Part of the standard equipment for an Aceh warrior was the shield. Two basic types existed the Peurise Awe and the Peurise Teumaga.
The Peurise Awe was a round shield made of rattan and decorated with brass stars. The number of stars on the rattan shield are most often either 5 or 7.
Peurise awe with 7 stars
J. Klein Nagelvoort, Researcher and Author of the book “Toean Stammeshaus” gives some insight with his research on Aceh weapons. According to Stammeshaus the 7 stars are meant for military leaders or in the Aceh language Panglima’s and the version with 5 stars for regular warriors. If this is true is unkown but the 7 star version seems at least as frequent as the 5 star versions.
In place of the stars it could also be adorned with round pieces of brass with a starlike form within the circle and only a regular star in the middle.
Photo from internet – collection of the Dutch Military Academy – note the shield with round pieces of copper.
Shield of the same style as in the picture above.
Many small variations existed like pointed stars for example.
Aceh warrior with Blunderbuss and shield (peurisse awe) with pointed stars. Photo from internet.
Similar shield with pointed stars.
Detail of the photo above.
For use in war the shields were often covered inside and outside with either dark cloth or red cloth. Many nails were then added to keep the cloth in place.
Photo from internet/Facebook – it seems to be a group of noblemen from Aceh based on the attire.
Shield covered in dark cloth and with many “nails” as discussed above.
The Peurise Teumaga is a brass shield also adorned with either stars or more often round pieces of brass. These shields are very plain and simple but effective. They generally have a rim that is pointed outwards. The enitre shield is made of hammered massive brass and will have concentric circles engraved.
Front and back of a Peurise Teumaga with the original cushion and handles.
Again J. Klein Nagelvoort, Researcher and Author of the book “Toean Stammeshaus” mentions that according to Stammeshaus and his research the brass shields were only used only by the direct followers of the Sultan of Aceh. These are always small in size, around 30cm and relatively rare!
This would mean the brass shield are relatively old, so from the 19th century, practically from before 1874 where the rattan versions were still in use in the early 20th century.
Photo from the Toean Stammeshaus exhibition and book by J. Klein Nagelvoort. Photo found on: https://www.stoopmanvos.nl/portfolio-item/toean-stammeshaus/
Heavy brass shield, Peurise Teumaga, of the same type as top left in the Stammeshaus picture.
Peurise Teumaga, compare with the top right shield in the large photo above which is very similar.
An excerpt from the writings of Stammeshaus describing two shields from the large group picture above.
The often seen cast brass shields or other types with many decorations are not Aceh shields as they are often described as. These come from the more Southern parts of Sumatra (Minang Kabau) and are not meant for war at all, they can be considered tourist pieces from the first half of the 20th century! These are also often called dancing shields for performances. As the are cast they break quite easily and many examples have parts broken off. You will never see a picture a Aceh warriors with this type of shield!
Minang Kabau, cast brass shield. This type of shield is not from Aceh and not meant for actual fighting. These are basically tourist pieces. Picture from internet.
Another variation are wooden shields. Although wooden shields did exist most examples seen today are tourist pieces and totally unfit for actual use in combat. I have not an original example in my collection.
There are many more variations and also sizes can be very different. Kreemer writes that shields in the Gajo area are generally larger e.g. ( J. Kreemer, Atjéh, 1922).
KNIL militairen verzamelden vaak de lokale etnografica om een beter beeld te krijgen van de bevolking en de plaatselijke gebruiken beter te begrijpen. Zo komt er een grote diversiteit aan materiaal uit het voormalige Nederlands Indië in Nederlandse musea en in particuliere verzamelingen. De regio Atjeh in Noord Sumatra was een groot deel van de koloniale tijd in oorlog met de Nederlandse koloniale bezetters dus er was een constante aanwezigheid van KNIL militairen in deze regio. Daarom zijn er uit deze specifieke regio ook veel wapens en andere etnografica in collecties.
De sirihbuidel zoals deze gedragen werd. In dit geval met een bos schijnsleutels als tegengewicht. Fotofragment collectie Tropenmuseum.
