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this poem, it is to be noted that it was composed shortly after the war which it describes, and gives upon the whole an accurate description of the events and condition of things at that period. Here, then, we find the imeums appearing as military leaders among whom the prince seeks his supporters, and as chiefs who of their own initiative take the part of the hero or oppose him. It is clear from this epic that even at that time some of the imeums troubled themselves little about the ulèëbalang, to whom they were nominally subordinate, whilst others appear in the retinue of their chiefs as minor ulèëbalangs.
Present character of the office of imeum.So it has continued. The imeums are all adat-chiefs without any religious character. Some of them have attained to the independence of ulèëbalangs and lack the name only; we need only instance the well-known imeum of Luëng Bata who played so distinguished a part in the war with the Dutch as a military leader, or the imeum of Chadéʾ who in the last conflict for royal honours before the Achehnese war was the most powerful supporter of the finally defeated candidate. The majority are, however, actually subordinate to their ulèëbalangs, though the energy of individuals may reduce their subordination to a minimum.
The personelle of the mosque.With the mosques, which were the cause of their first creation, they either do not concern themselves at all (this depends on their personal character) or only just as much as any ulèëbalang who interests himself in religion. The personelle of the mosque in Acheh when complete, consists of the self-same group of three[1], which we find elsewhere in Sumatra; the imeum[2] who should properly preside at all the daily prayers as well as at the Friday service, the haṭib (chaṭib), who takes the lead in the Friday prayers and the bileuë (bilāl) who intones the call to prayer (adan, bang) and keeps the furniture of the mosque in order.
- ↑ The Malays have besides the three here named, a fourth mosque official called the Siak, Pěnghulu Mukim or Pěnghulu Mesjid. His duties are the last of those assigned to the bilal in the text; those of the latter are according to Newbold (British settlements in the Straits of Malacca p. 249) mainly sacrificial, but as a matter of fact the bilal only intones the bang or call to prayer, and it is the imam who recites the talkin or funeral service over the grave. The bilal often performs the duties of shrouding and washing the dead, but he does this only as an eligible elder, as any devout person who knows the ceremonial rules in these matters may perform the task. (Translator.)
- ↑ Imeum here does not of course mean the chief of the mukim, but a servant of the mosque who derives no influence whatever from his office.
