Syntax
Literate: Jurnal Ilmiah
Indonesia p�ISSN: 2541-0849 e-ISSN: 2548-1398
Vol. 8, No.
11, November 2023
INDONESIAN JAVANESE COSMOLOGY AND ITS
TRANSFORMATION IN SOCIAL TRADITION AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Surjono
Surjono, Antariksa, Ema Yunita Titisari
Brawijaya University,
Indonesia
Email:
[email protected]
Abstract
The research focuses on how the
teaching of different faiths was blended into Javanese-Nusantara culture and
has created a culture with a peaceful and moderate Islamic image that is
different from radical Islam which has generated Is-lamic phobias in many
countries. This research examines how Javanese cosmology (syncretism of Hindu -
Buddha - Islam) had been translated in social space and built-environment. The
second is to describe how the system in Java successfully harmonized different
faiths into Javanese culture. This study was a purposeful qualitative study
that focused on traditional communities and two prominent existing Kingdoms of
Surakarta and Yogyakarta in Java. Observation, in-depth interviews, and reviews
on literature and documents of classical authors in Islamic Sufism were
conducted to collect and compile data. The results show that the cultural
process of Javanese prefers similarities rather than emphasizing differences
between faiths. Converting faith from Hindu or Buddha to Islam did not
necessarily cause conflicts and hostilities. The study underlined that the
Javanese�s understanding of cosmology at the micro and macro level, orientation
or qiblah, and spiritual axis found similar mystical knowledge between Islam
and the pre-Islam (Hindu-Buddha). This syncretism process created Kejawen
culture and moderate Islam in Nusantara. Islam Nusantara is recently used as a
paradigm by the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia.
Keywords:
Cosmology; Cosmogony;
Tradition; Islam; Javanese; Kraton.
Introduction
In general, cosmology is used in a variety of
themes and fields ranging from astronomy, anthropology to religious and social
studies. The journey of civilization in many Asian countries is culturally
influenced by the perceived concept of religious cosmology. In term of the
application of cosmological view, Indonesia is unique as it has largest Muslim
population in Nusantara, even in the world, the application of cosmology on
social activities and spatial arrangement shows syncretism of Islam, Hindu-Buddhism,
and local believes.
Therefore, we see that the cosmology in
Indonesia is developing as a socio-cultural cosmology rather than a cosmology
of a particular religion. The largest ethnic in Indonesia is Java (inhabitant
of Java Island). Civilization in Java inherited and adopted a cosmology through
a smooth transition from Hindu-Buddhism and Islamic cosmology to become
Javanese local cosmology which transformed into its social tradition and built
environment.
The embodiment of the cosmological conception
can be observed from how Javanese interpret natural landscapes and the built
environment. The harmony of a cosmological transformation of
Hindu-Buddhist-Islamic mixture can be observed from city spatial arrangement
(Azizah, 2015; Purwani, 2016) Kraton� (Rosmalia,
2013), local settlement (Rayson, Ridjal, & Suryasari, 2014; Rejeki, Soewarno, & Subroto, 2010), and housing (Yuuwono, 2018).
A general definition of cosmology is the study
of the physical universe (Bonometto, Gorini, & Moschella, 2001; Lightman & Brawer,
2014). Cosmology includes theories and studies of the universe as a system of
orders and laws that govern that order (Feng, 2005). The notion of Javanese
cosmology is always related to God and the order of the word. From a religious
perspective, cosmology may consist of beliefs and myths on the origin of the
universe which is called cosmogony (Ali, 2016; Arif, 2019; Hasan, Mat Tuah,
& Tuah, 2014).
Discussion of religions in this paper is based
on the notion that religion is a component constituent factors of culture (Van,
2020). Javanese culture see the cosmology of the pre-Islam religions (Hindu and
Buddha) and Islam did not contrary and were absorbed in social-cultural life
and tradition in Javanese. The tradition of Islam in Java to some extent is
exemplified by the culture of traditional pesantren.
