Featured in This Issue

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Featured in This Issue VOLUME 13 SPRING 2017 Featured in this issue: Mystical Practice and Musicianship in Central Java, ORIANA FILIACI Art Jog and Indonesia’s New Art Republic, KATIE BRUHN Gender Representation for Development in Myanmar Media (2010-2014), AYE LEI TUN Decolonizing Cham Sculptures as Art: From Cultural Appropriation to Cultural Revitalization, MIRAMAS HOSAN MOSTILLER Geostrategic Competition and the Future of ASEAN’s Hedging Strategy, LANCE DEVREAUX JACKSON The Threat of IS (Islamic State) in Southeast Asia, NEDA JEBELLIE EXPLORATIONS is a publication wholly managed and edited by a board of graduate students, in conjunction with the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at EXPLORATIONS: the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and partially funded by the United States Department of Education, through a Title VI grant. a graduate student journal of southeast asian studies The principle mission of EXPLORATIONS is to offer a forum for students to present disciplinary and interdisciplinary research on a broad range of issues relating principally to the region which today constitutes Southeast Asia. Embracing both the diversity of academic interests and scholastic expertise, it is hoped that this forum will introduce students tot he work of their colleagues, encourage discussion both within and across disciplines, and foster a sense of community among those interested in Southeast Asia. The views expressed in EXPLORATIONS are those of the authors and not Dear Readers, necessarily those of the editorial board. If you have interested in participating in the production of EXPLORATIONS or have questions, comments, or Welcome to EXPLORATIONS: a graduate student journal of south submissions, please contact the editors at: [email protected], or east asian studies. This year, the editorial team is pleased to announce or EXPLORATIONS c/o CSEAS University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Moore Hall 416, journal theme, 1890 East-West Road, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822. Southeast Asia’s (Dis)integration: Re-examining approaches to the Cover Picture: Study of Southeast Asia Please visit us on the web atL This issue of EXPLORATIONS re-examines established approaches to the http://www.cseashawaii.org/students/exlorations/ study of Southeast Asia. The articles included in this issue attempt to destabilize or problematize existing notions of homogeneity/integration in light of contemporary research. In addition, a broad range of disciplines and areas of research are covered here including mystical practices in Central Java, gender representation in Editorial Team CSEAS Coordinator Myanmar, and impinging threats of the Islamic State (IS) in Southeast Asia. In Caroline Baicy Paul Rausch raising these questions, we hope to bring alternative ways of thinking about Wyatt Gordon Southeast Asia, both past and present. Daniel Pham Faculty Coordinator Desiree Simandjuntak Ehito Kimura The 2015 editorial team is glad to be a part of this student-initiated platform to encourage and promote graduate scholarship in Southeast Asian studies, and we look forward to seeing further advancement of research in this area. Design and Layout Support Daniel Pham Aloha, Benjamin Moseley 2015 EXPLORATIONS Editorial team. Desiree Simandjuntak ABSTRACT Mysticism plays a significant role within the tradition of Javanese gamelan. This work focuses specifically on central Java, and the questions it posits and attempts to answer are: How does MYSTICAL PRACTICE AND MUSICIANSHIP mysticism manifest itself in Javanese gamelan traditions? How has IN CENTRAL JAVA this changed? And, how does mysticism survive within the context of music and performance today? Ethnomusicological and ethnographic Oriana Filiaci methodologies were utilized in the composition of this paper, relying on academic research done by past scholars as well as primary sources. Master’s of Asian Studies School of Pacific and Asian Studies Dialogues, interviews, and participation in various performing University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa gamelan groups both in the United States and Indonesia have further informed the scope of this work. Most recently, those groups have been Kyai Gandrung based at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and Sumunar based in St. Paul, Minnesota while at a performance exchange trip in Surakarta, Java. Introduction archipelago, is composed of many different regions, each with its unique history and provincial dialect. Indonesia is home to Mysticism is an inherent part of Javanese culture, a multitude of religious, cultural, and ethnic traditions. including within the tradition of gamelan music. Gamelan can Javanese comprise the largest ethnic group in the country. refer to the instruments that comprise an ensemble as well as Moreover, Javanese culture permeates the broader cultural the music and tradition itself. It encompasses metallophones sphere of Indonesia as nation-state. and gongs, the ideal material being bronze, with the addition of wooden percussion, stringed instruments, and vocals. It To be Javanese is to be Indonesian but the reverse is clearly not the case…Javanese culture occupies a position of “first among equals,” or can be played in a wide variety of contexts, ranging from hegemony depending on one’s perspective, in the larger Indonesian rituals to public weddings and celebrations. A synthesis of society because the Javanese are the largest ethnic community and textual research on the history and tradition of gamelan music have been politically dominant since the beginning. [2] by scholars such as Judith Becker, Marc Benamou, Currently, Bahasa Indonesia is recognized as the Sumarsam, and Neil Sorrell as well as works on Javanese national language, although there are countless regional mystic practice by Koentjaraningrat, Mark Woodward, languages that preceded the establishment of a common Clifford Geertz, Niels Mulder, and Susan Pratt Walton will language. This is due to the political unification of many help to demonstrate how Javanese mystical practice is disparate cultures under Dutch colonialism, beginning with intimately tied to the sphere of gamelan performance and the Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (the V.O.C.), or, the musicianship.