ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the no written literature of an Indonesian people has been so brilliantly and completely described as that of the Achehnese in the north of Sumatra. It also gives the Arabic quotations in the original language, often followed by a Malay translation as found in ar-Rnrs work. Rawiyatn Sabeuah is very different from the text of the Tujh kisah found in the manuscripts of Snouck Hurgronje. After some preparatory work in Holland and a stay of seven months in Kutaraja, Snouck Hurgronje was able to reveal the existence of a rich epic, romantic, and religious Achehnese literature, to give summaries of its entire works. The earliest dated manuscript of an Achehnese text in the Djakarta collection. Besides a number of Malay tracts, it contains one in Achehnese, entitled ar al-mustam il jannt an-nam and briefly treating the principal points of Muslim religion. Achehnese is the language of the popular catechism awid al-Islm.
