Singkil's Sipelebegu


Another ethnic group is the Singkil tribe in Subulussalam City & Singkil Regency. Some people think that the meaning of the name comes from the word sekel which has the meaning in the society of want and wish, then it was changed to singkel as confirmation of the regional name until finally over time the people said it with the word Singkil. According to other sources, this word, apart from having want as the meaning, also has other meanings, including the meaning of stopping, and is supported by another note that the meaning of this word is to get away.

But more broadly, this tribe is also known as a community domiciled in this area which generally used to live in the watershed, starting from Teluk Ambun to Pemuka on the river & Lae Sulampi to Lae Langge as well as other tributaries. However, there are different opinions from several experts regarding where it is currently located. According to Tome Pires, a Portuguese recorder, at that time, many of the residents, especially those who lived in the Kingdom upstream, did not yet adhere to religion.

Instead, they followed the flow of animism & dynamism. This animist sect is called Sipelebegu, namely worshiping large & shady trees, and if you want to see the shady trees that Sipelebegu worships, it is located in Alur Rinci Village, Suro Makmur District. The story started when Ibrahim wanted to leave his Kingdom inland to Silindung.

Next, he went to Bakara & married the daughter of the local leader. From that Batak princess, Sultan Ibrahim had a son named Sisingamangaraja. After that, he continued his journey to Pasaribu.

From the references obtained, it is stated that this belief initially emerged & developed in Bakkara Village, where the Sisingamangaraja Kingdom was born. However, now it has moved to Huta Tinggi Village, Lagu Boti District, Toba Samosir Regency. Next is their house of worship in Situbuh - tubuh.

This 0.5-hectare complex is called the Bale Pasogit complex. It is in this house of worship that its adherents gather every Saturday to carry out religious rituals. For example, Sipaha Sada, which is the first month of the new year according to the Batak calendar, which starts every March.

And Sipaha Lima is the fifth month, every year, when the full moon rises, usually in June - July. Likewise, there are records of residents who come from Arab, Indian & Chinese descent. The upstream region uses the village language / Kade language and the people in this region adhere to animism.

This is known based on the epigraphic analysis carried out by Y Subbrayalu which states that the inscription is an inscription from a group of Tamil traders who lived in Lobu Tua called The 500th Of 1000 Directions with a date of 1010 Saka / 1008 AD. Before the arrival of Christianity, they had been influenced by Islam. For example, in Kampung Kayu Menang there is an Islamic grave of a man named Syeh Karim whose tombstone is written in 630 AD.

Historians suspect that Muslims have been there since the 7th century AD and/or in the 13th century AD. Those who converted to Islam then lived in Mecca & Medina for many years. Some of them even became well-known and respected scholars and taught at the Grand Mosque.

Returning to this district in 1667, Sheikh Abdurrauf bin Ali al Fansuri as Singkili became one of the figures in spreading the Islamic renewal movement to the archipelago in the 17th century which aimed to purify Islam from the remains of animism & other un-Islamic beliefs/practices. Since the arrival of the VOC in 1668, the two Kings previously mentioned had different attitudes. This company employs people from other areas such as Pakpak & Batak people, some of whom are Christians and animists.

The majority do not know God & there are still many who hold prayers based on old beliefs (animism). Some of these animist workers were influenced by Islam and Christianity in Singkil. The arrival of Inget Wilfried Banurea in Aceh Singkil to spread Christianity among the animist community was well received.

His great will led him to Lipat Kajang even though he had to walk through the forest. At that time he focused on evangelizing people who still adhered to animism. Pray that people who believe in animism long to meet the true God.

In 1932, evangelist Inget Wilfried Banurea together with Belgian investor E Riiner built a house of worship in Kuta Kerangan & at that time had received approval from the Dutch government. The construction of this first church used wood. After the church building was completed, the evangelist reported it to the HKBP Resort Dairilanden in Sidikalang, to obtain permission to build a church from the colonial government. Apart from that, the Christian side regularly brings in evangelists & pastors from outside the region to convey the truth to residents who are Christians and those who are still animists.

Animists who convert to Christianity must go through the stages of baptism, this baptism is carried out with 3 times the sprinkling of water in the name of the Father, His Son, Lord Jesus Christ & the Holy Spirit. In early 1936, the first congregational teacher named Gr. Muller Manik. Japan at that time did not like the development of Christianity, because they considered the gospel to be part of the European nation.