[1] A gamelan performance is fundamentally Dutch East India Company. The standardization and lacking if it is bereft of rasa, a concept tied closely to mystical implementation of Malay, from which the Indonesian practice and defined pithily as sentiment or aesthetic affect. language developed, was “the means through which colonial Javanese gamelan performance, called karawitan, provides a hegemony was established and strengthened.”[3] Compared cultural context through which mysticism can be expressed to the complex hierarchical linguistic systems specific to the and experienced. Javanese language, Indonesian is considered to be relatively “egalitarian” because of its lack of speech registers traditionally employed to distinguish relative social status. Java’s Geographic and Historical Milieu Along with the establishment of a unifying national The historical diversity of Java provides fertile ground language, there is a sense of religious pluralism within the for the development of its rich musical and mystical context of a majority Islamic population. This includes the traditions. Java, one of the five main islands of the Indonesian 4 survival of older indigenous practices found in each region power in East Java: Kediri (1045-1222); Singasari before the early, external influences of Hinduism, Buddhism, (1222-1292); and Majapahit (1294-c. 1520)…Shivaism [sic] and Islam, and later by the Dutch and Japanese. The cultural and Buddhism coexist and sometimes merge in syncretic cults and religious diversity of central Java, let alone Indonesia as a strongly tinged by Tantric mysticism.”[6] The Indian whole, is unsurprising upon examining a timeline excerpt of influence on theatre, dance, art and culture in general can still its history. The dynamic historical, religious, and cultural be witnessed today, particularly in certain elements of interchanges are demonstrated today by the remnants of an Javanese dance. For instance, “the use of Hindu mythology, architecturally resplendent past. The Sailendra kingdom is albeit thoroughly assimilated into Javanese culture through credited for building the monumental Mahayana Buddhist the wayang and other art forms, is one of the main examples candi (monument) Borobudur (a world heritage site) along of Indian influence…”[7] The most common South Asian story with smaller candis Mendut and Pawon in the late 8th to early cycles that have been localized in Java are the epics 9th centuries.[4] The subsequent Sailendra and Sanjaya royal Mahabharata and Ramayana. families’ Hindu revival occurred at candi Prambanan, known colloquially as Loro Jonggrang in the 9th century.[5] One of the many ways this rich diversity and syncretic character On Localization and “Indianization”/“Sinicization” expresses itself is through traditional cultural practices, such as the many varieties of theater and dance. The central When examining any tradition in Southeast Asia, it is Javanese court cities of Yogyakarta and Surakarta necessary to discuss how the multitude of cultures in and (alternatively known as Solo) are known as hubs of Javanese around the region informed its development. These historical culture and art where various forms of theater still thrive settings create the cultural contexts and matrices that allow today. for the cultivation of traditions like Javanese gamelan music and forms of mysticism. The term “localization” is readily Circa the 7th-10th
Recommended publications
  • Concise Ancient History of Indonesia.Pdf
    CONCISE ANCIENT HISTORY OF INDONESIA CONCISE ANCIENT HISTORY O F INDONESIA BY SATYAWATI SULEIMAN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL FOUNDATION JAKARTA Copyright by The Archaeological Foundation ]or The National Archaeological Institute 1974 Sponsored by The Ford Foundation Printed by Djambatan — Jakarta Percetakan Endang CONTENTS Preface • • VI I. The Prehistory of Indonesia 1 Early man ; The Foodgathering Stage or Palaeolithic ; The Developed Stage of Foodgathering or Epi-Palaeo- lithic ; The Foodproducing Stage or Neolithic ; The Stage of Craftsmanship or The Early Metal Stage. II. The first contacts with Hinduism and Buddhism 10 III. The first inscriptions 14 IV. Sumatra — The rise of Srivijaya 16 V. Sanjayas and Shailendras 19 VI. Shailendras in Sumatra • •.. 23 VII. Java from 860 A.D. to the 12th century • • 27 VIII. Singhasari • • 30 IX. Majapahit 33 X. The Nusantara : The other islands 38 West Java ; Bali ; Sumatra ; Kalimantan. Bibliography 52 V PREFACE This book is intended to serve as a framework for the ancient history of Indonesia in a concise form. Published for the first time more than a decade ago as a booklet in a modest cyclostyled shape by the Cultural Department of the Indonesian Embassy in India, it has been revised several times in Jakarta in the same form to keep up to date with new discoveries and current theories. Since it seemed to have filled a need felt by foreigners as well as Indonesians to obtain an elementary knowledge of Indonesia's past, it has been thought wise to publish it now in a printed form with the aim to reach a larger public than before.