A pesantren is an Islamic boarding school in
Indonesia. It consists of pondok (dormitory
buildings), mosque, santri (students), teaching of
classical Islamic texts and Kyai (founder and leader of the boarding
school).� Traditional pesantrens,
mostly organized by the Nahdatul Ulama, claimed to
spread peaceful Islam in Indonesia (Yumitro,
Abdelsalam, & Shukri, 2020). The situation is different to what is
happening in many places in other countries, where religious traditions always
conflict.
In this article, cosmology is examined more from
the perspective of the Javanese perception. The unique character of the
syncretic concept of cosmology in Javanese social culture shows that Javanese
people can evolve various theisms� concepts in interpreting natural and built
environments. Java exemplify a place and culture where diverse religious
cultures are mixed (Br�ten, 2001) The manifestation of the cosmology is seen in
the morphology of cities (Karsono & Wahid, 2008;
Purwani, 2016), temple complexes (Ema Y. Titisari,
Antariksa, Wulandari, & Surjono, 2017), and Kraton (Behrend, 1989).
Cosmology in Javanese culture can also be
observed from traditional settlement (Khairunnisa, 2014; Rejeki
et al., 2010) mosques (Nuha & Lukito, 2018) and
houses (Cahyani, Wulandari, & Antariksa, 2015). Understanding of this
concept strengthens spiritual cosmocentrism as a
critique and alternative for modern society (Azizah, 2015).� The first objective in this article is to
examine how Javanese cosmology (syncretism of Hindu - Buddha - Islam) is
translated in social space and built-environment.
The second is to describe how the system in Java
successfully harmonized different religions into Javanese culture. The two
questions can be elaborated by exploring Javanese cosmology and cosmogony and
by examining how Islamic teaching in Java respected and adapted religious
concepts that already existed before which resulted in an introduction of
Islamic culture without colliding with Hindu-Buddhism�s wisdom that had
developed previously.
Javanese people
learned the existence of cosmos from various religion influences. Javanese see
cosmos as the self-disclosure of God (tajjali in
Islamic sufism ); Universe was projected out of God and God entered into
every being (Atabik, 2015), into macrocosm and
microcosm (Bhuana Agung and Bhuana
Alit in Hindu mysticism); and a structure of symmetrical, a lotus flower shape,
universe containing uncountable realms (in Buddhism) (Chittick, 1989; Made
Widya Sena, 2019; Sadakata, 2012; Sena, 2015). The similarity of the
cosmological concept of the universe between these theisms is that at the
beginning of the universe there must have been �Being�, for the universe could
not come out of nothing.
This became a common
belief in Indonesia and was taken as the first pillar of the Pancasila (Five
Pillars) of national foundation. Pancasila has already been determined into a
legal development paradigm in Indonesia (Suyadi, 2020). Manunggaling
Kawula Gusti (the unity of an enlightened person to God) is famous prophetic sufism in Kejawen (Islam Java)
rooted from Qur�an and Hadith (record of the traditions or sayings of the
Prophet), Hinduism, and Buddha�s teach-ing. Kejawen philosophy teaches that a perfect person feels the
presence of Allah/God (Akhtabi & Fariha, 2020).
The saint or
Waliyullah (God�s guardian) can be categorized into this term. In the Mahayana
tradition of Buddhism, this can be inter-preted as
Bodhisattva (Harris, 2015; Heller, 2014). This also means that the cosmos
(everything other than God, especially humans) will eventually return to God.
In the previous paragraph, it is stated that the cosmos came out from �being�
or �ex-istence�. In Islamic term, it is called Wujud. Different to what means of �being�, Wujud is the Real Being/the Real Existence. God is the
necessary Wujud while cosmos is only entity� borrowed
Wujud.
