Indonesia has a female hero who comes from Aceh. The hero’s name is Cut Nyak Dien. Cut Nyak Dien was a great Indonesian female figure who never gave up in fighting against the colonialists. Cut Nyak Dien was later nicknamed the “Queen of Aceh” because of her strong determination in fighting Dutch colonialism in Aceh, Indonesia. Throughout his life, Cut Nyak Dien continued to fight and resist with the aim of achieving the nation’s ideals, namely freedom from colonial power.
In this article, Mudalovers will find out about the birth of Cut Nyak Dien and her marriage to Teuku Ibrahim, Cut Nyak Dien and the outbreak of the Aceh War, Cut Nyak Dien with Teuku Umar, Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar’s strategy to defeat the Dutch, Cut Nyak Dien fought until exile, end of Cut Nyak Dien’s life, Cut Nyak Dien’s grave, interesting facts about Cut Nyak Dien, and book recommendations about Cut Nyak Dien.
The birth of Cut Nya Dien and her marriage to Teuku Ibrahim
Cut Nyak Dien is a descendant of Acehnese nobility. He was born in 1848 in Lam Padang Peukan Bada village, VI Mukim region, Aceh Besar. As a child, Cut Nyak Dien was known as a beautiful girl. This beauty is even more complete with Cut Nyak Dien’s intelligence in the field of religious education.
In 1863, when Cut Nyak Dien was 12 years old, she was betrothed to Teuku Ibrahim Lamnga, the son of Teuku Po Amat, Uleebalang Lam Nga XIII. Her husband is a young man with broad insight and is religious. Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar are married and have a son.
Aceh’s historical history records that Teuku Ibrahim fought against Dutch colonialism. Teuku Ibrahim often left Cut Nyak Dien and his children because they were carrying out the noble task of fighting against Dutch colonialism. Months after leaving Lam Padang, Teuku Ibrahim came back to order to evacuate and seek refuge in a safe place. At the request of her husband, Cut Nyak Dien and other residents then left the Lam Padang area on December 29 1875.
Sad news befell Cut Nyak Dien, on June 29 1878, Teuku Ibrahim died. The death of her husband made Cut Nyak Dien worse. However, this incident did not make him despair, on the contrary, it became a strong reason for Cut Nyak Dien to continue the struggle of her husband who had died.
Cut Nyak Dien and the Eruption of the Aceh War
On March 26, 1873, the Dutch started war with Aceh. The Dutch, via the Citadel van Antwerpen fleet , began firing cannons at mainland Aceh. Furthermore, on April 8 1873, the Dutch under the leadership of Johan Harmen Rudolf Köhler managed to land on Ceureumen Beach and immediately controlled and burned the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Aceh.
What the Dutch did then triggered the Aceh war led by Panglima Polim and Sultan Mahmud Syah against around 3,198 Dutch soldiers. However, the Sultanate of Aceh was able to win the first war against the Dutch when Köhler was shot to death.
In 1874-1880, under the leadership of General Jan van Swieten, the VI Mukim region was successfully occupied by the Dutch as well as the Sultan’s Palace which finally had to recognize the great power of the Dutch colonial era.
This incident forced Cut Nyak Dien and her baby to flee with residents and other groups on December 24 1875. However, Teuku Ibrahim remained determined to reclaim the VI Mukim area. Unfortunately, when Teuku Ibrahim fought at Gle Tarum, he died on June 29 1878. This finally made Cut Nyak Dien very angry and vowed to destroy the Netherlands.
Cut Nya Dien with Teuku Umar
After Teuku Ibrahim’s death, Cut Nyak Dien remarried Teuku Umar, an Acehnese warrior figure. Not only were they tied together by marriage, but the two of them united to fight the invaders. The marriage between Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar is an interesting story.
Cut Nyak Dien reasoned that he wanted to fight together with the man who allowed him to go to war to fight the Dutch colonialists, not just wanting to be the head of the household. Initially Cut Nyak Dien refused, because Teuku Umar allowed Cut Nyak Dien to fight the invaders, finally Cut Nyak Dien accepted Teuku Umar’s proposal and they married in 1880.
With the union of Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar, the morale and enthusiasm of the Acehnese fighters was even stronger. As if not wanting to waste the opportunity, Teuku Umar tried to approach the Dutch and strengthen his relationship with the Dutch people. On September 30 1893, Teuku Umar and his troops, numbering around 250 people, went to Kutaraja and surrendered to the Dutch colonial authorities.
Teuku Umar’s strategy finally succeeded in tricking the Dutch so that they gave Teuku Umar the title Teuku Umar Johan Pahlawan and made Teuku Umar the commander of the Dutch troop unit who had full power.
Cut Nyak Dien together with Teuku Umar strengthened the ranks of the fighters to again expel the Dutch from Aceh. Both of them fought with a burning fighting spirit. One of the successes they have achieved is reclaiming Cut Nyak Dien’s hometown from the Dutch colonialists. Apart from that, Teuku Umar also pretended to submit to the Dutch in order to get supplies of weapons which they then used to attack the invaders again.
Read Also : Biography of Prabowo Subianto: Career in the Military to Becoming Minister of Defense
Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar’s Strategy to Defeat the Dutch
In order to smooth out the strategy to defeat the Dutch, Teuku Umar was willing to be considered a traitor by the Acehnese. Cut Nyak Meutia was no exception, who came to meet and scold Cut Nyak Dien. Even so, Cut Nyak Dien still tried to advise Teuku Umar to refocus on fighting and defeating the Dutch.
