The History of Sumatra Part 34

INDRAPURA.

Among the earliest dismemberments of the Menangkabau empire was the establishment of Indrapura as an independent kingdom. Though now in its turn reduced to a state of little importance, it was formerly powerful in comparison with its neighbours, and of considerable magnitude, including Anak-Sungei and extending as far as Kattaun. Some idea of its antiquity may be formed from a historical account given by the Sultan of Bantam to the intelligent traveller Corneille le Brun, in which it is related that the son of the Arabian prince who first converted the Javans to the religion of the Prophet, about the year 1400, having obtained for himself the sovereignty of Bantam, under the t.i.tle of pangeran, married the daughter of the raja of Indrapura, and received as her portion the country of the Sillabares, a people of Banca-houlou.

CLAIMS OF THE SULTAN OF BANTAM.

Upon this cession appears to be grounded the modern claim of the sultan to this part of the coast, which, previously to the treaty of Paris in 1763, was often urged by his sovereigns, the Dutch East India Company.

His dominion is said indeed to have extended from the southward as far as Urei river, and at an early period to Betta or Ayer Etam, between Ipu and Moco-moco, but that the intermediate s.p.a.ce was ceded by him to the raja of Indrapura, in satisfaction for the murder of a prince, and that a small annual tax was laid by the latter on the Anaksungei people on account of the same murder (being the fourth part of a dollar, a bamboo of rice, and a fowl, from each village), which is now paid to the sultan of Moco-moco. In the year 1682 the district of Ayer Aji threw off its dependence on Indrapura. In 1696 Raja Pasisir Barat, under the influence of the Dutch, was placed on the throne, at the age of six years, and his grandfather appointed guardian; but in 1701, in consequence of a quarrel with his protectors, the European settlers were ma.s.sacred.

WAR WITH THE DUTCH.

This was the occasion of a destructive war, in the event of which the raja and his mantris were obliged to fly, and the country was nearly depopulated. In 1705 he was reinstated, and reigned till about 1732.

DECLINE OF THE KINGDOM.

But the kingdom never recovered the shock it had received, and dwindled into obscurity. Its river, which descends from the mountains of Korinchi, is considered as one of the largest in the southern part of the west coast, and is capable of admitting sloops. The country formerly produced a large quant.i.ty of pepper, and some gold was brought down from the interior, which now finds another channel. An English factory was established there about the year 1684, but never became of any importance.

KINGDOM OF ANAK-SUNGEI.

From the ruins of Indrapura has sprung the kingdom of Anak-sungei, extending along the sea-coast from Manjuta River to that of Urei. Its chief bears the t.i.tle of sultan, and his capital, if such places deserve the appellation, is Moco-moco. A description of it will be found above.

Although the government is Malayan, and the ministers of the sultan are termed mantri (a t.i.tle borrowed from the Hindus) the greatest part of the country dependent on it is inhabited by the original dusun people, and accordingly their proper chiefs are styled proattin, who are obliged to attend their prince at stated periods, and to carry to him their contribution or tax. His power over them however is very limited.

The first monarch of this new kingdom was named sultan Gulemat, who in 1695 established himself at Manjuta, by the a.s.sistance of the English, in consequence of a revolution at Indrapura, by which the prince who had afforded them protection on their first settling was driven out through the intrigues, as they are termed, of the Dutch. It was a struggle, in short, between the rival Companies, whose a.s.sistance was courted by the different factions as it happened to suit their purpose, or who, becoming strong enough to consider themselves as princ.i.p.als, made the native chiefs the tools of their commercial ambition. In the year 1717 Gulemat was removed from the throne by an a.s.sembly of the chiefs styling themselves the mantris of Lima-kota and proattins of Anak-sungei, who set up a person named Raja Kechil-besar in his room, appointing at the same time, as his minister and successor, Raja Gandam Shah, by whom, upon his accession in 1728, the seat of government was removed from Manjuta to Moco-moco. He was father of sultan Pasisir Barat shah mualim shah, still reigning in the year 1780, but hara.s.sed by the frequent rebellions of his eldest son. The s.p.a.ce of time occupied by the reigns of these two sovereigns is extraordinary when we consider that the former must have been at man's estate when he became minister or a.s.sessor in 1717. Nor is it less remarkable that the son of the deposed sultan Gulemat, called sultan Ala ed-din, was also living, at Tappanuli, about the year 1780, being then supposed ninety years of age. He was confined as a state prisoner at Madras during the government of Mr. Morse, and is mentioned by Captain Forrest (Voyage to the Mergui Archipelago, page 57) as uncle to the king of Achin, who reigned in 1784. The first English settlement at Moco-moco was formed in 1717.