Wujud belongs to strictly God, other
than God is non-Real existence. He is Allah, who created, who instituted, who
formed all forms (The Holy Qur�an 59:24) (Anonymous, 2004). The transformation
of this concept in Java was smooth because it resembled the concept that
already existed in the Hindu era in Java, i.e. the myth of Dewaruci,
the �union� of Bima (one of Java-Hindu heroes) into his God. Similarly, but
maybe differently interpreted, the Javanese concept of Manunggaling
Kawula Gusti is also acceptable by Buddhists since they believe that Buddha was
an enlightened and blessed man who was united to God.
Based on this
cosmological philosophy, Javanese people, as Bhuana
Alit, have been practicing to live in harmony with Bhuana
Agung. The philosophy had formed the social characters of Javanese. A social
activity which exemplifies the re-spect of Javanese
to nature (macrocosms) is a ritual activity called Sedekah Bumi/Bersih Desa (earth�s alms/village clean-ing)
which exist from Hindu era to current social life of rural communities in many
parts of Java Island.
This ceremony is
intended as thanksgiving and a prayer to both connect the community,
vertical-transcendentally, to the �higher being� and �lower being� and also to
strengthen social brotherhood as the reflection of the horizontal-social axis.
In this ceremony, people usually slaughter livestock and offer crops in a hope
that the higher being (God/angels/ancestor spirits) provides protection and the
lower be-ing (jinns and
demons) do not interfere with the community�s lives (figure 1). The wisdom of
this local tradition is that peo-ple are more aware
of the significance of the environment and are always living in harmony with
nature.
Figure
1 Sedekah Bumi ceremony of the Buddhist community (left) (Ema Yunita Titisari et al., 2018) and
the Muslim community (right) (Syafii, 2019)
During pre-the Islam
era, the cosmological axis that has pre-existed was the axis-Mundi from sacred
places to profane places. Higher being is associated with higher places
(mountains, highland), therefore these are considered sacred, while lower being
is associated with the lower place (ocean -sea). Springs and surface water at
highland are also sacred because spring in Hindu-Buddha mythology is called
Tirta Amerta which means water of life (Tirta= water,
Merta = mortal, Amerta = immortal).
Vertical axis in
Hindu-Buddha mythology is representing the transcendental concept of life
source, while the horizontal axis is for social matters (Yunita
Titisari, Antariksa, Dwi Wulandari, & Surjono, 2018).� The
cosmological axis is one the basis of the spatial configuration of cities,
temples, settlements, and houses during the Hindu-Buddha era. Islam in
Nusantara, particularly in Java, successfully transformed the pre-existed
cosmology with Islamic cosmology and formed Kejawen
(Javanese centric culture) that is respected by Muslim and non-Muslim in Java
Island.
The mystical concept
of vertical-transcendental and temporal-horizontal axes in Islam was similar to
the pre-Islam cosmology and therefore was accepted in the Javanese community.
The vertical-transcendental axis in Islamic mystic conceptualizes the hierarchy
from higher to lower being, similar to a sacred-profane axis in Hindu-Buddha
mythology. Both vertical and horizontal axes in Islam represent the teaching of
tauhid (the Oneness of God). God created the universe (macrocosm and microcosm)
to disclose His Real-Being and this can be conceptualized in the vertical and
horizontal axes. Higher realm (Alam Jabarut), the
physical universe, and lower realm (Alam Malakut) are
in (covered by) the highest realm or Alam Lasut/Arsy, the �throne of God� (Adhim,
2010; Al-Zahrani, 2009).
In Hindu- Buddha
mythology, the connection of two cosmic realms, i.e. higher-middle realm and
middle�lower realm, can be mediated in a sacred place. A sacred place in Hindu,
Mount Kailash in Tibet, is identified with mythical Mount Meru. Referring to
this name, the highest mountain on the island of Java is also given the name
Mount Semeru.�
This is also the concept of life source. The horizontal-temporal axis
also shows the Oneness of God. God is the Real-Being beyond everything, then he
created Al Qalam (Nur/divine light) and afterward was the creation of the
physical and metaphysical universe, macrocosm and microcosm.
