Abstract
The so-called narratives of war refer to hikayat literature composed especially during the Dutch occupation of Aceh in 19th century and early 20th century; they relate mostly battles and exploits of the Acehnese heroes and fighters against the Dutch incursion, beginning in 1873. Since war fought against the Dutch was considered as a jihad war, these hikayats then came to be known as the Hikayat Prang Sabi (or the story of the war in the path of God) or Hikayat Prang Kaphe (or war against the infidels). Besides their cultural and historical significance, these hikayats are also reliable documents to understand the Acehnese perception of the jihad war or the prang kaphe . This essay then is an attempt to study these hikayats as sources in reading the Acehnese perception of jihad . To facilitate analysis, three war hikayats viz. the Hikayat Prang Sabi , Hikayat Prang Cut Ali and Hikayat Prang Rundeng will be chosen as focus of critical study. From the analysis the essay comes to an interesting conclusion: that contrary to popular belief, the jihad war did not have a similar grip on every Acehnese; apparently there were varied responds and emotions towards the war which influence Acehnese perception towards the whole ideology of jihad. Keywords: narrative of war, Hikayat Prang Kaphe , Acehness perception, jihad
Highlights
INTRODUCTIONThe narratives of war or more populary known among the Acehnese as the hikayat prang (Ibrahim Alfian, 1983), refer to works of literature (rendered in the Acehnese verse form called sanjak , re: Noriah Taslim, 2010) composed especially during the period of Dutch occupation in Aceh during 19th and early 20th century
The narratives of war or more populary known among the Acehnese as the hikayat prang (Ibrahim Alfian, 1983), refer to works of literature composed especially during the period of Dutch occupation in Aceh during 19th and early 20th century
Since war fought against the Dutch was considered as a jihad war, these hikayats came to be known as the Hikayat Prang Sabi or the prang kaphe
Summary
The narratives of war or more populary known among the Acehnese as the hikayat prang (Ibrahim Alfian, 1983), refer to works of literature (rendered in the Acehnese verse form called sanjak , re: Noriah Taslim, 2010) composed especially during the period of Dutch occupation in Aceh during 19th and early 20th century. In Aceh, the earliest display of the spirit of jihad was probably seen during the reign of Iskandar Muda (1607-1636), the Acehnese monarch who went down in history as the most aggressive Islamic conqueror/propagator of Islam in the area. His prowess against the Portuguese (in Melaka) based on his grand ideology of prang kaphe, was well celebrated in the famous epic Hikayat Meukuta Alam. The jihad spirit once again manifested itself, perhaps more widespread and intense during the period and after the Dutch invasion of Aceh in 1873 They were numerous reports of clashes between the Acehnese and the Dutch throughout the Dutch era (probably until early 20th Century). As proven later on these hikayats, in all respects, accomplish these objectives
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