Biography of Cut Nyak Dien – Indonesia has a female hero who comes from Aceh. The hero is named Cut Nyak Dien. Cut Nyak Dien is a great Indonesian female figure who never gives up in fighting against the invaders. Cut Nyak Dien was later nicknamed the “Queen of Aceh” because of her strong determination to fight against the Dutch colonialists in Aceh, Indonesia. Throughout his lifetime, Cut Nyak Dien continued to fight and fight with the aim of achieving the nation’s ideals, namely being free from colonial power.
In this article, Sinaumed’s will find out about the birth of Cut Nyak Dien and his 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, the end of Cut Nyak Dien’s life, Cut Nyak Dien’s grave, interesting facts about Cut Nyak Dien, to 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 the Acehnese nobility. He was born in 1848 in the village of Lam Padang Peukan Bada, region VI Mukim, Aceh Besar. As a child, Cut Nyak Dien was known as a beautiful girl. Beauty is more complete with Cut Nyak Dien’s cleverness in the field of religious education.
In 1863, when Cut Nyak Dien was 12 years old, he was betrothed to Teuku Ibrahim Lamnga, son of Teuku Po Amat, Uleebalang Lam Nga XIII. Her husband is a young man whose insight is broad and religious. Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar are married and have a son.
Aceh’s historical history records that Teuku Ibrahim fought against the Dutch colonialists. Teuku Ibrahim often left Cut Nyak Dien and his children because they were carrying out a noble task, namely fighting against the Dutch colonialists. Months after leaving Lam Padang, Teuku Ibrahim returned to issue orders to evacuate and seek shelter in a safe place. At the call 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 off. 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 his deceased husband.
Cut Nyak Dien and the Eruption of the Aceh War
On March 26, 1873, the Netherlands started a war with Aceh. The Dutch, through the Citadel van Antwerp fleet , began to fire cannons at the Aceh mainland. Furthermore, on April 8, 1873, the Dutch under the leadership of Johan Harmen Rudolf Köhler managed to land on Ceureumen Beach and immediately seized and burned the Baiturrahman Great Mosque, Aceh.
What was done by the Dutch 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 by shooting Köhler to death.
In 1874-1880, under the leadership of General Jan van Swieten, the VI Mukim area was successfully occupied by the Dutch as well as the Sultan’s Palace which finally had to recognize the great power of the Dutch colonialists.
With this incident, forcing Cut Nyak Dien and his 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 Dutch.
Cut Nya Dien with Teuku Umar
After the death of Teuku Ibrahim, Cut Nyak Dien remarried Teuku Umar, an Acehnese warrior figure. Not only tied by marriage, but both 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 down to the battlefield to fight against the Dutch colonialists, not just to get 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 the proposal from Teuku Umar and they married in 1880.
With the union of Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar, the morale and enthusiasm of the Acehnese warriors increased. As if not wanting to waste the opportunity, Teuku Umar tried to approach the Netherlands and strengthen his relationship with the Dutch. On September 30, 1893, Teuku Umar and his troops, numbering around 250 people, then went to Kutaraja and surrendered to the Dutch colonialists.
Teuku Umar’s strategy finally succeeded in tricking the Dutch into giving Teuku Umar the title of Teuku Umar Johan Hero and making Teuku Umar the commander of a Dutch troop unit that had full authority.
Cut Nyak Dien with Teuku Umar strengthened the ranks of the fighters to drive the Dutch back from Aceh. The two of them, carried out the battle with a burning fighting spirit. One of the successes they have done is to retake 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 weapons supplies which they then used to attack the invaders again.
Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar’s Strategy to Beat the Netherlands
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 focus again on fighting and defeating the Dutch.
When Teuku Umar’s power and influence was quite large, Teuku Umar took advantage of the moment to gather the Acehnese in his army. When the number of Acehnese under the command of Teuku Umar was sufficient, then Teuku Umar carried out a false plan to the Dutch and claimed that he wanted to attack the Aceh 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 the Dutch headquarters. The betrayal strategy carried out by Teuku Umar is called Het verraad van Teukoe Oemar (Teuku Umar’s betrayal).
This slick strategy by Teuku Umar to betray the Dutch made the Dutch angry and launched a massive operation to arrest Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar. However, the Acehnese guerrillas are currently equipped with equipment from the Netherlands and are sufficient to fight the Dutch.
When General Van Swieten was replaced, the person who replaced him, namely General Jakobus Ludovicus Hubertus Pel, was quickly killed by the Acehnese guerrillas, eventually placing the Dutch colonial troops in a very difficult and chaotic condition.
Cut Nyak Dien Fights to Exile
Time after time passed, Teuku Umar died on the battlefield in Meulaboh. Cut Nyak Dien’s second husband died because his intention to attack was known by the Dutch troops from the start.
Even though the people he loves have left him, Cut Nyak Dien has continued to fight for six years. He guerrilla from one region to another. During that time, he along with the people and other fighters, were faced with life’s difficulties: suffering, running out of food, money, and weapons supplies.
Cut Nyak Dien, with his increasingly old physical condition, kept trying to escape from the Dutch attack. Even though Cut Nyak Dien and his combat troops began to weaken because of threat after threat coming from the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the commander of his troops, Pang Laot betrayed. Traitor and other Dutch troops then searched for Cut Nyak Dien’s whereabouts. They managed to find Cut Nyak Dien’s hiding place and then brought Cut Nyak Dien to Kutaradja.
Pang Laot asked the Dutch that Cut Nyak Dien would receive good treatment from the Dutch. The Dutch governor in Kutaradja, Van Daalen, did not like this so Cut Nyak Dien was exiled to the island of Java, to be precise in Sumedang, West Java, in 1907.
A year into his exile, Cut Nyak Dien ended the struggle during his lifetime. Cut Nyak Dien is an Indonesian woman whose bravery is exemplary. Since May 2, 1964, Cut Nyak Dien has been awarded as a national hero of Indonesia through Presidential Decree No. 106 of 1964 on May 2, 1964. Cut Nyak Dien was an Acehnese woman who did not give up in fighting, she continued to fight until the end of her life.
The End of Cut Nyak Dien’s Life
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 arrested and taken to Banda Aceh.
After being caught by the Dutch, Cut Nyak Dien was taken and treated in Banda Aceh. Myopic disease and gout gradually healed. However, unfortunately Cut Nyak Dien was banished to the land of Sumedang, West Java.
Cut Nyak Dien was brought to Sumedang, West Java, along with other Acehnese political prisoners and caught the attention of one of them, the regent Suriaatmaja. Other male detainees also expressed their concern for Cut Nyak Dien, but the Dutch soldiers were prohibited from disclosing the identity of the detainees.
Cut Nyak Dien was detained with a cleric named Ilyas and the cleric immediately realized that Cut Nyak Dien was an expert in Islam. This made Cut Nyak Dien nicknamed “Mother Slavery”.
Cut Nyak Dien’s grave
Cut Nyak Dien died on November 6, 1908 because of his old age and his condition which was often sickly. After that, Cut Nyak Dien was buried in his exile area in Sumedang. Cut Nyak Dien’s grave itself was only discovered in 1959, it was also due to a request by Ali Hasan, the Governor of Aceh at that time.
President Soekarno through the Decree of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Number 106 of 1964 established 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 the Land of 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.
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 noble who fought with the people
- Married at a young age, namely 12 years
- Join the struggle against the invaders with her husband
- Married twice and continued to fight against the Dutch
- Cut Nyak Dien continued to struggle in his lifetime