Kiblat papat
lima pancer can be translated to �the four qiblas and
(the fifth is) the center�. This cosmogony as Javanese philosophy is a
manifestation of the concept of mandala. This view is also called "the
world of time", meaning the four-dimensional classification of space that
is patterned in the four cardinal points with one center. This relates to human
awareness of the inseparable relationship between himself and the universe.
This concept states
that Nafs (desire, lust, emotional) that comes from
himself. Based on this cosmogony, the Nafs which is
the basis of human character can be divided into four according to the
direction of the compass, namely: north: Lauwamah
(greedy, hungry, sleepy), west: Supiyah (lust, longing), south: Amarah (angry,
resentful) and east: Mutmainah (noble, honest,
peaceful). The four qiblas also correspond to four elements of universe/human,
i.e. soil, wind, fire, and water respectively Javanese also believe that Kiblat Papat is cultural respect
to four components that accompany human birth, i.e. navel, placenta, blood and
amniotic fluid (Sulistyati, 2009).
These four characters
or elements can also be symbolized as colours: black;
yellow; red, and; white, respectively from north to east. In Islamic Sufism,
the four aspects of God are dzat; sifat;
asma; and; afngal, Dzat of God is an Essence that stands alone without
dependence on another Essence. Sifat is God�s characters, asma
is God�s names, and afngal is the work of God
(Banjari, 1929).
Research Methods
The method of this study was purposeful qualitative
research. Selected cases for the purpose of the study were focused on
communities which have strong Javanese tradition. Javanese traditions were
observed from; a) East Java Province, in par-ticular Singosari District in Malang Regency, where Sumberawan Temple (Buddhist temple) is located; b) Central
Java Prov-ince, specifically the area and tradition
in Kraton Surakarta. The Palace of Surakarta still
exist nowadays, as well as heredi-tary traditions and
royal family. However, it does not have political power or territory of power
administration; c) Special Region of Yogyakarta (Kraton
Yogyakarta) has administrative power to control a region of about 2,900 km2;
and d) West Java Province, particularly a unique Kampung (traditional
settlement) namely Kampung Naga which covers an area of about only 1.5 km2.
These cases were observed to provide information that showed phenomenon of Kejawen (Javanese style) culture.
Since this study is in line with previous studies. The
collection of data was based on personal experience and engagement. Primary and
secondary data were collected for this study. In-depth interviews were
conducted to local community leaders to explore the Kejawen
philosophy. We also interviewed religious clerics as well as conducting review
on literatures and docu-ments of classical authors in
Hindu, Buddha and Islamic Sufism.
The analysis was context sensitive. The phenomenon may only
occur in Java community, one of many ethnic groups in Java Island. Islam had
developed in Java and had become Islam Java and later became Islam Nusantara
may also be dif-ferent to other Islamic teaching and
traditions which came later to Indonesia from middle east countries in 20th
century.
�����������
Results And Discussion
Interpretation of The Mystical Philosophy: Cosmology and
cosmogony of Javanese Kraton (Palace)
At least there are three main
philosophies in Javanese community: Kiblat Papat Lima Pancer; Manunggaling
Kawula Gusti, and; the Dualism concept. Javanese people perceive that Kraton (palace) is intended to identify a finite structure
of the infinite and a miniature layout of the world or a replica of a cosmos,
therefore, Kraton is believed to be the center point
of the earth (Hartanto, Dharoko, & Subroto,
2017). Kraton is encircled by the four qiblas
(orientations).
This creates the concept of the Kiblat Papat Lima Pancer which
means �four sacred qibla� (Kiblat Papat)
and the palace (Kraton) as the center point (Pancer).
This is considered as the miniature of the macrocosm (Kusumastuti,
2016). The two most significant existing Kratons in
Java are Kraton in Surakarta City and Kraton in Jogjakarta City.�
These two cities have a strong attachment to Javanese culture. The
cities are located in Central Java Province and in Special Region of Yogyakarta
of Java Island (figure 3). The role of the Kings in these two Kratons is currently as a symbol of the Javanese community.
