151
fresh proof of the insignificance of the court, both in relation to the affairs of the interior and to the Dutch Government. There was never a party at Keumala, but merely a court clique, which continued the traditions of the feeble Dalam that subsisted in the capital in former days.
[Since the above was written, circumstances have in many respects modified the part played by the pretender to the sultanate. See Preface.]
§ 9. Rivals of the Traditional Authorities; Political
Adventurers and Representatives of Religion.
In the last portion of our description of the political system of Acheh we have frequently mentioned the names of two men, Teungku Tirò and Teuku Uma, who may serve as types of their respective classes. They find no place in the ranks of officers of state such as the panglima sagòë, ulèëbalang, kali, imeum, keuchiʾ and teungku meunasah, yet they are most weighty factors in the political life of the country, and are not to be overlooked in any description thereof, especially where we are examining the development of political conditions during the past few years. This period is one of disorder, and disorder and unrest form the milieu in which people of both the classes referred to live and flourish best, though their influence makes itself felt in Acheh in times of comparative repose also. They may be called the rivals of the hereditary chiefs.
Political adventurers.The first kind require but brief mention, as they fight the ulèëbalangs, so to speak, with their own weapons. They are ambitious men, and aim more or less openly at the ulèëbalangship, the zenith of worldly greatness in the eyes of the Achehnese. They are to be found among the title-bearers without territory[1], who use their position to gain themselves followers and to outshine the ulèëbalang in whose district they reside, so as to compel him either to make them great concessions or to vacate the field in their favour. We have already seen examples of this kind of rivalry in the case of Teuku Nanta Seutia and Teuku Kali.
No less dangerous are those adventurers who can only bring to bear a more or less illustrious descent, or as its equivalent a reputation
- ↑ See pp. 92, 126–127 above.
