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Heroine of Tanah Rencong Sea

[Historical Short Story by Fatchuri Rosidin]

The Aceh Darussalam Sultanate Military Academy is busy. The front square of the palace has been attended by thousands of Acehnese. They wanted to witness the big events of the day: the graduation from the Ma'had Baitul Maqdis Military Academy; Aceh Darussalam sultanate military education which is known to give birth to tough Acehnese fighters. On the stage, Sultan Alauddin Ri'ayat Syah al-Qohhar and royal officials were present. Behind him lined up Acehnese military officers, including several military instructors Ma'had Baitul Maqdis from Turkey who were sent by the Caliph Utsmaniyah at the request of the Sultan of Aceh Darussalam.

Among the graduates of the military academy who were neatly lined up in the middle of the field, there was a young woman who had also graduated. Her name is Keumalahayati. He is not an ordinary graduate, but was selected as the best graduate of the Ma'had Baitul Maqdis military academy. In the era of the Islamic Sultanate of the Archipelago, women received a respectable and active role in government and social activities before being limited by the Dutch during the colonial period.

Keumalahayati was born in 1550. He inherited the blood of warriors from his father and grandfather. His father, Admiral Mahmud Syah, died in battle against the Portuguese at the Portuguese Military Base La Formosa Malacca in 1575. His grandfather, Muhammad Said Syah, was also an admiral. His great grandfather himself was the founder of the Aceh Darussalam kingdom named Sultan Ibrahim Ali Mughoyat Syah.

Malahayati, as she is often called, entered the military world with her husband, Rear Admiral Ibrahim Zainal Abidin; Commander of Fleet V of the Aceh Darussalam Navy. In the battle against the Portuguese attack in Teluk Haru, Malahayati and her husband worked together to lead the Aceh maritime forces. The incident started when the Portuguese seized a Banten merchant ship in the middle of the sea. As the guardian of the sea area, Aceh cannot remain silent until fighting breaks out. Her husband died in the battle because he was hit by the Portuguese Cannon. Malahayati took command and was extraordinarily successful in defeating the Portuguese troops.

Sultan Mansyur Syah expressed his condolences and gave appreciation to Malahayati. Sultan of Banten Maulana Yusuf also sent a messenger to thank Malahayati. Two months later, Malahayati was appointed Deputy Commander of Fleet V.

“Your Majesty Sultan, more than a thousand Acehnese soldiers died as martyrs in the battle against the Portuguese. And now there are a thousand Acehnese women who are widows of martyrs. They asked for permission to become soldiers of Aceh and participate in defending the country if the enemy attacked, "Malahayati said in front of Sultan Mansyur Syah.

Sultan Mansyur Syah was stunned. The death of more than a thousand soldiers in the war to expel the Portuguese left grief, especially for their wives. But the widows of the martyrs did not dissolve in grief and mourn for their husbands. They just want to participate in fighting to protect their country.

After consulting and requesting a legal fatwa from the great scholar Syekh Syamsuddin as-Sumatrany who became Qadhi Malikul Adil of the Aceh sultanate, Sultan Mansyur Syah finally allowed Malahayati to form a female battalion in the Aceh Darussalam military structure named Inong Balee which consisted of widows from the Gulf war martyrs. Haru. From the number of a thousand people, Inong Balee continues to grow to double the number.

In 1581, Sultan Mansyur Syah assigned Malahayati to attack the Portuguese at La Formosa fortress. This was a historic battle because his father had died in the battle of La Formosa six years earlier. With a force of 10.000 troops, Malahayati managed to destroy the Portuguese warships. Although he had not succeeded in expelling the Portuguese from Malacca, Aceh's victory made Riau's waters safe from the Portuguese robbery of merchant ships. For his services, Sultan Mansyur Syah appointed Malahayati as Commander of Fleet V in 1582.

In 1585, there was a government coup carried out by Panglima Raja Buyung, son of the Governor of Indrapura who served as Commander of the Capital Garnizun. Sultan Mansyur Syah was killed. Malahayati, who refused to join the coup, was arrested and placed under house arrest.