In the Republic of Indonesia, the
head of the state is president and the Kingdom of Yogyakarta is a monarchy who
rules the region of Yogyakarta (currently the head of the Province of
Yogyakarta), while the King of Surakarta does not have executive power. The
roles of King of Surakarta are limited to traditional ceremonial functions. The
Palace of Surakarta is located in Central Java Province. The palace that still
exists today was built in 1742. The palace area is a four-layered concentric
form.
The first fortress encircles a
zone that is called Kedhaton, a place for the King
and his families. The second circle is Baluwarti, a
zone between two fortresses. Initially Baluwarti was
an area inhabited by the royal family and courtiers. Previously the status of
residents can be identified from the shape of the house and its
equip-ment. Today, Baluwarti
is one of 51 village in Surakarta City. This village is special because it is
located in the Surakarta Kraton fortress. Baluwarti is one of the cultural tourism villages in
Surakarta. It is also the only village whose entire popula-tion occupies the land owned by the palace.
The third layer is called Paseban which is located outside the gates. In Javanese, Pas�ban means a place for king's audience. Most likely this
ancient time is indeed a place of audience between the King (Gusti) and the
people (Kawula) following the philosophy Manunggaling
Kawula Gusti. The outermost layer is Alun-Alun. Alun-Alun is a public space or
central plaza of the city (Purwani, 2018). Manunggaling
kawula Gusti is also interpreted in the form of the
union of the Sultan/King (Gusti) in the Kedhaton zone
and the people (Kawula) in the Baluwarti zone.
The dwelling formation of people
in Baluwarti that encircles the palace of Surakarta
shows trust between the king and the peo-ple; the
grid pattern dwelling is oriented to the �four sacred qiblas�, i.e., Mount
Merapi, Mount Kendeng, Mount Lawu,
and the South Ocean (figure 3). Each place is believed to the place of sacred
astral (higher or lower) being of Javanese ancestors who protect the Kingdom.
To mention a few, Ratu Sekar Kedhaton, Kyai Sapu Jagad in Mount Merapi and Sunan Lawu
in Mount Lawu (Sholikhin,
2009).
Another spatial konsep of the Kraton is the
dualism concept. The palace buildings were mostly in pairs. This spatial
concept symbolizes that everything has a relationship and complement each other
so that it is established in pairs. We still found a pair of city square (North
and South Squares) and a pair of North and South Sitinggil . Sitinggil contains meaning as a reflection of the journey
of human life in achieving the highest degree of life. There are many other
buildings that were built in pairs. This concept interpreted Islamic teaching
that Allah created the cosmos in pairs (Quran 36:36 and 12 other verses). There
are also two interrelated relationship: the
relationship with God and the relationship with other human being.
Figure 2 The location and
the cosmological layout of the �Holy City� Surakarta Kraton.
(author;s graphs)
Kraton in Jogjakarta has similar
cosmological layout with Kraton Surakarta. Yogyakarta
is currently an administrative re-gion that is equal
to the provincial level. The governor of the Province of Yogyakarta since the
independence of the Repub-lic of Indonesia is the
King (Sultan) of Yogyakarta, thus the head of the province follows a monarchy
system. The common similarities of Kraton Yogyakarta
to Kraton Surakarta are the use of �mountain � sea�
axis as an axis from sacred to pro-fane zones and the four qiblas of the Kraton, i.e. Kiblat Papat Lima Pancer (the four sacred qiblas and the center).
Mount Merapi and South Ocean are considered as
sacred places by both Kratons. Yogyakarta Kingdom has
a somewhat different version of the astral guardians. The south is guarded by
Ratu Kidul (residing in the southernocean),
west by the Hyang Pramoni, north by the goddess Sekar
Kedaton and Kyai Sapu Jagad
who resides on Mount Merapi, and east by Sunan Lawu
on Mount Lawu.
