Until
the arrival in 1846 of H. von Dewall, the first Dutch civil administrator on
the east coast of Borneo, political and economic power in Kutai was in the
hands of the sultan and his immediate family. This power was exercised
principally along the mahakam river. and its branches. The
jurisdiction of the sultan ceased officially at Gunung Sendawar, a small hill,
which plays a prominent role in the legend concerning the origins of the
dynastic house of Kutai and is located between Melak and Long Iram on the
Mahakam. The sultan was forbidden to travel beyond Gunung Sendawar, a
prohibition never formally transgressed. Nevertheless, disregarding the spirit
of elections called. The sultan bestowed pompous titles on the Buginese as a
means of securing their loyalty and this was instrumental in their gradual
assimilation (ca. 1860).
Titles
were always rather cheap in Kutai, but the 19th century saw such an
indiscriminate awarding of them that their prestige became grossly devaluated. There
were hardly any standards or norms for the awarding of lower titles. The most
important titles were: tumenggung, raden, demang, kiahi. The pembekels, or
village heads, were given titles commensurate to their services or years in
office. Village chiefs received no salary, but since 1903 were allowed to keep
for themselves 8 of the head taxes collected in their area. Dayak and Malay
villages had hereditary adat-heads, recognized or appointed by the sultan at a
ceremony in which they were given Malay titles. The headmen of new kampongs
were appointed by the sultan taking into account the wishes of the people. Only
in the 1930’s did it become customary for regular meetings to be called by the
sultan at which the country’s problems were discussed by native and Dutch civil
servants together.
The
headman’s task was mainly that of upholding local adat. Freemen influenced the
course of village affairs by pronouncing their opinions at consultations with
the village head. This was also the case in Dayak villages, where, in fact, the
community was generally ruled by an assembly of village men. The headman had a
few real means of power; it was more a question of his persuasiveness and
prestige. Neither was he entitled to act on his own in the name of the village;
the community was responsible and liable as a whole.
With
the breakdown of tribal homogeneity, the power of the village headman was
further curtailed. The functions which were main-springs of his power, such as
the administration of justice, were gradually usurped by the government. The
village chief was thus gradually reduced to the role of executor of the
government’s orders, and he was no longer a real representative of his people.
Due to
these changes there was little interest in the list of candidates for the
office of village headman. In order to counteract the obvious disadvantages
resulting from this indifference the government, and sometimes the sultan,
resorted to the appointment of so-called adat-heads. But their jurisdictional
districts were no longer communities in the sense of sharing common adat but
were merely administrative districts. This institution therefore proved no help
in bridging the gap.
In
Kutai, in former times, judgments were pronounced in accordance with the adat
book of laws, Beradja Nanti, by the courts at Tenggarong, Samarinda, and Kota
Bangun. The chairman and the members of these courts were appointed and
dismissed by the sultan. The Beradja Nanti mentions, in addition, the
desirability of consultations with the manteri-negri; without which, it is
said, the sultan cannot reign fruitfully.The sultans have followed this willing
to allow the Dutch to look after the country’s interests in as far as their
activities did not directly affect them. And the Dutch in turn were not
reluctant to take over all sorts of tasks thus greatly increasing their hold on
the region. The real power was now in the hands of the Dutch although the sultanate
remained technically autonomous and was nominally governed by the sultan and
his manteri-negri.
When Adji
Sultan Mohammed Caliudin died in July, 1845, the preceeding political order
degenerated. Some of the prominent men schemed to usurp power, and the seven
year old heir to the throne, Adji Sultan Mohammed Soleiman Adil Chalifatui
Muminim (1845-1899), became a pawn in their intrigues. The perdana-manteri
(first great officer of state) became regent, but his regency resulted in
wide-spread anarchy and lawlessness: criminals were no longer prosecuted,
robbery and arson were a daily occurrence and were employed as a recognized
means of existence by the followers of princes and lords. Pirates from
Balingingi, Tongka, and Tarakan plagued the east coast and the slave trade
flourished.
When
J. Zwager was installed in 1853 as Assistant-Resident in Samarinda, the
manteri-negri informed him in an unanimous declaration that they were powerless
to end the prevailing anarchy because they had neither the soldiers nor other means
to do so. They speculated on receiving such means from the Dutch. During this
period the people of Samarinda repeatedly took up arms to defend and avenge
themselves. They formed their own council, composed of the Pau Adu (chief of
police), the Sjahbandar (port master) and the Imam (for religious cases). This
council tried as well as it could to restore law and order. When the sultan
came of age, the Dutch government in 1863 signed a treaty with him wherein the
sultan and his officers declared that the kingdom of Kutai was a part of the Dutch East
Indies, subject to the Netherland, and belonged to the Sultan only as a fief. The authority of the Dutch became in
this way more official and concretes and at the same time peace and order were
restored.
When a
sultan dies, his oldest (legitimate) son, the Pangeran Ratu succeeds to the
throne. When the heir to the throne is underage than the oldest brother of the
deceased king is named regent with the title Pangeran Mangku Putra. In the
event that the deceased monarch has no brothers, the great officers of the
state act in comnson as regent (patih) and assume the title of Mangku Sukma. Wh
the oldest son of the sultan is a child of a concubine, and not of the sultana,
he becomes Putra Sukma, never Pangeran Ratu (since he is ineligible for the
throne).
For a
long time the Buginese enjoyed a singular status in Kutai. Coming from Celebes , they established themselves around 1700 in what
is now Samarinda, spreading later through all of Kutai. During the 18th century,
and even later, they occupied a virtually autonomous position and were subject
to their own Pau Adu, elected by the kepala manang or heads of the important
Buginese families of state. However, the man elected could be vetoed by the
sultan and new counsel conscientiously, especially in the 20th century. There
seem to have been yet a second book of laws in use, namely one for the
aristocracy, in which the penalties prescribed ware milder than in the Beradja
Nanti. This book of laws fell into disuse as increasingly the laws of the Dutch East Indies were applied to Kutai.