After independence, this region was also part of the Republic of Indonesia. Not only that, if you look briefly at the events of the 1950s, this place was a destination at a time when transmigration efforts by the government were widespread. However, religious conflicts began to occur, including the case of the religious conflict in Poso in 1998 which resulted in people killing each other in the name of God.

The word church was then prohibited from being used, triggering the emergence of the word undung-undung which came from Christian priests, during a joint agreement between Muslims & Christians in 2001. The construction of illegal undung-undung prompted the issuance of the Minister of Public Works' letter no 24 of 2007 concerning technical guidelines for permits for constructing buildings. Next, it is contained in Minister of Home Affairs regulation no. 32 of 2010 concerning guidelines for granting building construction permits.

But conflicts still continue to occur, for example, what occurred in 2012, protests by Muslim residents who felt that the construction of a place of worship violated 3 agreements at once, including the peace agreement in 1979, Aceh Gubernatorial Regulation no. 25 of 2007, and the SKB of the Minister of Religion & Minister of Home Affairs. Like research by Stev Koresy Rumagit in 2013. When we examine the CCI advocacy work over the last five years as detailed in the 2014-2019 CCI report, it appears that there has been no effective advocacy.

The large number of Christian houses of worship made Muslims anxious until in 2015 there was a large demonstration carried out by the PPI. That day there was also one death among Muslims in Dangguran & 5 people were injured. Until the action succeeded in burning down an HKI Church on Mount Meriah.

Apart from that, relations remain hot if we look at cases that occurred in other parts of the world, namely in October 2020, involving the beheading of Samuel Paty over caricatures of Muhammad. Even though the conflict remains under discussion regarding a permit for a church house of worship for Christians, which has also not been resolved until now, the conflict has reached 42 years of age. The place in conflict is Simpang Kanan which has the largest area, namely 289.96 km2 / 15.61% of the district's area.

The capital of this sub-district is in Lipat Kajang sub-district. When this article was written, this Regency was led by an elected Regent who was still young & energetic, namely Safriadi Manik with his deputy Dulmusrid. This district is a division of South Aceh Regency & part of its area is in the Gunung Leuser National Park area.

Through this law, Subulussalam became a township on 2-1-2007, as a result of the expansion of this Regency. In just a few years as a sub-district, elements of society have asked that the Regency Government support the acceleration of the formation/expansion of new sub-districts in Gunung Meriah District. In this sub-district, there is also the MTSS Muhammadiyah building right on Jl Cut Meutia.

The central passenger public transport station/agent is around Jl Bahari Pulo Sarok. Kuala Gabi is the center of fishing activities, this place is equipped with a fish auction. This district is inhabited by heterogeneous communities.

In terms of religious beliefs in this district, there are several beliefs held by the people, including Islam, Christianity, Catholicism & animism. It could even be said that the development of Muslim beliefs in this district has been eroded by the development & development of other non-Muslim religions, as well as old beliefs that still exist such as animism and dynamism. At a mosque in Suro District, many converts came, they were generally Christians & animists in the past, who are now Muslims.

Christians & animists in Aceh Singkil are reportedly converting to Islam in droves. According to Tgk Jamaluddin's statement when contacting a staff member at the Aceh Regional Office of the Ministry of Religion, this young man named Mamang was previously an animist. The conversion process took place at 21.00 at the house of Mamang's relatives in Napagaluh Village, District Paris Lake Tuesday night.

According to Jamaluddin, the number of Muslims in Aceh Singkil is only around 20%, there are still many Christians & the rest are animists. As stated in the 1945 Constitution article 28I paragraph 1, paragraph 2 & paragraph 4. Multiculturalism in religion is regulated in the joint regulations of the Minister of Religion & Minister of Home Affairs number 8 and number 9 of 2006, concerning guidelines for implementing the duties of regional heads/deputy regional heads in maintaining religious harmony, empowerment of FKUB & establishment of houses of worship.

We should be able to learn about the secularism that binds French unity. However, in fact, as a result of this blunder, there was a big action and demanded that Ahok be imprisoned because he was deemed to have committed blasphemy against the Islamic religion known in Jakarta as the 212 action. 
Other names are Sepele Begu / Pelebegu / Perbegu / Pelbegli / Pambi.

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