The symbol of the four qiblas in Jogjakarta at the meso level are identified by the formation of four
traditional kampungs (settlements): Jetis Kampung, Wirabrajan
Kampung, Gandamanan Kampung, and Krapyak
Kampung (figure 4). Since Jogyakarta is an Islamic
Kingdom, the spiritual �fortress� was also formed by four state�s mosque, the so called �Pathok
Negara� mosques, located in accordance with the direction of the compass. The
establishment of four 'Pathok Negara' mosques is
another example of Islamic acculturation with the concept of the formation of
the royal matrix (kiblat papat
lima pancer) in Java.
Coexistence between Islam and Java culture has
created tangible (mosque, pesantren, and housing) and
intangible (art, ceremony, tradition, ritual, and norm) culture which respects
sacred relationship of microcosm which maintain harmony with the macrocosm.
This acculturation of Islamic and Java culture has also been created a reli-gious community but maintains tradition, inclusive,
and moderate (Setiawan, 2018). An axis from Mount Merapi, the Palace, to the
South Ocean is chosen as a replica of Islamic qiblahs
namely Bayt al Makmur (a qiblah of higher being),
Bayt al Muharram (Mecca) and Bayt al Muqaddas (Jerusalem).
Javanese found an analogy in Hindu mystical
knowledge, an axis which forms three places (Triloka):
Guru Loka (Bayt al-Ma�m�r )
or the place of a brain, Endra Loka (Bayt al-Muharram) is the place of heart,
and Jana Loka (Bayt al Muqaddas) is the place of sexual desire (Zuhriyah, 2013). (figure 4). This the Javanese interpret
the cosmological layout in Hindu-Buddha period into Islamic period. Javanese
also belief that humans are a microcosm and a replication of the macrocosm.
Both are governed by the same cosmic law, formed from the same elements. So
that whatever is in the universe, there is also in a human being.
Therefore traditional Javanese always
finds harmonization of his life to nature and spirit. Javanese philosophy leads
people to find harmony in the differences and avoids conflicts. Therefore Islamic spiritual philosophy was accepted by
finding similarity in Hindu philosophy. The transformation of Islamic culture
into Javanese culture (which previously Hindu) oc-curred
with minimal conflicts.
Figure 3 Cosmological Lay
Out of the �Holy City� Yogjakarta and its Kraton
Those philosophies of cosmology
have become ingrained in Javanese life, not only in the formation of spatial
layout, but also in the concept of social life which accept multiculturalism (Baehaqie, 2014) in art and design (the use of mandala and
its colors), and; in traditional culinary.�
Harmony, balance, justice and equity are at the core of Kiblat Papat Lima Pancer phi-losophy.
This philosophy has been a moral
guidance for Javanese as human who consists of four elements (figure 3). Fur-thermore this philosophy is understood that human life consist of four main aspects: dzat;
shifat; asma; and; afngal, which result in the lifestyle and behavior of
Javanese related to their physical; rational; spiritual, and; sense exercises (Mustolehudin & Muawanah,
2017). The government officials define it as a sector and direction in
advancement that must get efforts to protect, develop, utilize and develop as
mandated in Law number 5 of 2017 concerning Cultural Advance-ment. The four qiblahs
(directions) concept is the basis of equitable local development in the
Kingdom, therefore avoiding disparity of development at the four directions
around the palace.
The second philosophy, Manunggaling Kawulo Gusti
philosophy, teaches Javanese people to be able to give their whole life to God,
to be able to let God work to take care of his creativity through human beings
as khalifah (humans become one of God's instruments when managing the
universe). The first and the second philosophy is related. The quality of being
�ma-nunggal� (united) is happening when the divine
light (see figure 2) is emanated strongly to the human�s element of pancer.�
The third philosophy, the dualism
is closely related to Javansese�s social behaviour to find balance in life. This concept is
indirectly significant in preserving and conserving the nature. The dualism
concept was also implemented to avoid conflict due to cultural differences. In
a negative term, this philosophy was used by the Dutch to develop a city in
Java that they claimed as a pair of the city which was built by the Kraton Surakarta. Then it became a pair of cities with a
concept of two cultures, a city with a Javanese cosmological concept and a city
with a colonial concept. After that, Dutch colonialism on Java became stronger.
