The Architecture of the Early Mosques and Shrines of Java: Influences of the Arab Merchants in the 15Th and 16Th Centuries?
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The Architecture of the Early Mosques and Shrines of Java: Influences of the Arab Merchants in the 15th and 16th Centuries? Volume 1: The Text Dissertation in der Fakultät Geistes und Kulturwissenschaften (GuK) der Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg by Ahmed E. I. Wahby Bamberg, 2007 Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 17.12.2007 Erstgutachterin: Prof. Dr. Barbara Finster Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Lorenz Korn Acknowledgments Finishing a Ph.D. is in fact a very long experience, and I would not have been able to complete this endeavor without the aid and support of numerous people over the past four years. I must first express my gratitude towards my advisor, Professor Barbara Finster. Her leadership, support, attention to detail, hard work, and scholarship have set an example I hope to match some day. I would also like to thank Professor Lorenz Korn for his determination to help and for taking time out from his busy schedule to serve as my external reader. I recognize that this research would not have been possible without the scholarship presented by the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD); not only did they financially support my stay in Germany, but also provided assistance, advice, and care to which I am deeply grateful. My thanks goes to the Barakat Trust of the University of Oxford for financing my trips and stay in Southeast Asia. I must also acknowledge all the professors, students and staff of the many universities, libraries and archives that I have visited for the completion of the field work of this dissertation. Special appreciation goes out to Dr. Syed Ahmad Iskander of The Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in Johor Bahru and to Professor Mohammad Taguldin Rasdi. Director of the Centre for the Study of the Built Environment in the Malay World (KALAM). My thanks also goes to those who provided me with letters of introduction at times of critical need; Dr. Inajati Adrisijanti of Universitas Gadjah Mada, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya in Jogjakarta, Dr. Heba Barakat of the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (IAMM) in Kuala Lumpur, and Agung Murti of The Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). No words can describe my gratitude to Professor Hasan Ambary, former director of the Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional Jakarta (National Centre for Archaeological Research), who did not only introduce me to many of his students who currently hold posts in Indonesian governmental offices, but personally accompanied me to meet them and to visit several libraries, archives, and archaeological sites. To his kindness I am indebted. I would also like to thank the staff of the library of the, Jakarta Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional and those of the archives of the Balai Pelestarian Peninggalan Purbakala (BP3) [Directorate for the Preservation of the National Heritage] in East, West, and Central Java and the head office at the Ministry of Education and Culture in Jakarta for the patience they displayed in showing me their drawings and allowing me to take photographs. In Germany I acknowledge Professor Manfred Schuller, Chair of the Department of Historical Architecture and Monument Preservation at the Technische Universität München (TUM) for his support and also my colleagues Dr. Stephan Popp, Mehmet and Aysun Çebeçi, Haidi Ruperts, and Andrea Klink. A very special thanks goes out to Professor Bernard O’Kane, of the American University in Cairo, without whose motivation and encouragement I would not have considered a graduate career in Islamic art and architecture. Professor O’Kane is the one professor/teacher who truly made a difference in my life. It was under his tutelage that I developed a focus and became deeply interested in Islamic art. He provided me with direction, support and became more of a mentor and friend, than a professor. It was through his, persistence, understanding and kindness that I completed my i undergraduate degree and was encouraged to apply for a Ph. D. I doubt that I will ever be able to convey my appreciation fully, but I owe him my eternal gratitude. