of. [The Malays use orang tua in exactly the same way.] (Translator.)