In 1588 Malahayati managed to escape and then went to meet his troops at Fleet V Military Base in Jambo Air. His arrival was greeted happily by Armada V. Admiral Mahara Lela, who was appointed as Malahayati's replacement, and was captured. Malahayati also left for the capital to fight against the Commander of Raja Buyung with 24 warships.

Knowing that Malahayati's troops were moving to the capital, Armada III troops at the Biereun military base led by Rear Admiral Zaenal Abidin joined in. Likewise, the VII Fleet led by Admiral Husin in Ulele.

March 1588, the joint forces led by Malahayati surrounded the palace and gave an ultimatum to Panglima Raja Buyung who appointed himself sultan to surrender. Seeing Malahayati's strength, Panglima Raja Buyung gave up.

Malahayati then took power. As a military officer loyal to the constitution, Malahayati revived the Royal Assembly which was frozen by Panglima Raja Buyung. Malahayati asked the Royal Assembly to convene to elect a new sultan. The Royal Assembly appointed Prince Zainul Abidin to be sultan with the title Sultan Alauddin Ri'ayat Syah al-Mukammil. The Royal Assembly also appointed Pangeran Iskandar Muda, the son of the late Sultan Mansyur Syah who was killed in the coup, as the crown prince. The Sultan then appointed Malahayati to be Commander of the Aceh Navy with the rank of full Admiral. She is listed as the first female naval commander in the world.

In June 1588 Malahayati received news that the Portuguese were going to attack Ternate. The Portuguese attack on Ternate in 1575 failed miserably because of the fierce resistance of Sultan Baabullah. Apparently the death of Sultan Baabullah was used by the Portuguese to attack Ternate again. His successor, Sultan Saiduddin, is considered not as capable as his father.

As a fellow Islamic kingdom, Aceh did not remain silent. Malahayati sent a threatening letter to the Portuguese in Malacca. He would close the Malacca Strait to Portuguese merchant and military ships if the planned attack was not canceled. The threat was followed by the interception of all Portuguese ships passing through the Strait of Malacca. The Portuguese governor in Malacca still remembers very well who Malahayati was and how the strength of his naval fleet destroyed the Portuguese troops. The Portuguese attack plan was canceled.

One afternoon in June 1599, two ships with the flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands docked. The ship named de Leeuw & de Leeuwin contains 225 crew led by two brothers Cournelis de Houtman & Frederick de Houtman. Like other merchant ships, they would stop in Aceh for several weeks to carry out business transactions with Acehnese residents and other ships from Palembang, Java, Borneo, Gowa and Ternate carrying spices. With a strategic position in the maritime route of the Malacca Strait, the port of Aceh was indeed a meeting place for Arab, Indian and Chinese traders with Indonesian traders who were known to be rich in agricultural products, especially spices. Aceh itself is known as the best pepper producer in the world.

A few months in Aceh, the Dutch began to throw tantrums. Malahayati often received reports from the Aceh shahbandar about complaints from Nusantara traders about the attitude of the Dutch people who violated business ethics and the laws applied by the Aceh sultanate for foreign traders. The harbormaster as the holder of the port authority had repeatedly reprimanded him but was ignored by the Dutch.

"If they don't want to follow the laws in force in Aceh, they must leave Aceh," Malahayati replied to the harbormaster.

That day, September 11, 1599, Malahayati ordered several Acehnese Navy ships to escort the Dutch ships out of the port. There is no choice for the Dutch except to leave Aceh. But not far from the port of Aceh, Dutch ships suddenly attacked. There was close combat between Dutch ships and Acehnese military ships.

The Dutch have prepared the attack. Apart from complete weaponry, the Dutch ships were also equipped with cannons that were used to anticipate conflict situations like this. Their experiences of being often expelled from them in Banten, Madura and Bali made them fully armed. The expulsion was actually the result of their own harsh attitude and wanting to monopolize the trade where they had stayed.