The Concept of Hierarchy
The concept of hierarchy
influenced the Javanese social-culture system and language. The trilogy concept
of hierarchies varied from the perception of cosmology: metacosm,
macrocosm; microcosm (Haris, 2013) In the microcosm (human be-ing) there are also three worlds (Triloka:
brain, heart, genital). From the perspective of the level of sacredness:
heavenly, middle, and nether (Behrend, 1989) and from the perspective of human
elements: Ruh (divine spirit), Nafs
(human soul), and physical body.
The last perspective was stated
in a classical book, Ihya Ulumuddin,
written by Al-Ghazali (1058 - 1111 CE) (Ghofur,
2018). This concept had generated Javanese value of social hierarchy where
Javanese human beings are sub-ject to society, while
society is subject to higher and finer powers and the peak is God. An example
of how society applies the hierarchy concept into their spatial pattern is
showed by a traditional community in Kampung Naga settlement in West Java
(figure 5). Kampung Naga, in terms of its territory and language, belongs to
Sun-danese than Javanese. In this study, Kampung Naga
was chosen as a case, firstly since the kampong shows mystical beliefs that
typically occur in both Javanese and Sundanese culture.
Secondly, the kampong is uniquely
preserve the original tradi-tion
for generations. Kampung Naga is believed to have originated from the Galunggung Kingdom (Hindu). In the 15th cen-tury,
the community was introduced to Islam by the son of the 7th King Galunggung who became a disciple of Sunan Gunung Jati, one of Islam preacher clerics in Java Island
and in the 17th century the Kampung Naga got the influence of Islamic Javanese
culture from the Kingdom of Mataram in Central Java
under Sultan (King) Agung who confronted the Dutch invaders (Department of
Education and Culture Republik of Indonesia, 1995).
The spatial concept of the
Kampung Naga community is driven by cosmological of North-South hierarchy axis,
north direction to the mountain (Mt. Galunggung at
north-east & Mt. Cikuray at north-west) and south
direction to the sea. This is an axis of sacred-to-profane direction. The
ancestral tomb is located at higher place before mountain. It is believed that
ancestors are at higher being and tomb is a connector between ancestor and society
(Khairunnisa, 2014).
Other functions that are grouped
in sacred zone are ancestral place of prayer, sacred forest, and the �bumi ageung/great world�. Masjid
(mosque) has an exception regarding its orienta-tion,
the mosque is facing the qibla (Mecca) direction. The location of mosque
(masjid) is close to the people�s home, alt-hough
mosque is categorized as holy/sacred, because mosque is used for daily prayers.
Housing, public open space and meeting hall are also in this zone. The lowest
zone is for cattle pen, toilets and saung lisung (places to pound rice).
There are also three hierarchies
of interaction: a) interaction between individuals and groups in the community;
b) interac-tion between the people (individually or
communally) to the ancestors; and c) interaction between individuals and groups
to God. The interaction of individuals or groups to the ancestors shows the
belief that the ancestors, even though physically dead, still exist, similar to
the belief in many other countries in Asia. In Islamic teachings, although the
interpretation is slight-ly different, the
relationship with the ancestors is still possible, especially for those who are
classified as waliyullah (saints) and martyrs.
The relationship is carried out
in the form of tawasul of the people to the prophet
and saints in the majlis zikr and prayers to God (Millie, 2008; Zamhari,
2010).� In Kampung Naga, the interaction
with the ancestors is related to hajat sasih cere-mony, rice harvesting
salvation, and house construction. The interrelation of the people to God in
Kampung Naga is related to religious ceremonies (associated with the birth and
death) and prayers.
