Day was turning into night at the residence of Teuku Abdullah Sakti in Banda Aceh on Thursday (12/1) as the 63-year-old man sang the tale of “Taj al-Salatin”. Accompanied by the sound of the rain softly falling outside, the song in the Acehnese language soothed the ears.
The song the Syiah Kuala University historian was singing took us back to the year 1603, when it was written.
“Taj al-Salatin” was written by Bukhari al-Jauhari, who lived when the Aceh Darussalam sultanate was led by Sultan Alauddin Riayat SyahSayid al-Mukammil, between 1589 and 1604. It was often sung in front of the king, royal ministers, district commanders, other royal officials and the people. The song is about proper behavior and statehood duties according to the teachings of Islam.
“The series of aesthetically beautiful words were sang euphonically and filled with Islamic teachings that enabled the words to be easily absorbed by the people. It truly was influential [in spreading Islam],” Sakti said.
When Aceh waged war against the Portuguese in the 16th and 17th centuries and then against the Dutch (1873-1942), a number of other tales also emerged that united the people and fired up their spirit to fight the colonial forces.
These tales include “Hikayat Perang Sabil” (Tale of the Sabil War), which was a call to jihad that referred to Quranic verses. Like any other tale, the call was wrapped in a beautiful tale with vivid portrayals.
“Hikayat Perang Sabil” was written by Teungku Muhammad Pante Kulu, as explained in LK Ara Medri’s Aceh Encyclopedia: Customs, Tales and Literature. It comprises four separate tales titled “Ainul Mardliyah”, “Pasukan Gajah” (The Army of Elephants), “Said Salmi” and “Budak Mati Hidup Kembali” (The Dead Son Lives Again).
“Ainul Mardliyah” is about a young man’s dream of wanting to go to battle. The young man is portrayed as entering heaven and meeting beautiful women – the most beautiful of which is called Ainul. According to the story, the women are given to whoever gives their life in Allah’s holy wars.
The reward goes beyond beautiful women in heaven. In another tale, the reward is the forgiveness of all sins and the provision of a special place in heaven. Those who help to fund war efforts will gain multiple returns from Allah and be permitted to enter heaven.
Renowned Aceh war leader Teungku Chik di Tiro (1836-1891) is said to have written a tale called “Nasha’ihul Ghazator War Advice”. In this tale, Di Tiro portrayed the conditions of several regions in Aceh that had fallen into the clutches of the Dutch. “The tales tell us how the locals in the regions suffered after they were ruled by the Dutch,” Sakti said.
In addition to “Tale of the Sabil War” and the war advice, Sakti said there were more tales of war against the Dutch in Aceh. “There are the tales of the Geudong war, Keumala war, Sigli war, Bakongan war and Leupung war. Geudong, Keumala, Sigli, Bakongan and Leupung are names of regions in Aceh,” Sakti said, adding that the tales had a similar aim to ignite the locals’ spirit to fight the Dutch.
The tales were commonly written by Aceh resistance leaders, the majority of whom were clerics. This was because, at that time, only clerics had comprehensive understanding of Quranic teachings to could be used as references in the tales. Further, the clerics were deemed trustworthy as they were seen as representatives of Allah on earth.
Paul Van’t Veer in his book De Atjeh Oorlog, or The Aceh War, wrote that these tales, which were written by hand and illustrated, were distributed as pocketbooks and were highly influential in stirring up the Aceh people’s fighting spirit. Through these tales, the people were directed to use guerilla tactics when fighting the Dutch.
Dutch writer Zentgraaf said that many Aceh youths joined the war efforts after being influenced by “Tale of the Sabil War”, which moved them to pick up their weapons and fight. “It is a dangerous literature,” he wrote.
No wonder, then, that the Dutch colonial government banned commoners from reading and having the book. Those violating the ruling were punished, often by death.
However, this did not frighten the Aceh people. Clandestinely, they distributed the books and told the tales in their homes, dayah (Islamic boarding schools), meunasah (little mosques) and before marching to battle. These efforts kept the flame of resistance against the colonial forces alive.
Literature of struggle
Aceh, with its wealth of tales of war, has just a portion of Indonesian historical literature tracing the eras of struggle.
Many literary figures have emerged in subsequent eras, such as those of the 1945 Generation with literary works that influenced the war for independence. One of the most famous maestros of this era was Chairil Anwar with his book of poems “Deru Campur Debu” (Din and Dust).
In the transitional years between the Old Order and the New Order, the literary figures of the 1966 Generation emerged. Among them was Taufiq Ismail with his anthology of poems “Tirani dan Benteng” (Tyranny and Fortress).
Prior to the Reform Era emerging, a number of litterateurs emerged to fire up the people’s spirit to resist authoritarian practices, corruption, collusion and nepotism.
From time to time, aesthetically majestic words have been used as a weapon of struggle. Their meanings have been adapted to the source of general anxiety at that time. Even now, such works of literature still emerge despite the many challenges.
In Aceh, local man of letters Azhari Ayub said that few people were left to write tales. “The culture of literacy is no longer strong. It has been replaced in the onslaught of electronic media, especially television. Furthermore, you need special skills and deep insight to write tales,” he said.
In addition, traditional tales are no longer popular among local people. It is becoming harder and harder to find traditional storytellers, known as shahibul hikayat. Back in the golden age of traditional tales, many of these storytellers were spread all across Aceh. In the current conditions, the preservation of the positive values in these tales is being threatened.
Nowadays, as is evident on social media websites and in groups across the nation, words are used to spread lies and sow discord among people. It is a saddening phenomenon as once upon a time in this archipelago words were highly influential, as seen in the history of the nation’s struggles.