Pa.s.sAMMAN.

Pa.s.samman was the most northern of the provinces immediately dependant on Menangkabau, and afterwards, together with Priaman and many other places on the coast, fell under the dominion of the kings of Achin. It is now divided into two petty kingdoms, each of which is governed by a raja and fourteen pangulus. Formerly it was a place of considerable trade, and, beside a great export of pepper, received much fine gold from the mountains of the Rau country, lying about three days' journey inland. The inhabitants of these are said to be Battas converted to Mahometanism and mixed with Malays. They are governed by datus. The peculiarity of dress remarked of the Korinchi people is also observable here, the men wearing drawers that reach just below the calf, having one leg of red and the other of white or blue cloth, and the baju or garment also party-coloured. The greater part of the gold they collect finds its way to Patapahan on the river of Siak, and from thence to the eastern side of the island and straits of Malacca. The Agam tribe adjoining to the Rau, and connecting to the southward with Menangkabau, differs little from Malays, and is likewise governed by datus.

SIAK.

The great river of Siak has its source in the mountains of the Menangkabau country, and empties itself nearly opposite to Malacca, with which place it formerly carried on a considerable trade. From the Dutch charts we had a general knowledge of its course as far as a place called Mandau or Mandol, as they write the name, and where they had a small establishment on account of its abounding with valuable shiptimber.

SURVEY.

A recent survey executed by Mr. Francis Lynch, under the orders of the government of Pulo Pinang, has made us more particularly acquainted with its size, its advantages, and defects. From the place where it discharges itself into the straits of Kampar or Bencalis, to the town of Siak is, according to the scale of his chart, about sixty-five geographical miles, and from thence to a place called Pakan bharu or Newmarket, where the survey discontinues, is about one hundred more. The width of the river is in general from about three-quarters to half a mile, and its depth from fifteen to seven fathoms; but on the bar at low-water spring-tides there are only fifteen feet, and several shoals near its mouth. The tides rise about eleven feet at the town, where at full and change it is high-water at nine A.M. Not far within the river is a small island on which the Dutch had formerly a factory. The sh.o.r.es are flat on both sides to a considerable distance up the country, and the whole of the soil is probably alluvial; but about a hundred and twenty-five or thirty miles up Mr. Lynch marks the appearance of high land, giving it the name of Princess Augusta Sophia hill, and points it out as a commanding situation for a settlement.

SHIP-TIMBER.

He speaks in favourable terms of the facility with which ship-timber of any dimensions or shape may be procured and loaded. Respecting the size or population of the town no information is given.

GOVERNMENT.

The government of it was (in October 1808) in the hands of the Tuanku Pangeran, brother to the Raja, who in consequence of some civil disturbance had withdrawn to the entrance of the river. His name is not mentioned, but from the Transactions of the Batavian Society we learn that the prince who reigned about the year 1780 was Raja Ismael, "one of the greatest pirates in those seas." The maritime power of the kingdom of Siak has always been considerable, and in the history of the Malayan states we repeatedly read of expeditions fitted out from thence making attacks upon Johor, Malacca, and various other places on the two coasts of the peninsula. Most of the neighbouring states (or rivers) on the eastern coast of Sumatra, from Langat to Jambi, are said to have been brought in modern times under its subjection.

TRADE.

