Aneuk Meudagang and Transformation of Dayah Institution: Study on Etnography in Bireuen District, Aceh

Abstract

Since the enactment of The Bill of Republic of Indonesia No. 11 of 2006 on the Governing of Aceh, especially article 16 paragraph (2), article 125, and article 218 relating to the government's authority to manage education that supports the development of Islamic Sharia and Islamic education including dayah education, the institutionalization of dayah education is central in community development projects. The concept of dayah education has actually been contained in Qanun No. 5 of 2008 concerning Implementation of Education which was later amended to Qanun No. 11 of 2014 on the Implementation of Education in Aceh. The regulation became more autonomous when Qanun No. 9 of 2018 on the Implementation of Dayah Education was passed. Although various regulations have been established to strengthen the organization of dayah education in the post-conflict and tsunami era, some cultural concepts about dayah education do not necessarily get better. One that is missing and fragile in the anthropolinguistic concept of modern dayah education is the mention of aneuk dagang or aneuk meudagang for dayah students. This local generic terminology is no longer used in dayahs, including in salafiyah or traditional dayah. Using ethnographic approach, this paper attempts to provide a conceptual exploration of the term aneuk meudagang in Bireuen District, including investigating the concept of dayah as a typical Islamic educational institution in Aceh in the current era.