MATERILENGKAP.MY.ID – Demak Mosque and Islam Nusantara. According to Graaf and Pigeaud, legends or myths reveal how important the Demak Mosque was in the minds of Javanese Muslims, at least in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries . It is also from the Demak Mosque that traces of Islam in the style of Nusatara Islam can be easily traced to their historical roots.
Even if we say it is not as grand as the Istiqal Mosque building, for example, it can be said that the Demak Mosque is one of the charismatic mosques in Java. In addition to historical factors, this charisma is formed because of the strong legend or myth behind the history and existence of the mosque.
Because of the strong charisma of this mosque, not a few Javanese people believe that a pilgrimage to the Demak Mosque has the same value as performing a pilgrimage to Mecca. It is clear that there is a strong aura of sacredness and sacredness in the association of the meaning of this mosque for Javanese people, especially for those who embrace Javanese-Islam.
Of course, the assumption of the meaning of sacredness or sacredness is not the monopoly of the Demak Mosque. Many other locations are also considered to carry such meaning. However, this mosque is one of the main ones. Not surprisingly, the pilgrimage to the Demak Mosque and the pilgrimage to the tombs of the saints themselves have had their own significance in the minds of the Javanese-Islamic community.
How the meaning system of the Javanese-Islamic society can be constructed in such a way is certainly interesting to observe. The meaning system is clearly not born out of a vacuum.
Talking about the meaning system, a little or a lot is actually talking about history. However, talking about history in Javanese treasury is not easy. This is because straightforward facts and chronological timelines are not immediately available. Talking about history in Javanese history, whether you like it or not, means talking about the legend or myth itself, and describing it.
About Legend
As is known, the writing of Javanese history, which is sourced from the Babad Tanah Jawa , usually tends to be written by mixing facts and legends or myths. Therefore, it does not only require accuracy and criticality to decipher which are facts and which are myths, more than that, other historical sources are also needed, both as comparative references and as verification tools.
Talking about the interpretation of Javanese history based on the chronicle tradition , here we should thank Hermanus Johannes de Graaf for one of them. Not only Graaf of course, but at least he has made a very valuable contribution to the study of chronicle literature in the study of Javanese history. Using the historical method, Graaf combines European, Chinese and Javanese sources as a basis for interpreting Javanese historical writing.
At this point, the Dutch historian who specializes in Javanese studies has made an interpretation of the history of the construction of the Demak Mosque. Many interesting things should be noted from the descriptions of Graaf and TH Pigeaud in their collaborative work: “De Eerste Moslime Vorstendommen op Java, Studien Over de Staatkundige Geschiedenis van de 15 de en 16 de Eeuw.” Pigeaud’s colleague was a prominent Javanese philologist and literary specialist.
Talking about aspects of myth or legend, first of all, it is related to the process of building the mosque itself. Like the story of the construction of Prambanan, this mosque is said to have been built in just one night.
Although the meaning of the existence of the Demak Mosque is more closely related to the figure of Kalijaga because of its role in determining the direction of Qibla, the history of its construction itself is said to have been founded together by all the guardians. In the repertoire of Javanese discourse, they are popularly known as Wali Sanga , nine figures who carry the symbols of Islam in Java.
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The Great Mosque of Demak. Photo source: Pesona Indonesia
This mosque has a main building and a porch. In the main building, the middle roof is supported by four giant wooden pillars called saka guru . If the teacher’s saka material is usually one whole wood, then one of the main pillars can be said to be very unique because it comes from pieces of small wooden blocks tied together. Sohor is called saka tatal , this giant wooden pole made of tatal is attached to this Kalijaga figure.
In addition, another legend or myth is that Kalijaga also received the will “Antakusuma,” an heirloom vest that is said to have fallen from the sky as a gift from God. Named Kyai Gundil or Gundul , this shirt would later become one of the mainstays of the Mataram-Islamic king. Referring to de Graaf and Pigeaud, this is the second legend related to the Demak Mosque and the figure of Kalijaga.
Meanwhile, the third legend or myth is the story of Ki Gede Sesela, a character who lifts lightning (Javanese: “bledeg” ), and then takes the catch to the Demak Mosque and is locked up there. Ki Gede Sesela or Ki Ageng Sela is a legendary figure who is highly venerated as the ancestor of the Mataram-Islamic royal family.