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude towards my parents for the never ending support and care they granted me through my entire life; nothing in this world would justly reward them for all the years of kindness, and devoted love that I have enjoyed. Last but not least, I must acknowledge my wife and best friend, Shaymaa, and my son Kareem without whose love, encouragement, assistance, endurance and patience, I would not have finished this thesis. ii Abstract Architecture of the Early Mosques and Shrines of Java: Influences of the Arab Merchants in the 15th and 16th Centuries? In spite of the Malay Archipelago’s location at the crossroads of the maritime spice route which allowed reception of ideas and influences from China, the Middle East and Europe, Javanese mosques and shrines are widely believed, by local Indonesian and international scholars, as originating from earlier local Hindu-Buddhist predecessors. Variations of local buildings such as temples, cock-fight arenas, communal buildings, and vernacular houses have been suggested as the prototype on which the masjid was modeled. The mausoleums were linked to earlier mountain sites and Hindu-Buddhist practices of veneration of the dead. Two scholars however, Graaf and Slametmuljana, contested the dominant perception and suggested a foreign origin for the Javanese mosque; the former, on basis of similarities in the use of timber as the construction medium, suggested the western Coast of India and the latter on basis of reports in a local Javanese history which records the visit of the Chinese Zheng He to a mosque in Java in the early 15th century, proposed China as the source for the earliest Javanese masjid. This dissertation addresses the issue of the origin of the Javanese Islamic buildings (mosques and shrines) by means of an architectural approach. Architecture, as suggested by Hillenbrand, being a combination of form, function, and meaning, the approach used here, therefore, looks beyond the external features of the buildings and into the embedded ideas in order to inspect whether the mosque concept, plan, orientation, functions, and construction, or any of its given cosmic associations relied on contemporary or older local or foreign beliefs. Not only are the mosques concerned here, but the shrines as well. The dissertation is divided into four chapters. The first is a broad historical introduction that gives an overall picture of he Malay Archipelago from the 3rd century A. D. when the Indians arrived to the islands till the 16th when the Portuguese established there hegemony in the region. Theories regarding the arrival of Islam and the foundation of Muslim polities in Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and Java and the “Islamization” of the Spice Islands are addressed in more detail. The second chapter is a descriptive and pictorial catalogue of the case monuments; 15th-16th century mosques and shrines of the northern coast of Java. Mosques selected are those of Demak, Banten, Cirebon and the Masjid Panjunan in Cirebon. The shrines are those of Drajat, Gunung Jati, Ratu Kalinyamat, Sendang Duwur, Bonang and Kudus. The third chapter is an analytical comparison between the architecture of local buildings, their associated iconography and religious beliefs, architectural details, and decorations and those of the Javanese mosque and shrine. The aim is to asses whether the Javanese mosque and shrine are products of the local architecture. The fourth chapter questions the theories on China and India as the source for the Javanese Islamic buildings and hypothetically reconstructs the Javanese mosque design process in an attempt to unveil the source of the mosque’s architectural concept. The chapter concludes by evaluating the role of the Arab merchant in the design and construction of the Javanese mosque and shrine. iii Zusammenfassung Architektur der frühen Moscheen und Heiligengräber in Java: Einflüsse der arabischen Händler im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert? Trotz der Lage des malaiischen Archipels am Schnittpunkt der Seehandelsrouten für Gewürze, die die Rezeption von Ideen und Einflüssen aus China, dem Mittleren Osten und Europa möglich machte, werden javanische Moscheen und Heiligengräber von indonesischen und von ausländischen Wissenschaftlern zumeist für aus früheren hinduistischen und buddhistischen Vorläufern entstanden angesehen. Abwandlungen lokaler Gebäude wie Tempel, Hahnenkampf-arenen, Gemeinschaftsgebäuden und einheimischer Häuser sind als Prototyp für die Moschee vorgeschlagen worden. Die Mausoleen wurden mit früheren Bergheiligtümern und hindu-buddhistischen Praktiken der Totenverehrung in Verbindung gebracht. Jedoch haben zwei Wissenschaftler, Graaf und Slametmuljana, die vorherrschende Auffassung bezweifelt und sind von einem ausländischen Ursprung der javanischen Moschee ausgegangen. Ersterer befürwortete wegen Ähnlichkeiten in der Verwendung von Holz als Baumaterial die indische Westküste, und letzterer schlug auf der Basis von Berichten in einem lokalen javanischen Geschichtswerk, die den Besuch des Chinesen Zhèng Hé in einer Moschee in Java im frühen 15. Jahrhundert verzeichnet, China als die Quelle der frühesten javanischen Moschee vor. Diese Dissertation behandelt den Ursprung der islamischen Bauten Javas (Moscheen und Heiligengräber) mit Hilfe architektonischer Methoden. Architektur ist, wie Hillenbrand vorgeschlagen hat, eine Verbindung von Form, Funktion und Bedeutung. Daher sieht die hier verwendete Zugangsweise hinter