Meeting of the Penghulu in West Sumatra, 1911

Photo: Jean Demmeni/Universiteit Leiden

Before European colonialism came to the archipelago and brought modern bureaucracies, the nations of the archipelago already had their own customary governance structures to regulate the public affairs of indigenous peoples. Indonesia was the first country in Asia to implement a modern bureaucracy after the establishment of the Dutch East Indies colonial government after the fall of the VOC.

One of the important positions of customary holders in the ancient archipelago community was the penghulu. Simply put, the penghulu was the customary head who determines various affairs related to indigenous peoples. His authority was quite broad, and his figure was respected by all members of the community. When Islam came, the authority of the penghulu also included religious matters, especially those related to marriage, inheritance, and so on.

When the modern bureaucracy was adopted with the arrival of the Dutch, the authority of the penghulu was reduced by the presence of modern bureaucratic apparatus such as village heads, lurahs, and so on. Until now, we only know the penghulu to take care of the marriage.

The photo above is of a meeting of the penghulu in West Sumatra around 1911. This photo was taken by Jean Demmeni, a photographer of French-Madurese descent who lives in West Sumatra, and the archive is kept by Leiden University in the Netherlands.