<b>Biography of Cut Nyak Dien: The Female Hero Feared by the Dutch</b>
Cut Nyak Dien Biography – Indonesia has a female hero from Aceh. The hero is named Cut Nyak Dien. Cut Nyak Dien is a great Indonesian female figure who never gave up in fighting against the colonizers. Cut Nyak Dien was then nicknamed the "Queen of Aceh" because of her strong determination in fighting the Dutch colonialists in Aceh, Indonesia. Throughout her life, Cut Nyak Dien continued to fight and resist with the aim of achieving the nation's ideals, namely being free from the power of the colonizers.
In this article, Grameds will learn about the birth of Cut Nyak Dien and her 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, and book recommendations about Cut Nyak Dien.
The Birth of Cut Nya Dien and Her Marriage to Teuku Ibrahim
Cut Nyak Dien was a descendant of the Acehnese nobility. She was born in 1848 in the village of Lam Padang Peukan Bada, VI Mukim region, Aceh Besar. As a child, Cut Nyak Dien was known as a beautiful girl. Her beauty was complemented by Cut Nyak Dien's intelligence in the field of religious education.
In 1863, when Cut Nyak Dien was 12 years old, she was matched with Teuku Ibrahim Lamnga, the son of Teuku Po Amat, Uleebalang Lam Nga XIII. Her husband was a young man with broad insight and was devout. Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar married and had a son.
Acehnese historical records record that Teuku Ibrahim fought against the Dutch colonialists. Teuku Ibrahim often left Cut Nyak Dien and his son because he was carrying out the noble task of fighting against the Dutch colonialists. Months after leaving Lam Padang, Teuku Ibrahim returned to call for evacuation 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 depressed. However, the incident did not make her despair, on the contrary, it became a strong reason for Cut Nyak Dien to continue the struggle of her deceased husband.
Cut Nyak Dien and the Outbreak of the Aceh War
On March 26, 1873, the Dutch started a war with Aceh. The Dutch, through the Citadel van Antwerpen fleet, began firing cannons at the Aceh mainland. Next, on April 8, 1873, the Dutch under the leadership of Johan Harmen Rudolf Köhler successfully landed on Ceureumen Beach and immediately took control of and burned down the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Aceh.
What the Dutch did then triggered the Aceh war led by Panglima Polim and Sultan Mahmud Syah against around 3,198 Dutch soldiers. However, the Aceh Sultanate 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 region was successfully occupied by the Dutch as well as the Sultan's Palace which finally had to acknowledge the great power of the Dutch colonialists.
With this incident, Cut Nyak Dien and her baby were forced to flee with the residents and other groups on December 24, 1875. However, Teuku Ibrahim remained determined to reclaim the VI Mukim region. Unfortunately, when Teuku Ibrahim fought in Gle Tarum, he was killed 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 fighter figure. Not only tied by the knot, but the two united to fight the invaders. The marriage between Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar is an interesting story.
Cut Nyak Dien reasoned that she wanted to fight together with the man who allowed her to go to the battlefield to fight the Dutch colonialists, not just wanting to get a figure of 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 Teuku Umar's proposal and they were married in 1880.
With the union of Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar, the morale and spirit of the Acehnese fighters became even more intense. As if not wanting to waste the opportunity, Teuku Umar tried to approach the Dutch 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 deceiving the Dutch until they gave Teuku Umar the title Teuku Umar Johan Pahlawan and made Teuku Umar the commander of the Dutch troop unit with full power.
Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar strengthened the ranks of the fighters to re-expel the Dutch from the land of Aceh. Both of them fought with a burning fighting spirit. One of the successes they had achieved was recapturing Cut Nyak Dien's hometown from the Dutch colonialists. In addition, Teuku Umar also pretended to submit to the Dutch in order to obtain a supply of weapons which they then used to attack the invaders again.
Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar's Strategy to Defeat the Dutch
In order to smooth the strategy to defeat the Dutch, Teuku Umar was willing to be considered a traitor by the Acehnese. No exception by Cut Nyak Meutia 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 were quite large, Teuku Umar took advantage of the moment to gather Acehnese in his troops. When the number of Acehnese under Teuku Umar's command was sufficient, then Teuku Umar made a fake 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 troops and heavy equipment, weapons, and ammunition of the Dutch. However, they never returned to the Dutch headquarters. The betrayal strategy carried out by Teuku Umar was called Het verraad van Teukoe Oemar (Teuku Umar's betrayal).
Teuku Umar's clever strategy to betray the Dutch made the Dutch angry and launched a large-scale operation to capture Cut Nyak Dien and Teuku Umar. However, the Acehnese guerrillas were now equipped with equipment from the Netherlands and were sufficient to fight the Dutch.
When General Van Swieten was replaced, the person who replaced him, General Jakobus Ludovicus Hubertus Pel, was quickly killed by the Acehnese guerrillas, which ultimately left the Dutch colonial troops in a very difficult and chaotic situation.
Cut Nyak Dien Fights Until Exile
Time passed, Teuku Umar fell on the battlefield in Meulaboh. Cut Nyak Dien's second husband died because his intention to attack had been known by the Dutch troops from the start.
Even though her loved ones had left her, Cut Nyak Dien continued her battle for six years. She fought guerrilla warfare from one region to another. During that time, she, along with the people and other fighters, faced difficulties in life: suffering, running out of food, money, and weapons.
Cut Nyak Dien, with her physical condition starting to deteriorate, continued to try to escape from the Dutch attacks. Even though Cut Nyak Dien and her fighting troops began to weaken due to threats from the Dutch. Unfortunately, the commander of her troops, Pang Laot, betrayed her. The traitor, along with other Dutch troops, then searched for Cut Nyak Dien's whereabouts. They managed to find Cut Nyak Dien's hiding place and then took Cut Nyak Dien to Kutaradja.
Pang Laot asked the Dutch to treat Cut Nyak Dien well by the Dutch. The Dutch Governor in Kutaradja, Van Daalen, did not like this so Cut Nyak Dien was exiled to Java, precisely in Sumedang, West Java, in 1907.
A year of her exile, Cut Nyak Dien ended her lifelong struggle. Cut Nyak Dien became one of the Indonesian women whose courage should be emulated. Since May 2, 1964, Cut Nyak Dien was 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 never gave up in her struggle, she continued to fight until the end of her life.
The End of Cut Nyak Dien's Life
Pang Laot, a bodyguard of 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 captured and taken to Banda Aceh.
After being captured by the Dutch, Cut Nyak Dien was taken and treated in Banda Aceh. Her nearsightedness and gout gradually healed. However, unfortunately Cut Nyak Dien was exiled to Sumedang, West Java.
Cut Nyak Dien was taken to Sumedang, West Java, with other Acehnese political prisoners and attracted the attention of one person, namely the regent Suriaatmaja. Other male prisoners also expressed their concern for Cut Nyak Dien, but the Dutch soldiers were prohibited from revealing the prisoner's identity.
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 Perbu".
Cut Nyak Dien's Tomb
Cut Nyak Dien died on November 6, 1908 due to her old age and her frequent illnesses. After that, Cut Nyak Dien was buried in her exile area in Sumedang. Cut Nyak Dien's grave itself was only discovered in 1959, that was also because of the request of 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 designated 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 her 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.