The story of the warriors in Kamang, West Sumatra, is familiar to Dr. Buchari Nurdin. The historian who is also a community leader has heard the greatness of these ancestors through stories since his youth.
“Just in passing, there was indeed a story told in the Elementary School, now called Elementary School, often told in prayer rooms, also in mosques, about the Kamang War. The event was well-known among the people,” said the lecturer who once taught at Padang State University to VOA.
Kamang is an area now also known as Kamang Magek, in Agam Regency, West Sumatra, which is the area of struggle of the hero, Tuanku Nan Renceh.
The Kamang War was led by H Abdul Manan, a local cleric who was later killed by Dutch soldiers in the midst of battle. Although not yet recognized as a national hero, H Abdul Manan is a hero to the people.
This war is also called the Belasting War, the Dutch term for tax. This war was triggered by the decision of the Dutch East Indies government, in this case the Gouvernement Sumatra's Westkust, to impose a tax on people's property.
“So all goods, objects, rice fields, fields, all including animals and all sorts of things will be taxed. This caused an extraordinary reaction from the people, they did not want to accept it just like that, they were noisy…, so it became war,” added Buchari.
Kamang has a special record, because the people in this area started the war. All of this cannot be separated from the role of H Abdul Manan and local clerics and community leaders. Since hearing the decision of the Dutch East Indies government to impose taxes, especially for livestock and coffee plants, the clerics agitated the people to fight. Sermons and religious studies in the surau, said Buchari, became the center of education for this resistance.
The people also prepared themselves by practicing martial arts, and Kamang, Manggopoh, Lintau and several other areas in West Sumatra were centers of Minang warriors.
“So, because Kamang pioneered these unrest, the Dutch would arrest the leaders, especially the ulama in Kamang,” Buchari continued.
The influence of the resistance even spread to Payakumbuh, Limapuluh Kota, Batusangkar, and Pariaman. It is not surprising that the Dutch then sent military police or marsose, which was the nickname of their war troops in the area. These troops were headquartered at Fort de Kock, under the leadership of J. Westernnenk.
The arrival of the Dutch troops had been awaited by the local people. The Kamang War broke out on June 15-16, 1908, causing heavy casualties among the people.
Rejecting Tax Imposition
After a number of clerics and leaders died, the people of Kamang and West Sumatra in general continued to refuse to pay taxes. Coercive efforts were ineffective, as the harvest was secretly taken by traders to Pekanbaru and even Singapore.
“The tax was ultimately not imposed because of the people's resistance, which was thwarted by the Dutch, rather than having to kill all the people,” added Buchari.
Irwan Setiawan is a history teacher in West Sumatra, who wrote the book “The Smell of Gunpowder: H Abdul Manan and the Kamang War of 1908”. The book is one of the results of research documenting historical events in the small town.
“At the beginning of the implementation of this tax, it turned out that the Netherlands had seen how the export values of Indonesian agricultural products were starting to decline, so they needed fresh funds that had to be realized quickly, so the Netherlands began to implement this direct tax,” said Irwan when contacted by VOA.
In the Dutch government, the plan had been discussed for quite some time. After it was mature enough, socialization began in March 1908 in West Sumatra. This effort caused a reaction, because the regions began to be restive.
“This is an important episode in the history of West Sumatra after the Padri War, because it happened in 1908,” added Irwan.
The connection between the Kamang War and the Padri War (1803-1837) is quite clear. The Dutch persuaded the people of West Sumatra to end the Padri War, among other things by offering tax exemptions. More than 70 years after the Padri War, the people were free from the economic burden of the government. Irwan said this was permission from the Dutch for the people of West Sumatra to freely develop economically.
Changes occurred when the world economy was in turmoil. The prices of several commodities such as coffee and cloves fell. On the other hand, the Dutch needed a lot of money to fight. In the midst of dwindling state coffers, collecting taxes was considered the quickest way out. West Sumatra as a land of traders seemed to have the potential to patch up this leak in the Dutch budget.
“In the rules, some are 2 Guilders, some are more, some depend on income,” explained Irwan.
The spirit of resistance that had been drowned when the Padri War ended in 1837, apparently did not die out completely in West Sumatra. Hearing news of the planned tax, the people's leaders actually used their money to buy sharp weapons to fight the Dutch. This is where the role of H Abdul Manan, as a cleric with many students, became important. Both the people of West Sumatra and the Dutch themselves noted this cleric as the main driver of the Kamang War.
The implementation of tax or belasting by the Dutch was actually also carried out in other areas. However, not many references were found regarding the resistance carried out by the people because of the tax burden.
“The Dutch newspapers also told about this. But there were not many details of tax resistance in other regions. This was a real form of resistance that still existed in 1908 in West Sumatra,” Irwan stressed.
Small Wars with Big Impact
The Kamang War, although small, has been recorded in the writing of Indonesian national history. However, as stated by Professor of History at Andalas University, Padang, West Sumatra, Prof. Gusti Asnan, there are not many similar events that are recorded well in history books.
“Indeed, there are many, even very many, small events in Indonesia that have not found a place in national historiography or in the writing of national history. Because in almost every region, these small events exist and occur,” said Gusti.
Gusti also added, “Actually, even though it is said that these events are small, these events also bring about changes, both for the regions and the regions, at least in regions that have cultural similarities, social, political and cultural similarities, and there are indeed many of them.”
In the book “Indonesia in the Flow of History” the Kamang War has been recorded.
“And we should be grateful for this, the appreciation given by the center to the Kamang War as a local event, which so far has almost not had a place in the historiography of national history,” added Gusti.
According to him, there are a number of reasons why the Kamang War, and also smaller wars throughout the country, deserve a place in the nation's historical records.
First, although local, but actually this is a war that has the same tendency. The same pattern of war almost occurred throughout West Sumatra in the early 20th century, precisely in 1908.
The second reason is about the background. Gusti said, the Kamang War incident was a reaction from Indonesians or West Sumatrans in particular, which represented the spirit or thoughts of Indonesians as a whole. The people of West Sumatra in particular, and almost all ethnic groups and tribes in Indonesia, Gusti emphasized, must have strongly opposed the implementation of taxes by the Dutch.
“So I feel that the Kamang War has a place in national history, because its role was not only local, and the message conveyed represented all Indonesian people,” Gusti continued.
At the local level, efforts to extend people's memory of the history of their ancestors' resistance are also carried out in various ways. Similar methods can be applied to small events in local history that have an impact on national history.
Gusti emphasized that the people of West Sumatra have made the Kamang War a collective memory. Moreover, similar events and such as the Kamang War also occurred in almost all of the region.
“So if people from Batusangkar, Padang, or Sijunjung or Pasaman talk about the Kamang War, they are actually also talking about almost the same event in their area in 1908,” said Gusti.
In addition, the event is also commemorated once a year, not only in Kamang itself but also in other areas such as Manggopoh, Batusangkar to Padang. The role of historical writers is also important in preserving the people's memory, and the Kamang War continues to be written in various books from the 50s to the present.
“Alhamdulillah, the many writings made it easier when Jakarta decided to include the Kamang War and the Tax War in general in Indonesian historiography,” said Gusti.
A step that needs to be taken for the hundreds, even thousands of local war events throughout Indonesia, which occurred during the colonial period of more than 300 years, at least to serve as a reminder to the people, that these small events helped shape the history that led to the Proclamation in 1945. (ns/lt)