Een heel specifiek gebruik in Noord Sumatra was de sirihbuidel die door Atjehse mannen gedragen werd. Hierin werden de toebehoren bewaard die nodig waren voor het gebruik van de Sirih, die gepruimd werd. Het was ook een optie om status (sociaal en financieel) aan te duiden.
Typische geruite Sirihdoek met schijnsleutels en Gayo zilveren/suassa sierpunt!
Het boek van J. Kreemer, Atjéh uit 1922 (deel I) geeft een goede beschrijving van deze buidel en haar gebruik:
Een fragment van Plaat VIII uit het boek met 2 voorbeelden van een sirihdoek
In mijn verzameling bevind zich een fraaie selectie varianten van de deze instrumentensetjes. Zonder context zullen weinig mensen herkennen waar het hier om gaat waardoor ze ook moeilijk te vinden zijn en relatief zeldzaam. Instrumenten als oorsmeerlepels, neushaarpincetten en tandenstokers maar ook voor mij onbekende attributen.
Een drietal sirihsetjes komen uit de nalatenschap van KNIL majoor Picard.
Typische Atjeh set waarbij de twee neushaar pincetten voorzien zijn van blauw emaille. Daarnaast een zilveren sirih doosje en aan één punt een typische hanger (sierpunt) die vaak aan alle punten van de sirihdoek bestonden.
Deze set lijkt wat zuidelijker van Atjeh te zijn, mogelijk zelfs Minang maar komt ook uit de Picard nalatenschap.
Set met een sirih en kalkdoosje in zilver met kleine lepeltjes als toebehoren.
Daarnaast zijn er nog een aantal losse setjes zonder provenance maar is de kans natuurlijk groot dat ook deze door KNIL militairen naar Nederland gebracht zijn.
De setjes zijn allen van zilverkleurig materiaal waarbij sommige setjes echt zilver lijken te zijn en sommige van een soort alpaca achtig materiaal. Varianten met emaille zijn extra zeldzaam en ook daarvan zijn er enkele varianten in mijn collectie.
Twee soortgelijke setje waarbij ook groen en blauw emaille gebruikt is. Dit zijn typische Atjehse sets uit de 19e eeuw tot heel vroege 20e eeuw.
Nog een typische Atjeh set, wat groter en grover en zonder emaille.
Een wat fijner setje in zilver met daarin twee instrumenten die in de andere sets niet voorkomen
Groep Atjehse mannen met meerdere sirihdoeken. Foto KITLV
Binnen mijn verzamelingen is dapperheid een thema en Indië een ander thema, vaak ook in combinatie met elkaar. De verdediging van het toenmalige Nederlands Indië tegen de Japanse aanval en ook de verzetsdaden daarna hebben grote daden van dapperheid laten zien. Enkele daarvan zijn opgetekend en daarbinnen zijn een klein aantal beloond met (militaire) onderscheidingen. Na de val van Indië konden enkelen ontsnappen naar Australië en vanaf daar de oorlog voortzetten maar de meesten, zowel militair als civiel kwamen in de Japanse kampen terecht waarvan de verschrikkingen bekend zijn.
Een verloren oorlog, gevolgd door Japanse kampen. Daarna een bevrijding en voor velen korte tijd later weer een oorlog, de Indonesische onafhankelijkheidsoorlog. Deze resulteerde in het verlies van de kolonie en voor een deel van de betrokkenen een tocht naar Nederland. Voor sommigen een terugkeer maar voor velen een eerste kennismaking met dit land. De aandacht en interesse voor de oorlog in het verre Indië was beperkt zeker na de overdracht van de kolonie aan de Indonesiërs en de focus op de opbouw van Nederland dat ook zwaar geraakt was door de oorlog in Europa.
Die aandacht is daarna eigenlijk nooit echter verder ontwikkeld en in mijn blogs probeer ik toch deze vergeten helden een plek te geven en aan die vergetelheid te onttrekken. Helden in militair opzicht maar vaak ook in menselijk opzicht door de betrokkenheid bij het redden van mensen onder zeer zware en gevaarlijke omstandigheden.
Hier een kort overzicht van de verhalen op deze site met betrekking tot de Japanse aanval tegen Nederlands Indië en de daarvoor beloonde helden.