The trade is chiefly carried on by Kling vessels, as they are called, from the coast of Coromandel, which supply cargoes of piece-goods, and also raw silk, opium, and other articles, which they provide at Pinang or Malacca; in return for which they receive gold, wax, sago, salted fish, and fish-roes, elephants' teeth, gambir, camphor, rattans, and other canes. According to the information of the natives the river is navigable for sloops to a place called Panti Chermin, being eight days' sail with the a.s.sistance of the tide, and within half a day's journey by land of another named Patapahan, which boats also, of ten to twenty tons, reach in two days. This is a great mart of trade with the Menangkabau country, whither its merchants resort with their gold. Pakan-bharu, the limit of Mr. Lynch's voyage, is much lower down, and the abovementioned places are consequently not noticed by him. The Dutch Company procured annually from Siak, for the use of Batavia, several rafts of spars for masts, and if the plan of building ships at Pinang should be encouraged large supplies of frame-timber for the purpose may be obtained from this river, provided a sense of interest shall be found sufficiently strong to correct or restrain the habits of treachery and desperate enterprise for which these people have in all ages been notorious.

RAKAN.

The river Rakan, to the northward of Siak, by much the largest in the island, if it should not rather be considered as an inlet of the sea, takes its rise in the Rau country, and is navigable for sloops to a great distance from the sea; but vessels are deterred from entering it by the rapidity of the current, or more probably the reflux of the tide, and that peculiar swell known in the Ganges and elsewhere by the appellation of the bore.

KAMPAR.

That of Kampar, to the southward, is said by the natives to labour under the same inconvenience, and Mr. Lynch was informed that the tides there rise from eighteen to twenty-four feet. If these circ.u.mstances render the navigation dangerous it appears difficult to account for its having been a place of considerable note at the period of the Portuguese conquest of Malacca, and repeatedly the scene of naval actions with the fleets of Achin, whilst Siak, which possesses many natural advantages, is rarely mentioned. In modern times it has been scarcely at all known to Europeans, and even its situation is doubtful.

INDRAGIRI.

The river of Indragiri is said by the natives to have its source in a lake of the Menangkabau country, from whence it issues by the name of Ayer Ambelan. Sloops tide it up for five or six weeks (as they a.s.sert), anchoring as the ebb begins to make. From a place called Lubok ramo-ramo they use boats of from five to twenty tons, and the smaller sort can proceed until they are stopped by a fall or cascade at Seluka, on the borders of Menangkabau. This extraordinary distance to which the influence of the tides extends is a proof of the absolute flatness of the country through which these rivers take the greater part of their course.

JAMBI.

Jambi River has its princ.i.p.al source in the Limun country. Although of considerable size it is inferior to Siak and Indragiri. At an early stage of European commerce in these parts it was of some importance, and both the English and Dutch had factories there; the former on a small island near the mouth, and the latter at some distance up the river. The town of Jambi is situated at the distance of about sixty miles from the sea, and we find in the work of the historian, Faria y Sousa, that in the year 1629 a Portuguese squadron was employed twenty-two days in ascending the river, in order to destroy some Dutch ships which had taken shelter near the town. Lionel Wafer, who was there in 1678 (at which time the river was blockaded by a fleet of praws from Johor), makes the distance a hundred miles. The trade consists chiefly in gold-dust, pepper, and canes, but the most of what is collected of the first article proceeds across the country to the western coast, and the quality of the second is not held in esteem. The port is therefore but little frequented by any other than native merchants. Sometimes, but rarely, a private trading ship from Bengal endeavours to dispose of a few chests of opium in this or one of the other rivers; but the masters scarcely ever venture on sh.o.r.e, and deal with such of the Malays as come off to them at the sword point, so strong is the idea of their treacherous character.

PALEMBANG.

The kingdom of Palembang is one of considerable importance, and its river ranks amongst the largest in the island. It takes its rise in the district of Musi, immediately at the back of the range of hills visible from Bencoolen, and on that account has the name of Ayer Musi in the early part of its course, but in the lower is more properly named the Tatong.

SIZE OF RIVER.

Opposite to the city of Palembang and the Dutch Company's factory it is upwards of a mile in breadth, and is conveniently navigated by vessels whose draft of water does not exceed fourteen feet. Those of a larger description have been carried thither for military purposes (as in 1660, when the place was attacked and destroyed by the Hollanders) but the operation is attended with difficulty on account of numerous shoals.

FOREIGN TRADE.