Besides being related to
interaction norms and spatial layout. Hierarchical concepts are also reflected
in the use of language, architectural forms of buildings, and decorative
patterns. The concept of three hierarchies is used in linguistic behavior in Javanese
society. There are three levels of language, namely higher language, middle
language, and lower language. The use of levels in Javanese language is adapted
to who is spoken to, related to social status, kinship relations, and age considera-tions. In architecture, the hierarchy is clearly
seen from the shape of traditional building� roof (three-tiered roof shape)
such as at mosque, palace building, and home of royal families (Adityaningrum, Pitana, & Setyaningsih, 2020).
Figure 5 Spatial
Hierarchy in Kampung Naga settlement, West Java (author�s graphs)
Javanese Culture
Understanding the transition of
mystical philosophy from Hindu-Buddha to Islamic culture had formed a lot of
Javanese culture. Javanese is an ethnic group in Indonesia who pay attention to
mystical philosophy and respect the concept of hier-archy
more than other ethnic groups.� Javanese
have their own concept of culture. Javanese culture implies that to be civi-lized or wise is through criteria: a) self-awareness
(related to the philosophy of manunggaling kawula gusti and kiblat papat lima pancer); b) place, and procedure (related to the concept of
hierarchy), and; c) aware of yourself and others (related to dualism concept).
The first criterion,
self-awareness, means that, for Javanese, knowledge (philosophy) is only a
means to achieve perfection, therefore, philosophy means �the love of
perfection�. Perfection is when human knows his origin and his ultimate goal,
which is from God and will return to God. Perhaps this philosophy is different
to West philosophy which means �the love of wisdom� (Greek: philosophia), where
knowledge and self-existence are based on the power of thinking, according to
what Descartes�s statement that he think, therefore he
exist (Greek: cogito ergo sum) (Wibawa, 2013).
The second criterion, the concept
of hierarchy, influences the Javanese perspective that ethics and wisdom
develop along with spir-itual attitudes and as a
person ages (Akhtabi & Fariha, 2020). A
�recognized Javanese� is a person who knows civilized ways and is fully aware
of social positions. He is a person who knows the order. Manners become a
benchmark for "Javanese". If the application of this manner is appropriate,
it will be called �njawani (�recognized Javanese�) (Endraswara, 2003).
This culture is almost similar to
Japanese culture that values hierarchy and seniority. The third criterion
focuses on the balance: between physical and non-physical; between body and
mind; between effort and prayer, and; between the world and the hereafter.
Conclusion
The con-cept of hierarchy is physically
implemented to interpret the higher position, often associated as a mountain,
as more sacred. A unique kampung in West Java, Kampung Naga, exemplifies this
particular concept of hierarchy on the layout of the vil-lage. In building
architecture, differences in floor height symbolize different hierarchy. In
metaphysical terms, it relates to the relation of man to his
ancestors/waliyullah and to God.
The mystical philosophy that evolved in Java
generates a culture of tolerance associated with multiculturalism based on the
kiblat papat lima pancer concept. The characters of harmony, balance, justice
and equity are also based on this Javanese cosmology and the dualism concept.
Because of this philosophy, Javanese accepted new culture or new faith which
was respectful to the Javanese tradition. Therefore, there was little
resistance to Islam when it entered the island of Java, because the waliyullah
(Islam preacher) taught Islam through Javanese culture.
Introducing Islam by analogy of teachings
found in the Ramayana and Mahabharata (Hindu) and Wedhatama (Buddha) but with
the foundation of tauhid/monotheism (oneness of god). This supports the
indication that traditional societies in Java prefer to look for similarities
than contrasts in religions and traditions. The transformation of faith to
monotheism was conducted by learning the wisdom of former faith and continuing
the previous custom by adding the value of Islamic monotheism and philosophy.
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