Adriaan Zijlmans die als KNIL Marechaussee officier rond de 3000 vrouwen en kinderen (burgers en familie van KNIL militairen) in veiligheid bracht vanuit Atjeh naar midden Sumatra en voor een Militaire Willemsorde verleend kreeg.
Een Bronzen Leeuw werd postuum verleend aan sergeant Van der Veen van de KNIL Infanterie die na de capitulatie doorging met de guerrilla tegen de Japanse bezetters en dit na gevangenname met de dood moest bekopen.
Een Bronzen Leeuw voor luitenant Samson als vlieger van de ML KNIL (Militaire Luchtvaart) oorlogsvluchten uitvoerde onder zware en gevaarlijke omstandigheden.
Het Vliegerkruis postuum toegekend aan luitenant Harkema van de Marine Luchtvaart Dienst (MLD) direct betrokken bij het redden van opvarenden van de Van Nes en de Sloet van Beele.
Een Bronzen Kruis voor de landstormsoldaat KNILTuinenburg die uit een gevangenkamp in Thailand wist te ontsnappen, zich bij het lokale verzet aansloot en zich na de Japanse capitulatie weer bij het kamp meldde!
Een Bronzen Kruis voor Marine kwartiermeester Staal voor zijn onverschrokken handelen aan boord van de Hr Ms Tromp gedurende de Japanse aanval.
Dat hun levens, opoffering en dappere daden herinnerd mogen worden!
Most etnographical items in Dutch collections do not have a historical background story, provenance. These stories are often lost over time so that is an extra reason for writing down these blogs.
These items were collected during the career of Major A. Picard of the Dutch East Indies Army. He was born in 1850, between the early 1870s and 1898, his pension date, he rose throught the ranks to the status of Major. After his pension he returned to the Netherlands and passed away in 1905. For one of his actions he received an Honorable Mention (Mention is Despatches) which was the 2nd highest acknowledgement for gallantry after the Military Order of William. He spent his entire career in Norhtern Sumatra (Atjeh region during the long lasting wars there).
The collecting of etnographical items was popular amongst officers and even promoted by higher ranking officers. Looting was not accepted (which does not mean it did not happen) but collecting/buying was seen as an investment in a better understanding of the local population as was the learning of the local language.
His complete collection was handed down in the family several times until the last family member deceased in the early 2000s. An antiques dealer bought the entire contents of the house and sold them off.
Photo of how the items were found by the antiques dealer.
A friend was able to buy the medals and paperwork and I bought several etnographical items. You can match them with the photo above!
Despite the handkerchiefs these are all items for Atjehnese men, for tobacco, sirih and chalk or toiletries (tool sets with items like ear wax spoons, nose hair clippers and tooth picks) for the men of that region.
Next to the very distinctive Sikin and Rencong from Aceh there is another weapon that is directly linked to Aceh but only for those of noble status and in the status variation (so with gold and diamonds) only for those closely connected to the Sultan of Aceh.
Longer weapons of all kinds were named pedang in Indonesia. On Sumatra in the Aceh region the local name was Peudeuëng which was used only for an extra long type of sabre in the Indian Tulwar style.
The noble (status) variation has a few very distinctive differences, The steel handle has a woven (teurhat) silver cover (kabat). The style of weaving can help determine the age but they are basically all 19th century or earlier. The top of the handle has a gold cover (crown) which in this case has also rough diamonds (inten) and enamel work as often seen on status rencong and sikins.
One of the most famous versions of this weapon is the version of Teukeu Umar that is currently in the Bronbeek collection. That version also has a golden cover of the entire handle which signifies an even higher status!
Photo of Teukeu Umar and his followers with behind him a status Peudeung and many other notable status weapons (photo from the collection of the Tropenmuseum, taken from Wikipedia).
The blades are often longer than 80cms (total length around 100 cms) and always flexible in a high quality damascus steel. Probably most often if not always the blades are imported.
High quality, flexible blade with multiple grooves making it lighter and stronger!
This example came from the collection of Karsten Sjer Jensen (writer of the famous Krisdisk). If the number 8 which can be seen both on the handle and the sheath was put there by him is unknown.
Number 8 on handle and sheath
The entire quality of blade, handle and goldwork make these weapons very rare and collectable today!
See also my blogs about rencong and sirih, also Aceh historical items!
