Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Achehnese - tr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan (1906).djvu/224

 though they believe in the truth of their preaching. Behind the ulamas there stands it is true a national party, but by no means the whole nation.

In this sense we can justly speak of the Dutch as having friends and enemies among the Achehnese. The friends are the great mass of those whose interests are largely identical with those of the invading power, while the enemies are unappeasable fanatics spurred on by the ulamas, whose power can alone be maintained by the continuance of disorder.

It would of course be folly to expect to find real friends among a people who in their traditions know the Dutch only as enemies, and who find in the present state of affairs no satisfactory reason for casting in their lot with them. It is certain however that a great and substantial portion of the people of Acheh would rejoice at the complete destruction of the party of the ulamas, which now holds in its hands the reins of power. And in such an event, these ulamas would in accordance with the teaching of their own sacred books be obliged to meet their fate with resignation, hard though it might be.

Indirectly this state of things is rather well illustrated by a heroic poem now very popular in Acheh, celebrating the chief events of the war against the Dutch. We shall describe it at length in our chapter on literature.

The poet is a full-blooded Achehnese. He sang of the war with the Gōmpeuni to enliven the evenings and nights of the inhabitants of the gampōngs by chanting his epic for a fair recompense. It is of course not free from abuse of the Dutch; mockery and insult of every kind are heaped upon them, while the heroic deeds of the Achehnese are extolled beyond measure.

What is most striking is the fairly objective tone pervading the poem, which is fashioned according to the more ancient models. The animation at the capital after the expeditions of the Dutch troops through the XXII Mukims and the influx of Achehnese eager for a share of the profits are described almost as sympathetically as the deeds of the heroes and martyrs of Acheh. There is decided humour in the description of a great kanduri (religious feast) given by Teungku Tirò, where the assembled guests were chased away by the bullets of the Dutch soldiers at the very moment when the preparations for the repast were completed. The fanatical elements in the poem may be fairly attributed to the force of custom. Those who take pleasure. in