Once Upon a Time in Riau: People and Society in Documents of Mahkamah Syariah Riau (Beginning of 20th Century)

Abstract

The collection of legal documents of the Lingga Sharia court (Mahkamah Syariah Kerajaan Lingga) from the Daik museum (Lingga island, modern Indonesia) is a collection of court judgments regarding various types of commercial acts, financial obligations and disputes over property. The collection contains about 350 documents written in the Malay Jawi language and dating back to the early 20th century (from 1905 to 1909). Among documents there are: promissory notes, judgments on the imposition of fines, claims for the payment of alimony/maintenance, claims, disputes over property, documents on the purchase and sale of goods and property; waqf documents etc. A preliminary review of the documents helps to identify personalities among the participants in the court proceedings: their race, cultural and religious background, social status, places of origin etc. Texts mention Muslims and also non-Muslims, first of all, Chinese, Indian and a number of European names. Apparently the Lingga Sharia Court was engaged in the implementation of legal proceedings and the consideration of cases not only for Muslims, but also for other groups of the population. Hence textual analysis of documents will help to reconstruct various legal, socio-economic and cultural aspects of life in Johor. The application of an integrated systematic scientific approach to the studies of these new mass historical sources will reveal new material on the regional history and historical realities of the Malay society in the late 19th – early 20th centuries.