Sources: Catalogus Museum Bronbeek, Het verhaal van Indie, deel 1
In this blog I want to show some detailed photo’s of the quality of workmanship in these status weapons! Remember the golden crowns are rare, maybe only 1 in a 100 examples have these….
Aceh rencong with golden crowns
An overview of 4 rencong, probably all 19th century pieces with the original sheaths on three of them. Short description from left to right and top to bottom:
Handle is made of “white” buffalo horn as opposed to the more common dark horn. Enamel of the crowns is of very high quality.
Handle made of Akar Bahar, root of the sea, which is very brittle and probably the rarest handle material. The back part therefore also of gold with a diamond (inten) on top. A very high status item.
Handle of dark horn and smooth as opposed to the first and last handle. Top of the metal also has very nice gold inlays.
Dark buffalo handle and the biggest size rencong of these four with some old battle damage and likely the oldest of these.
Note that the bottom two crowns have a very high quality of enamel and the top two ones hardly have any enamel.
Gayo status rencong with silver and (marine) ivory
In the Gayo region the use of silver was more common on status pieces. Also the use of marine ivory (dandan) was quite common. Also the first metal part often has an overlay in copper or suassa.
The first has an unusual size, the longest of all seven rencong in this blog. Also the combination of ivory, silver crowns and suassa overlay is remarkable. Probably of ritual meaning or very high status.
The second is a more standard Gayo status rencong with brass overlay and only ivory on the handle. Both have the typical blood groove that is more or less standard on Gayo made pieces.
The third seems to be a Aceh made piece for the Gayo region. The use of a full silver handle with suassa details and the sheath hint at Gayo use but the quality of workmanship hint at Aceh. An interesting cross cultural rencong.
Input and help in determining age and details of these rencong is more than welcome, please contact me with additional info!
See also my blogs about a peudeung and sirih, also Aceh historical items!
As a collector you sometimes get to be the custodian of a special and rare piece of history. Years ago I was able to acquire a post 1940 Knights Diploma for a Military Order of William 4th class. As the decoration itself is not named the paperwork is the most historically important part of the award to me as a researcher.
The Military Order of William is the highest Dutch award for bravery and has been awarded only 196 times since 1940 of which 55 awards were posthumous and 9 to units. Currently there are 4 living awardees, one from world war 2 and three recent awardees for actions in Afghanistan with our Special Forces (one of them a Helicopter Pilot for these forces). Most of these awards are for bravery in direct actions against the enemy but this is a very different story and therefore even more special, it is the story of saving 3000 civilians, mainly women and children from harm’s way….
This is the citation of Adriaan Zijlman’s Miltary Order of William 4th class as seen on his Knights Diploma:
Translated:
Has distinguished himself in action by the perpetration of excellent deeds of bravery, good conduct and loyalty with his activities, under very difficult circumstances, as commander of a detachment of the 2nd Marechaussee division in February and March 1942 om the West Coast of Atjeh.
For the realisation of his assignment to evacuate ± 3000 women and children, mainly of local military forces on the west coast of Atjeh, he has taken the necessary actions in a discreet and dauntless way, also successfully facing several attacks by gangs of Acehnese and on March 19th 1942 breaking up a large gang of Acehnese in the surrounding of Tapa Toean. Until the surrender to the Japanese he has protected these women and children in an effective way against harm from Acehnese gangs.
It is a forgotten history that I hope to revive here with some context. Adriaan Zijlmans was born in the Dutch East Indies in 1914 in a place called Sigli which is in the North of the island of Sumatra. This region was called Atjeh then and currently it is known as Aceh. During the Dutch colonization of the East Indies this region never stopped the fight against the Dutch rule which was viewed by them as a religious duty as much as patriotic.
The war in Aceh started in 1873 for the Dutch and it never really ended until they left the region in 1950. The period between 1910 and 1942 was relatively peaceful considering the earlier wars. This changed in the early 1940s. The Japanese expansionism was seen as a sign of the dwindling might of the western colonizers and the rise of Asian strength. This revived the will to fight again in the Aceh region. The waiting in Atjeh was for an action of Japan against the colonies to start the uprising (again).