Such is the traditional Javanese story about the Demak Mosque. According to Graaf and Pigeaud, this story is recorded in many manuscripts in various versions.
Interpretation of Historical Facts
According to Graaf and Pigeaud, the legend or myth above reveals how important the Demak Mosque was in the minds of Javanese Muslims, at least in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Referring to Meinsma’s research on the Babad Tanah Jawa , Graaf and Pigeaud underlined the words of Susuhunan Pakubuwana I regarding the existence of the Demak Mosque. The existence of this word of the king was motivated by the case of the exile of Amangkurat III to Sri Lanka by the Dutch. Unfortunately, the king turned out to have brought with him all the royal heirlooms. Meanwhile, at that time royal heirlooms were a source of legitimacy for power.
Bledeg Door or Lightning Door of the Great Mosque of Demak. Photo source: Special
Responding to this crisis of legitimacy, Pakubuwana I is said to have said: that only the Demak Mosque and the holy tomb in Kadilangu are the absolute heirlooms (Javanese: ugere pusaka ing Tanah Jawa ) for the kings of Mataram. Furthermore, in 1710 Pakubuwana I also ordered the repair of the mosque building and replaced the roof with new shingles.
From other sources, referring to news sourced from the VOC, Graaf and Pigeaud also noted: Sunan Amangkurat II in 1688 once offered to swear allegiance at the Demak Mosque to the treaty he had agreed to with the VOC.
From the various events above, it is clear how significant the meaning of this mosque is for the Javanese people. However, this mosque has become the center of the first Islamic empire in Central Java. Graaf and Pigeaud believe, Demak as the capital of the Kingdom of Demak was founded in the second half of the 15th century. The two Dutch researchers also noted that at least the important role of this mosque for ancient Muslims in Central Java still existed until the 19th century.
Historically, however, this mosque is one of the oldest places of worship for Muslims in Java. In addition to the old mosque, it also has the status of a “grand mosque” – or call it “state mosque” – for the Demak kingdom.
Referring to the notes of S Wardi, an observer of local history, Graaf and Pigeaud said that near the mihrab of the mosque there is a relief cemented in the wall. The relief shows the candra Sangkala , which is the record of the year embodied in certain paintings.
According to Wardi, the candra Sangkala is a painting of the head, feet, body and tail, which shows the number 1401 Javanese Year or 1479 AD. Meanwhile, at the main door of the mosque , there is another candra sangkala , which symbolizes the number 1428 in Java or 1506 AD.
The two Indologists said the information seemed reliable, considering that those years coincided with the historical moment of the development of the Demak Kingdom’s power.
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Tomb of Sunan Kalijaga. Photo source: Pesona Indonesia
While talking about the “Antakusuma” will, an heirloom vest that supposedly fell from the sky as a gift from God and named Kyai Gundi l, Graaf and Pigeaud note: a Dutch document, the Dagh-Register , dated November 12, 1703, reports: the will still referred to as one of the heirlooms of the palace, which was given to the new king, namely Amangkurat III in Kartasura.
Unfortunately, in the legend of Ki Gede Sesela, namely the story of the miracle of catching lightning ( bledeg ), Graaf and Pigeaud do not provide a comprehensive and complete interpretation. Graaf and Pigeaud only underlined the meaning of the story as an “important political decision” related to death and mythology in the previous era, namely the Hindu-Javanese era, and the important position of Ki Gede Sesela as the ancestor of the Mataram-Islamic dynasty.
In short, for Graaf and Pigeaud, stories about sacred people, legends about figures who propagated Islam in Java in the 15th-16th centuries, must first be seen as evidence that the Javanese-Islamic civilization, which was developed by the Wali Sanga – in many ways a continuation and at the same time a renewal of the ancient Hindu-Javanese civilization.
While talking about the position of Kalijaga, he is a charismatic and powerful figure in the story of the spread of Islam in Central Java, especially in the southern part. Not only have stories about Kalijaga recorded since the beginning of the establishment of Mataram-Islam has become a source of legitimacy, even now they are still placed as a role model for Javanese Islam.
In the context of the Islamic role models of the Wali Sanga and in particular Kalijaga, it is in their recent journey in Indonesia that a friendly and inclusive Islamic model has been constructed. This Islam prioritizes the substantive articulation of Islamic values rather than talking about the institutionalization of legalistic aspects or Islamic law. This Islamic model, which is now popularly referred to by the general public in Indonesia as “Islam Nusantara.”