Aceh - Islamic Tourism Destination

1. Geography

The province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam is the westernmost province of the Republic of Indonesia. It is strategically located with the Indian Ocean in the West, the Malacca Straits in the East and the Sea of Bengal in the North, representing a strategic position for international shipping lines. The Simpang Kiri river in the East and the Tamiang river in the West serve as the natural borders between Aceh and North Sumatra province.

Aceh covers an area of almost 60.000 square kilometers including 119 islands, mainly on the west coast. The inland is dominated by the Bukit Barisan mountain range with its plateaus Tangse, Gayo and Alas. The highest peaks include Leuser (3.466 m), Ucop Molu (3.187 m), Abong-abong (3.015 m), Peut Sago (2.780 m), Geureudong (2.295 m) and Bur Ni Telong (865 m). Most well-known lakes are Aneuk Laot in Pulau Weh, Laut Tawar in Central Aceh (60 square kilometers) and Laut Bangko in the Southern part of Aceh.

The big Alas, Geumpang and Tripa rivers are popular among whitewater rafting enthusiasts.

2. Climate

Aceh has a tropical climate with a dry season between March and August and a rainy season between September and February. Variations occur as Aceh is a big province with central highlands as both a west- and east coast. The temperature in the coastal areas range between 23 degrees Celsius and 32 degrees Celsius, with a relative humidity between 65% and 75%. The temperature in the central highlands range between 20 degrees Celsius to 23 degrees Celsius.

3. Wildlife

Since 65% of Aceh is covered by rain forest, perhaps the greatest attraction of all is its wildlife. Many of the most endangered species can be found in Aceh, such as the Sumatran tiger, the Sumatran Rhinoceros and the Orangutan. Other rare animals are the Malayan Sun bear, elephants, the Sumatra forest goat as well as a large variety of monkeys and birds.

One of the richest expanses of tropical rain forest left on earth, the forest ecosystems of Aceh contain an extraordinary mix of biological diversity with at least 127 mammal species and about 8.500 plant species. These 33.000 square kilometers of forest are contained within the Leuser and Ulu Masen ecosystems.

Gunung Leuser National Park is one of the biggest and most diverse national parks in Indonesia (950,000 hectare), covering 7,927 km². The national park – named after 3,381 m height of Mount Leuser – protects a wide range of ecosystems. It comprises more than 100 kilometers of the Bukit Barisan Mountains until the Sibayak volcano in North Sumatra province. Because of that, the park consists of steep, almost inaccessible mountainous terrain. The altitude ranges from 0 meters, in Kluet (South Aceh), to 3,381 meters, on top of the Gunung Leuser (Southeast Aceh). The Alas river cuts the park into an eastern and western half.

Apart from mountains you find several other ecosystems: Beach forest, swamp areas, lowland rainforest, alpine and mountain forest.

Together with Sumatra’s Bukit Barisan Selatan and Kerinci Seblat national parks it forms a Worlds Heritage Site. It is the only place on earth where four of world’s spectacular animals ; the orangutan, rhinocheros, elephant and tiger are found together.

The Ulu Masen ecosystem stretches out from Lhoknya until Meulaboh on the west coast.

The National Marine Park in Pulau Weh consists of various coral reefs and colorful fish. It’s one of the top dive attractions in the world. Another great place is National Marine Park Pulau Banyak in the Southern part of Aceh where green turtles and leatherback turtles can be seen laying eggs.

4. People

The Acehnese are descendants from various ethnicities and tribes. The origin of the Acehnese is considered to be from South-Vietnam, Kuching (China), Cambodia and Malaysia. Later on, Indian traders settled followed by Arabs, Turks, Persians, Europeans etc. and over the centuries assimilated. Due to the arrival of these newcomers the indigenous people of Aceh – Proto Malay – eventually moved into the central highlands and form today the two ethnic groups Gayo and Alas.

The Acehnese language as well as a variety of local dialects is as much as a mixture as the people themselves. There are elements of Cham, Malay and Sanskrit. The vocabulary was enriched with the arrival of Arab traders as well as colonial powers with their languages, such as Portuguese, English and especially Dutch. At present, the Indonesian language bahasa Indonesia has the most linguistic influence on the Acehnese language.

5. History

Aceh is located in the west corner of the Indonesian Archipelago and near the Malacca Strait. It has been known by the merchants from India and China since the 6th century. It also served as a traffic point to Hindu and Budha religion to China and its surroundings.

However, the existence of Aceh became familiar in the context of South-East Asia after the spread of islam brought by the merchants from Koromandel or Gujarat and rapidly developed in the 9th century. The first Islamic kingdoms in the Indonesian archipelago were founded in Aceh, i.e. The kingdom of Peurelak in 804 and Samudera Pasai. The Report of Marco Polo’s Journey – conducted at the end of the 13th century – also mentions the existence of both Islamic kingdoms.

The Kingdom of Aceh became bigger after the Sultanate of Malacca fell into the hands of the Portuguese in 1511. The trading activities in South-East Asia – centralized in Malacca – were shifted to Aceh. This is in accordance with the founding of the Aceh Darussalam Kingdom by Sultan Ali Mughayatsyah around 1541.

Under the rule of Sultan Iskandar Muda Meukuta Perkasa Alam (1607-1636) the Aceh Kingdom was very well-developed and served as interface between the East and Western World.

