Tambahan

A Meneriman presents evidence of his earned Tambahan to an administrator c. 1650

Tambahan was a stipend added to the salary of a public servant or mercenary under the Tangan Pengampun and preceding Terangauni states. It was awarded to ethnic groups, lineages, and other broadly defined classes of people as a sign of favor from the reigning monarch, often for notable services by a member of that group. Someone who filled an eligible office and received the stipend was called a Meneriman, which was originally a form of lesser nobility. Tambahan were not irrevocable, a monarch was free to create or destroy them at any time, although they were considered valid until specifically eliminated, typically for some specific reason. Within a specific dynasty, Tambahan were almost always honored, but they were also maintained by conquering monarchs or newly formed dynasties to secure the loyalty of specific groups or to create legitimacy. Sometimes, the quantity and variety became so complex that courts employed administrators and clerks to manage the records and disbursements.

The earliest records of Tambahan referred to monarchs granting their reluctant relatives additional pay for their service as soldiers for conflicts consisting of less than a hundred combatants. During the Pedagang Period, Terangauni cities offered associated tribes a Tambahan of choice hardwood timber for each household, which normally would have been kept for shipbuilding as an incentive for their participation in the military. The exact form of the stipend could take many forms which were specified when originally created. The most common and original form of Tambahan was an increase in the rate of pay of soldiers in the employ of the monarch. As the custom spread, however, it took on new dimensions and traditions such as the granting of arms, horses, and lands.

Although Tambahan were considered generous gifts from the monarch, they had to be earned by service to the monarch. The primary form was of service was a term of military service, but it was eventually also applied to other positions. If a public administrator showed particular promise, their family or tribe might be granted a Tambahan incentivizing their relatives to join the government as clerks. One remarkable example of the versatility of Tambahan was when king Merak offered one hundred rubies to each of Pushpena's daughters who married one of his sons or nephews.

Meneriman

While a large group of people might be eligible for Tambahan, only those who actually served earned it and became Meneriman. Originally, Meneriman was only a courtesy title that indicated the favor of the monarch, but over time it became an easy way to identify a given monarch's allies in the general population and thus attracted other rights and responsibilities over time. For example, Meneriman took priority in claiming the attention of a Pemutus to resolve their conflicts. Within their own communities, they sometimes also took priority when setting up their houses on the preferred plots of land or had the right to speak first in public meetings.

Meneriman were also the first to be drafted or levied in emergencies. Some monarchs also demanded their Meneriman subjects own personal weapons or required them to act as law enforcement in rebellious areas.

Controversies

• selection of priests
• bankruptcies
• forgeries and documentation
• extravagance