The fighting in the Atjeh region was so intense that an elite unit was developed: the Marechaussee (on foot). This unit was started in 1890 as an active counter guerilla unit against the local guerilla units. They moved on foot, were self-supporting and could go on patrols lasting several weeks and even up to months. From the beginning they were a mixed unit with both Asian and Western and even African soldiers with officers mainly being Dutch or of mixed Asian / Dutch descend (which were also considered Dutch in the army). Only the best infantry officers and men were selected for the unit. Especially in the 1920s and 1930s a placement there was seen as a good career move for officers and as a sign of being an extraordinary good field officer.
Adriaan Zijlmans was a Marechaussee officer in 1942 during the Japanese invasion. His father had already been an instructor in this unit so it was an honor to be in that unit as well, especially as an officer of mixed descend. In 1935 he had become an officer and was promoted to lieutenant 1st class in 1938. In 1942 he was the commander of the Marechaussee detachment in Koeala Bhee on the west coast of Atjeh. On December 8th war was declared against the Japanese. Many units already had been moved from Sumatra to Java for the defense of this main island of the colony. The amount of soldiers that was left on Sumatra was minimal, not even enough to withstand the now expected local uprising. And on February 23rd of 1942 that uprising started with the killing of a government official. This was shortly after the fall of Malaya. Java the colonies main island and primary target fell on March 8th 1942 opening the way for the Japanese to come to Sumatra which had not been attacked yet.
Publication about Zijlmans action from probably 1963, source unknown
Safety for the 3000 women and children and other civilians part of the local war plan. These civilians were mainly the women and children of the military forces and they were seen as an easy target by the local guerilla with a lot of emotional impact on the forces. Therefore, after the start of the uprising, all the civilians had already been gathered on the west coast of Atjeh to protect them with military force. With the start of the invasion of the Japanese on Sumatra is was necessary to assess the situation again as the forces were now needed against the Japanese as well. The assessment was done during an officers war council on March 15th 1942. The following goals were defined for the remaining armed forces in the Atjeh region:
To engage the Japanese forces directly and actively as long as possible.
To transport all civilians south, outside of the Atjeh region as their safety could no longer be guaranteed by the available forces.
To cover for this retreat by continuous defensive fighting against the Japanese forces.
After the civilians are outside of the Atjeh region to transport them further to relative safety from war actions to a corporation in Groot Singkel in mid Sumatra.
Start a Guerrilla against the Japanese to harm their actions with the limited forces still available after the previous goals have been reached.
The start of a long and dangerous transport to safety for the civilians. Zijlmans received the responsibility for goals 2 and 4. A total of 15 lorries and multiple cars were available to transport the total of 3000 civilians 600 km to the south. One trip took up to 48 hours and the vehicles took app 400 people in one trip. It turned out to be very long, difficult and also dangerous trips. Several times a trip was hindered and stopped by attacks of local guerilla’s as described in the citation. All these were countered without any casualties to the civilians. During the time it took to complete all trips the Acehnese became more and more hostile towards the outsiders and they became more dangerous for the passengers and their military hosts. Several of the attackers were killed in the process. At the end all civilians were delivered safely to their destination and saw the end of the hostilities against the Japanese there.
Zijlmans became a prisoner of war of the Japanese. On March 23rd all Dutch troops formally surrendered. A small group of men continued with a guerilla but most of them were captured or killed in the year following. As part of his assignment to protect the civilians he also had to surrender himself to the Japanese.
After his liberation in 1945 the continued to serve in the army receiving the Military Order of William on May 18th 1948. The Marechaussee were not reinstalled after the war so this was their last official action with Zijlmans becoming the last Marechaussee to receive this decoration and also the last citation with Atjeh as location which had been one of the most common locations in the last half of the 19th century.
After his return to the Netherlands in 1950 he continued to serve and rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1958 and got his honorable discharge in 1963. Until he passed away in 1992 he lived in Wassenaar. After his wife also passed away the Diploma came in my custody.
In 1948 he wrote an article about the impact of sleep deprevation on troops. That was before he received the award but is based on the same action. That period and the road trips were so intense and with so much stress and actual fighting that soldiers hardly slept and even started hallucinating in the process of saving the civilians.
Photos of the award ceremony by General Spoor in 1948