When Teuku Umar’s power and influence were quite large, Teuku Umar took advantage of that moment to gather Acehnese people in his army. When the number of Acehnese under Teuku Umar’s command was sufficient, Teuku Umar carried out a fake plan to the Dutch and claimed that he wanted to attack the Acehnese base.
After that, Teuku Umar and Cut Nyak Dien left with all the Dutch troops and heavy equipment, weapons and ammunition. However, they never returned to Dutch headquarters. The betrayal strategy carried out by Teuku Umar was called Het verraad van Teukoe Oemar (Teuku Umar’s betrayal).
Teuku Umar’s neat strategy to betray the Dutch made the Dutch angry and they launched a large-scale operation to arrest Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar. However, the Acehnese guerrillas were now equipped with equipment from the Netherlands and were sufficient to fight the Dutch.
When General Van Swieten was replaced, the person who replaced him, General Jakobus Ludovicus Hubertus Pel, was quickly killed by the Acehnese guerrillas, ultimately leaving the Dutch colonial troops in a very difficult and chaotic condition.
Cut Nyak Dien Struggled Until Exiled
As time passed, Teuku Umar died on the battlefield in Meulaboh. Cut Nyak Dien’s second husband died because the intentions of his attack were known by the Dutch troops from the start.
Even though the people he loved had left him, Cut Nyak Dien still continued his battle for six years. He guerrillas from one region to another. During that time, he, along with other people and fighters, was faced with life’s difficulties: suffering, running out of food, money and weapons supplies.
Cut Nyak Dien, with his aging physical condition, continued to try to escape from the Dutch attacks. Although Cut Nyak Dien and his fighting troops began to weaken due to threat after threat coming from the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the commander of his troops, Pang Laot, betrayed him. The traitor and other Dutch troops then looked for Cut Nyak Dien’s whereabouts. They managed to find Cut Nyak Dien’s hiding place and then took Cut Nyak Dien to Kutaradja.
Pang Laot asked the Dutch to ensure that Cut Nyak Dien was treated well by the Dutch. The Dutch governor in Kutaradja, Van Daalen, did not like this so Cut Nyak Dien was exiled to the island of Java, specifically Sumedang, West Java, in 1907.
A year into his exile, Cut Nyak Dien ended his life’s struggle. Cut Nyak Dien is one of the Indonesian women whose courage is an example. Since 2 May 1964, Cut Nyak Dien was awarded as an Indonesian national hero through Presidential Decree No. 106 of 1964 on 2 May 1964. Cut Nyak Dien was an Acehnese woman who never gave up in her struggle, she continued to fight until the end of her life.
Read Also : Biography of Ganjar Pranowo: Profile, Biodata and Career Journey
End of Life Cut Nyak Dien
Pang Laot, a bodyguard for Cut Nyak Dien, reported the location of Cut Nyak Dien’s headquarters to the Dutch. This made the Dutch attack Cut Nyak Dien’s headquarters in Beutong Le Sageu. Cut Nyak Dien’s troops were shocked and fought desperately, until finally Cut Nyak Dien was captured and taken to Banda Aceh.
After being captured by the Dutch, Cut Nyak Dien was taken and treated in Banda Aceh. His nearsightedness and gout gradually healed. However, unfortunately Cut Nyak Dien was thrown into the land of Sumedang, West Java.
Cut Nyak Dien was taken to Sumedang, West Java, along with other Acehnese political prisoners and attracted the attention of one person, namely the regent of Suriaatmaja. Other male prisoners also expressed their concern for Cut Nyak Dien, but Dutch soldiers were prohibited from revealing the prisoners’ identities.
Cut Nyak Dien was detained with a cleric named Ilyas and the cleric immediately realized that Cut Nyak Dien was an expert in the Islamic religion. This made Cut Nyak Dien nicknamed “Mother Perbu”.
Cut Nyak Dien’s grave
Cut Nyak Dien died on November 6 1908 due to his old age and frequent illness. After that, Cut Nyak Dien was buried in his exile area in Sumedang. Cut Nyak Dien’s grave itself was only discovered in 1959, this was also due to the request of Ali Hasan, the Governor of Aceh at that time.
President Soekarno through Presidential Decree of the Republic of Indonesia Number 106 of 1964 designated Cut Nyak Dien as a National Hero on May 2 1962. Meanwhile, Cut Nyak Dien’s house in Aceh was rebuilt by the local government as a symbol of his struggle in Tanah Rencong. Until now, the story of Cut Nyak Dien’s struggle is still often discussed and studied as part of history in schools and general knowledge.
Read Also : Biography of the Founder of the Kutai Kingdom: History, Glory and Legacy
Interesting Facts About Cut Nyak Dien
There are several interesting facts about Cut Nya Dien, including:
- Cut Nyak Dien is a descendant of a great nobleman who fought alongside the people
- Married at a young age, namely 12 years
- Joined in the struggle against the invaders with her husband
- Married a second time and continued to fight against the Dutch
- Cut Nyak Dien continued to struggle throughout his life
So, that’s the article about Cut Nya Dien’s biography. Hopefully it’s useful for Mudalovers, OK?