Who are the Aneuk Jamee?

The Aneuk Jamee live on the western coast of Aceh Province. They are grouped in the Tapak Tuan, Samadua, Susoh, Manggeng and Labuan Haji districts of the regency of South Aceh. They also live in the regency of West Aceh, in the districts of Johan Pahlawan, Kaway XIV and Kuala.

The Aneuk Jamee live around the small bays found along the south coast of Aceh. They are also spread out over the low plains hemmed in by the Bukit Barisan mountain range. In their daily life, they are in direct contact with the Aceh and Kluet people who live in southern Aceh.

The language used by the Aneuk Jamee is called Jamee or Jamu. For the Aceh in southern Aceh this Jamee language is easy to understand because the Minangkabau vocabulary mixed with Aceh is similar to the national Indonesian language. However the Aneuk Jamee themselves do not understand or use the Aceh language.

What are their lives like?

Many Aneuk Jamee are fishermen, while others work in irrigated rice farming (basawah), unirrigated agriculture (baladang), and growing fruits (bakabun). There are some Aneuk Jamee who are permanent traders (baniago), but others, known as penggaleh, sell goods from village to village.

The Aneuk Jamee have three levels of society. The nobles (datuk) form the highest level. The middle level is formed by district chiefs (hulu baling) and religious leaders (ulama), such as the prayer leaders (tengku), priests (imam) and Islamic judges (kadi). The common people are the lowest level.

Traditional leadership in a village contains a combination of Minangkabau and Aceh elements. These leaders are the village headman (kecik), prayer-house leader (tuangku manasah) and youth leader (tuangku surau). This is somewhat different from the district level leadership, which is the same as traditional Aceh cultural patterns. This pattern consists of an area headman (mukim), village headman (kecik), street leader (ketua jurong) and elder (tuha peut).

What do they believe?

Islam is the religion followed by the Aneuk Jamee people. As among other Indonesian peoples, the Aneuk Jamee also exhibit some elements of previous beliefs that are not easily forgotten. The services of a dukun (shaman/healer/occultist) are still frequently used for various things. For example, a dukun is sometimes asked to put a love spell (sijundai) on a girl, or to recover a girl who has been bewitched in this manner.

What are their needs?

Many of the boats used by the Aneuk Jamee fishermen are owned by residents of Medan or Banda Aceh. Thus, a program to finance their purchase of boats would be very strategic. Also, Aneuk Jamee farmers could use agricultural training, more efficient irrigation, and the provision of good seed and fertilizer to increase crop yields so that their economy can improve.