The port is much frequented by trading vessels, chiefly from Java, Madura, Balli, and Celebes, which bring rice, salt, and cloths, the manufacture of those islands. With opium, the piece-goods of the west of India, and European commodities it is supplied by the Dutch from Batavia, or by those who are termed interlopers. These in return receive pepper and tin, which, by an old agreement made with the sultan, and formally renewed in 1777, are to be exclusively delivered to the Company at stipulated prices, and no other Europeans are to be allowed to trade or navigate within his jurisdiction.

DUTCH FACTORY.

In order to enforce these conditions the Dutch are permitted to maintain a fort on the river with a garrison of fifty or sixty men (which cannot be exceeded without giving umbrage), and to keep its own cruisers to prevent smuggling. The quant.i.ty of pepper thus furnished was from one to two millions of pounds per annum. Of tin the quant.i.ty was about two millions of pounds, one third of which was shipped (at Batavia) for Holland, and the remainder sent to China. It has already been stated that this tin is the produce of the island of Bangka, situated near the mouth of the river, which may be considered as an entire hill of tin-sand. The works, of which a particular account is given in Volume 3 of the Batavian Transactions, are entirely in the hands of Chinese settlers. In the year 1778 the Company likewise received thirty-seven thousand bundles of rattans.

LOW COUNTRY.

The lower parts of the country of Palembang towards the sea-coast are described as being flat marshy land, and with the exception of some few tracts entirely unfit for the purposes of cultivation. It is generally understood to have been all covered by the sea in former ages, not only from its being observed that the strand yearly gains an accession, but also that, upon digging the earth at some distance inland, sea-sh.e.l.ls, and even pieces of boat-timber, are discovered.

INTERIOR COUNTRY. ITS TRADE.

The interior or upland districts on the contrary are very productive, and there the pepper is cultivated, which the king's agent (for trade in these parts is usually monopolized by the sovereign power) purchases at a cheap rate. In return he supplies the country people with opium, salt, and piece-goods, forming the cargoes of large boats (some of them sixty-six feet in length and seven in breadth, from a single tree) which are towed against the stream. The goods intended for Pa.s.summah are conveyed to a place called Muara Mulang, which is performed in fourteen days, and from thence by land to the borders of that country is only one day's journey. This being situated beyond the district where the pepper flourishes their returns are chiefly made in pulas twine, raw silk in its roughest state, and elephants' teeth. From Musi they send likewise sulphur, alum, a.r.s.enic, and tobacco. Dragons-blood and gambir are also the produce of the country.

ITS GOVERNMENT.

These interior parts are divided into provinces, each of which is a.s.signed as a fief or government to one of the royal family or of the n.o.bles, who commit the management to deputies and give themselves little concern about the treatment of their subjects. The pangerans, who are the descendants of the ancient princes of the country, experience much oppression, and when compelled to make their appearance at court are denied every mark of ceremonious distinction.

SETTLERS FROM JAVA.

The present rulers of the kingdom of Palembang and a great portion of the inhabitants of the city originally came from the island of Java, in consequence, as some suppose, of an early conquest by the sovereigns of Maj.a.pahit; or, according to others, by those of Bantam, in more modern times; and in proof of its subjection, either real or nominal, to the latter, we find in the account of the first Dutch voyages, that "in 1596 a king of Bantam fell before Palembang, a rebel town of Sumatra, which he was besieging."

ROYAL FAMILY.

The Dutch claim the honour of having placed on the throne the family of the reigning sultan (1780), named Ratu Akhmet Bahar ed-din, whose eldest son bears the t.i.tle of Pangeran Ratu, answering to the RaJa muda of the Malays. The power of the monarch is unlimited by any legal restriction, but not keeping a regular body of troops in pay his orders are often disregarded by the n.o.bles. Although without any established revenue from taxes or contributions, the profit arising from the trade of pepper and tin (especially the latter) is so great, and the consequent influx of silver, without any apparent outlet, so considerable, that he must necessarily be possessed of treasure to a large amount. The customs on merchandize imported remain in the hands of the shabhandaras, who are required to furnish the king's household with provisions and other necessaries. The domestic attendants on the prince are for the most part females.