After the death of Sultan Iskandar Muda the Aceh Kingdom went downhill, till the signing of the London Treaty in 1824. The treaty gave the authority to the Dutch to govern the areas in Sumatra that were colonized before by the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, the Dutch submitted its trading posts in India and would not compete with the United Kingdom to gain control of Singapore.

One provision of the Treaty of London was the independence of the north Sumatran state of Acheh. But Acheh controlled a large portion of the pepper trade and alarmed the Dutch by actively seeking relations with other Western countries. A new Anglo-Dutch treaty, signed in 1871, gave the Dutch a free hand in Sumatra concerning Acheh in return for Dutch confirmation of Britain’s right of equal trade in the Indies. Two years later, talks between the United States consul in Singapore and Achinese [also Acehnese] representatives gave Batavia the pretext for opening hostilities.

The Dutch, considering Acheh as within their sphere of influence, decided to conquer the area and sent two expeditions to Aceh in 1873. Dutch gunboats bombarded the sultanate’s capital, Banda Aceh, and troops were landed. The palace was seized and shortly afterward the Acehnese sultan died. The Dutch suspended military operations and concluded a treaty with the new sultan, who recognized Dutch sovereignty over the area. He was unable to control his subjects however and Dutch forces became involved in a prolonged guerrilla war in the countryside. This war, however, drained the colonial treasury, and public opinion in The Netherlands became increasingly critical of the colonial administration.

The administration later realized that their ignorance of the region had led them to commit serious errors. C. Snouck Hurgronje, professor of Islamic studies at the University of Leiden, was invited to undertake a thorough study of Acheh and published a book in 1893-94 on the Acehnese. A “castle strategy,” which provided fortified bases for the Dutch troops, was then introduced. Under the leadership of J.B. van Heutsz, who was appointed military and civil governor of Acheh in 1899, the kingdom was quickly subdued. The conquest of the entire region was accomplished by van Heutsz in 1904.

In March 1942 Japan conquered the Dutch East Indies. In August 1945, just days after the Japanese surrendered to the Allies, the Republic of Indonesia proclaimed its independence. Soon, however, both the British and Dutch were back in the region, though the Dutch did not return to Aceh.

After Indonesia’s independence, Soekarno made Aceh a financial capital area, based on the supporting role of the Acehnese to the independence of Indonesia. The decision by the central government to integrate Aceh with the province of North Sumatra caused a rebellion led by Tgk. Daud Beureuh.

The declaration of the Free Aceh Movement (aka GAM) by Tgk. M. Hasan di Tiro in 1976 and Indonesia’s military operations that followed, brought a dark period and “historic injuries” to the Acehnese. After a series of endeavors to create a covenant for peace were conducted, the Helsinki Peace Accord was signed on the 15th of August 2005, ending 30 years of conflict between the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian government.

6.Religion

The dominant religion in Aceh is islam. No wonder, Aceh is often called “Serambi Mekkah” (the frontporch of Mekkah). 96% of Aceh’s 4 million inhabbitants are muslim. The remainder are Christians, Buddhists, Hindu’s, etc. Eventhough the Acehnese are devout believers and often called fanatics by their fellow Indonesians, they are very open-minded and understanding towards other people’s religious needs. Every major city in Aceh has churches and temples.

7. Culture

The cultures of Aceh are strongly influenced by islam but there are still traces of hinduism, the former religion of Aceh. The Hindu flavor is mainly notised in traditional ceremonies.

There are three major ethnic groups in Aceh: Acehnese, Gayo and Alas. The Acehnese inhabit mainly the coastal areas of the province. In the Western and Southern part of Aceh they intermingled with the Minangkabau, which is reflected in language, design and customs. The Gayo and Alas who inhabit resp. the Northern and Southern highlands of Aceh are smaller in numbers. Their local languages are very of music, 10 forms of literature and 9 traditional arts. For more insight information: Try Barbara Leigh’s book “The Crafts of Aceh”.

7.1 The traditional dress

The standard traditional dress for Acehnese men includes full cut black trousers , a black top with long narrow sleeves and with one single button at the neck. A silk cloth (kain songket) is tied around the waist and a dagger (rencong) is tucked in behind it. On the head a “kupah meukeutob”, topped with a “tampok keupiah” (a gold star shaped ornament). The Acehnese women wear gold embroidered black trousers, narrow and the ankles and very wide at the waist. The blouse is yellow or red and also embroidered. The sarong is of a woven silk fabric, decorated with gold or silver thread and held in place by a wide gold belt. The head is adorned with an array of golden flowers. Necklaces cascade from the neck to the waist. The arms are adorned with several braceletsand and the fingers with rings, preferably golden ones.

7.2 Handicrafts

There are many specific Acehnese handicrafts and they can be classified as either coastal (Acehnese) or highland (Gayo/ Alas). The main coastal crafts are gold embroidery, silk weaving, dagger production and wood tracery. The highland crafts are known for their multi-colored embroidery. Pottery is found in both areas but very different in both style and usage. The gold thread embroidery is used for decoration of reception rooms at weddings, mats, bed covers, pillow cases, wall decocations, etc.

7.2.1 Jewelry

The oldest records of Acehnese goldsmiths date back to the period between the 13th and 15th century. During this period the Samudera Pasee Kingdom used gold coins. Later, Sultan Iskandar Muda engaged 300 goldsmiths at his palace in Banda Aceh to produce high quality artworks in gold for the royal court. The Acehnese are still very fond of gold, therefor it is easy to find interesting gold works with traditional design in Aceh.

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Aceh - Islamic Tourism Destination