Malahayati finally intervened. When his ship docked with the Dutch ship, Malahayati jumped onto the deck of the Dutch ship and came face to face with Cournelis de Houtman. Rencong in hand, Malahayati battled de Houtman, who was armed with a sword in a one-on-one duel. And on one occasion, Malahayati managed to stab her rencong into the opponent's heart. Cournelis de Houtman died covered in blood. The fighting stopped. Cournelis' younger brother, Frederick de Houtman, was arrested and jailed. The remaining Dutch troops who were not caught fled.

The Dutch finally sent their envoy, Prins Maurits, to apologize to Malahayati and ask him to release the prisoners. After the Dutch signed an agreement not to repeat their actions and pay compensation, Malahayati finally released Frederick de Houtman.

It turned out that the Dutch broke their promise. In 1600, the Dutch robbed the spice-filled Acehnese merchant ship. Admiral Malahayati responded by blocking Dutch ships crossing Aceh waters. In 1601, during a naval battle, Admiral Malahayati captured Admiral Jacob van Neck.

Finally the Dutch regretted their decision. Hostility to Aceh did not benefit them. Aceh has a strong navy that guards Aceh's waters from anyone who disturbs it. The name Malahayati was enough to make them think twice about disturbing Aceh. The Dutch finally sent their envoys back to apologize and ask for permission to cross the waters of Aceh so that their merchant ships could sail to the archipelago. Admiral Laurens Bicker and Gerard de Roy brought a letter of apology from the Dutch kingdom to the Aceh Sultanate and provided a compensation of 50.000 guilders as compensation.

The greatness of Aceh and the big name of Admiral Malahayati are increasingly known in Europe. The British Empire prefers diplomatic steps to enter the Strait of Malacca rather than dealing with Malahayati. Queen Elizabeth I sent James Lancester to negotiate with Aceh to be granted permission to cross the Malacca Strait for their merchant ships. For the success of these negotiations, James Lancester was awarded the Knighthood title by Queen Elizabeth I.

In 1604 there was an internal conflict in the Aceh government. Prince Mahmud Syah, son of the Sultan, got rid of his father and proclaimed himself sultan. This was done because according to the decision of the Royal Assembly in 1588, the next sultan's successor was Pangeran Iskandar Muda. Malahayati, who refused to support the coup, was arrested along with Pangeran Iskandar Muda and officials who were considered opposing. Malahayati managed to escape and chose to go to Pidie with Pangeran Iskandar Muda to avoid civil war.

The Portuguese took this opportunity. They visit Malahayati and offer to help us gain the royal throne.

"Go! The Aceh problem will be resolved by the Acehnese themselves. Other nations cannot interfere, ”Malahayati replied firmly.

The Portuguese didn't lose their mind. Seeing the divisions within the government, they decided to attack Aceh. In 1607, Portuguese war troops departed from Malacca to attack Aceh. The Portuguese thought Malahayati would not help Sultan Mahmud Syah.

Apparently, the Portuguese calculations missed. Malahayati is inflamed. In a sick condition, he took his armor and moved his loyal troops.

"We have to expel the Portuguese from Aceh. We will forget about the conflicts between us, ”said Malahayati to Pangeran Iskandar Muda.

Together with Pangeran Iskandar Muda, Malahayati and his troops immediately attacked the capital that was under Portuguese control. He gave command of the warship Kuta Alam. Malahayati managed to push the Portuguese and move the battle ashore. In a sick state, Malahayati led the battle from on a stretcher. After fighting for one week, the Portuguese surrendered. Sultan Mahmud Syah died, and the throne of the sultanate was given to Pangeran Iskandar Muda.

In 1607, Keumalahayati died. The body of this brave woman is buried in the foothills of Krueng Raya, Lamreh, Aceh Besar. His name is not only remembered by the people of Aceh, but also internationally as the guardian of world trade stability in his time. On November 6, 2017 the Indonesian Government awarded him the title of national hero. [Source: www.fatchuri.com] [DDHK News]

Fatchuri Rosidin is the Director of IMZ Consulting, a consultant and public speaker in the fields of motivation, human resource development, leadership, parenting, and community empowerment.

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