Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Achehnese - tr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan (1906).djvu/184

 described in the document as amī ōbha (amīr ul-bahr) i. e. chief of the sea, and entrusted with the collection of the sultan's coast dues, but that this absolutely excluded the highest authority on land.

He also both in word and deed yielded to the Sultan only as much as he chose, and looked on his sealed letters of appointment as a mere ornament that might at times give an official flavour to his pretensions.

Still less did other chiefs concern themselves about Keumala. Indeed the ulèëbalangs in the sultan's immediate neighbourhood used sometimes to wage war against him, compelling him to have recourse to the help of others, since he himself has no troops, but only a handful of personal followers at his disposal. Keumala, the seat of the sultanate, had to be subdued by force in the first instance by the royal family.

Apart from this, the members of the royal family, though comparatively few in number, are far from living in harmony with one another, in spite of the critical position of the country. Although the ties of blood relationship are strengthened by marriage alliances (for example the Sultan has wedded a daughter of Tuanku Abdōmajét), the family of Kuala Batèë is on bad terms with the court. One might be disposed to attribute this fact to the submission of that family to the Gōmpeuni, but when we perceive that Tuanku Asém (Hashim) and his former ward are on terms of mutual distrust, we are forced to the conclusion that even if there were no Gōmpeuni in the question, unpleasant relations would still have arisen with this other branch of the reigning house.

Tuanku Asém, [died January 1897 at Padang Tiji in the Mukims VII] according to all who know him is an exception to the majority of the men of royal blood in Acheh. He speaks Malay and a little Arabic, understands something of English, and can discuss the religious books or kitabs as well as the traditions of his country. This last must however be taken cum grano salis, as Achehnese ears can be charmed with the purest nonsense or such topics. He is capable of fixing his attention on a single subject for a considerable time, is a strict observer of his chief religious duties, plays chess, and exhibits in all his utterances