A monologue takes a look at the Acehnese warrior’s vulnerable side.

Most Indonesians may know the late female Acehnese warrior, Cut Nyak Dien, as a fiery and passionate fighter. Born in 1848, she led the local independence struggle against Dutch colonists in the late 19th  and early 20th centuries.

A monologue called Cut Nyak Dien, directed and performed by actress Sha Ine Febriyanti recently at the Bentara Budaya Jakarta cultural center, however, presents a toned-down and sublime portrayal of the national heroine in exile in Sumedang, West Java, after she was captured by the Dutch. It was during this period that the independence fighter finally had to come to terms with her physical decline due to aging. The monologue was first staged in 2014.

The audience followed Dien’s quiet contemplation as she recalled memories from her past as she continued the struggle of her late husband Ibrahim, who died in 1878, by fighting side-by-side with her second husband Umar, who later died in 1899. After Umar’s death, Dien fought on the frontlines of the Acehnese battlefield.

Ine succeeds in capturing the restless warrior’s frustration at having to remain passive in exile, after having fought actively and long against the colonists.

“The kaphe know perfectly well that moving me away from my beloved land would cause me more pain than shooting me with hundreds of bullets,” the actress said in a perfect Acehnese accent, using the Acehnese term for infidel in referring to the Dutch colonists.

Later, she wails, “Nanggroe… Nanggroe…,” evoking the heroine’s painful longing for the natural beauty of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, evoking her deep attachment to her homeland.

She then worries about the fate of her children who remained in Aceh, before consoling herself that they would survive even the most difficult situations, as her children also carried in them the fearless and resilient blood of their ancestor, Machudun Sati.

Machudun Sati survived being tortured by the Acehnese after emigrating to Aceh from his birthplace of Minangkabau, West Sumatra. Machudun was also the common ancestor of Dien’s second husband, Umar.

From Dien’s narrative, we also learn about the intricacies of the Acehnese war against the Dutch colonists. When the Dutch burned the Baiturrahman grand mosque in Aceh, they hardened the Acehnese people’s religious zeal as Muslims, heightening their aggression in fighting the non-Muslim Dutch kaphe.

“Religion does not only govern our relationship with God, but also gives us the imperative to fight injustice,” Dien says, bringing to life her strong religious convictions and how this fueled her and the Acehnese’s battle against the colonists.

In the only uplifting part of the monologue, Dien’s eyes suddenly lights up as she recounts the tale of how, inspired by her faith, she and Umar defeated the Dutch in a battle.

In explaining the colonization of Aceh and the subjugation of its people and the pillaging of its natural resources by the Dutch colonist kafir, however, we must go beyond the polarization of “infidel.”

Dien explains how some local people, especially the infamous Acehnese traitor and Dutch collaborator Teuku Néh, also betrayed the cause of the Acehnese people by helping the colonists set foot on the land and exploit its natural wealth, destroying its culture and people for personal gain.

We also learn about the difficult moral conundrum that motivated people to certain actions. Near the end of the monologue, Dien grumbles about one of her soldiers, Pang La’ot “the traitor,” who had told the Dutch forces about her hiding place in the Acehnese wilderness, leading to her ultimate capture and exile.

But was La’ot truly motivated by malevolent intentions when he gave up his battle commander to the devious European invaders?

Ine spoke to journalists after the performance and said: “La’ot actually took pity on Dien, who suffered from numerous illnesses [including arthritis], and probably thought it was better off for her to be moved out of the wilderness instead of remaining there, so that her illnesses would not grow worse.”

While researching the national heroine, Ine found out that the warrior eventually made peace with living in exile in Sumedang, integrating with the local community and ultimately spending the rest of her life as a Koran teacher.

While the play seems to convey a message of coming to terms with one’s fate and personal transformation, it also speaks to us about resilience and a fierce passion for fighting evil and injustice.

Dien’s struggle remains relevant to contemporary Indonesia, when our public officials engage in corruption while others have chosen to help political lobbyists and businesses exploit and subjugate their fellow Indonesians to enrich themselves. This is no different from Teuku Néh, who sold out his own people and land to the Dutch colonists for his own benefit. 

“Nowadays, in this age of ideological warfare, it is also more dangerous because we are no longer clear as to who our enemies are,” Ine warned.

It is our collective duty to educate ourselves to resist being manipulated by the powers that be and their justifications, continuing Dien’s fight against injustice and exploitation in spirit

— Photos courtesy of Witjak Widhi Cahya

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