    [Show full text]
  • His Excellency Mr. Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia
    REMARKS PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA H.E. JOKO WIDODO AT 77TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (UNESCAP) MONDAY, 26 APRIL 2021 Page 1 of 4 Executive Secretary of the UNESCAP, Armida Alisjahbana, and all Delegates, 1. The COVID-19 Pandemic has shown us ➔ of the weakness of health infrastructures at the national, regional, and global levels. ➔ And how fragile our economy is from external shocks. 2. Therefore together, we must reflect upon ourselves and correct our course. 3. The Asia and Pacific region must soon come out from the pandemic and become stronger. 4. Recover together…recover stronger. 5. Allow me to share some thoughts. 6. First… we must expand investment in strengthening regional health resilience. 7. The region’s health expenditures are still low. ➔ In South Asia, for instance, at only 3.48% of the GDP, while East Asia and the Pacific at 6.67%. ➔ Compared to in Latin America 7.96%, in the European Union 9.85%, and in the United States 16.89%. 8. This needs to be corrected. 9. UNESCAP must become the catalyst in strengthening the region’s health infrastructure, through … ➔ Enhancing the quality of health personnel Page 2 of 4 ➔ Collaborating in health, pharmaceutical, vaccines, and medical raw materials industries … and ➔ research and technology in the health sector 10. The capacity for pandemic early warning in the region must also be strengthened. 11. Second… we have to adapt towards economic recovery 12. Investment on digital-based economy must be scaled up. 13. Innovation to support safe tourism must be undertaken.
    [Show full text]
  • A Short History of Indonesia: the Unlikely Nation?
    History Indonesia PAGES 13/2/03 8:28 AM Page i A SHORT HISTORY OF INDONESIA History Indonesia PAGES 13/2/03 8:28 AM Page ii Short History of Asia Series Series Editor: Milton Osborne Milton Osborne has had an association with the Asian region for over 40 years as an academic, public servant and independent writer. He is the author of eight books on Asian topics, including Southeast Asia: An Introductory History, first published in 1979 and now in its eighth edition, and, most recently, The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future, published in 2000. History Indonesia PAGES 13/2/03 8:28 AM Page iii A SHORT HISTORY OF INDONESIA THE UNLIKELY NATION? Colin Brown History Indonesia PAGES 13/2/03 8:28 AM Page iv First published in 2003 Copyright © Colin Brown 2003 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. Allen & Unwin 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100 Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218 Email: [email protected] Web: www.allenandunwin.com National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Brown, Colin, A short history of Indonesia : the unlikely nation? Bibliography.
    [Show full text]
  • A Shift in the Meaning of Deer Head Sculpture in Javanese House Interior
    6th Bandung Creative Movement International Conference in Creative Industries 2019 (6th BCM 2019) A Shift in The Meaning of Deer Head Sculpture in Javanese House Interior Rahmanu Widayat1 1Department of Interior Design, Fakulty of Art and Design, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta, Indonesia [email protected] Abstract Kejawen community of Java, syncretism from Java, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam possess many kinds decoration in their houses (Javanese houses). One of them is deer head sculpture. Even though it is an imported culture, the deer head sculpture can be easily accepted by the Javanese people because references regarding deer story have been found since the old time. Even though related to deer are quite common, there has not been any research on the shift in the meaning of deer in the context of Javanese culture. The method used in this study is qualitative re- search with the paradigm interpretation. The results of the analysis found that the deer head sculpture, which was originally a preserved and displayed ravin at home as a symbol of prestige, has a connection with Hindu culture, Majapahit culture, Mataram dynasty royal regalia, and Javanese (commonner) Javanese culture. In the context of to- day's modern culture, deer head sculptures are displayed in today's interiors to present a traditional atmosphere and for the sake of nostalgia Keywords meaning, deer head sculture, Javanese house atmosphere of the past. This shows a shift in meaning related 1. Introduction to the deer head sculpture art works. In ancient time, male deer head sculptures were very popular and adorned interior design in many houses of dis- 2.
    [Show full text]
  • A Subud Bibliography
    A Subud Bibliography By Matthew Clark COPYRIGHT 2003, 2004, 2005 July 15, 2005 version Welcome Brothers, Sisters, Booklovers and Fellow Bibliophiles to “A Subud Bibliography”, my labor of love (or rampant purification if you ask my wife)--In either case, the first step in my dream to one day see a comprehensive library or literary collection of Subud and Subud-related writings accessible to members and scholars everywhere. I have been an avid reader and book-collector since childhood. (My mother drove a bookmobile and used to bring home armloads of discarded books for us to read). When my father passed away in 1995, I was fortunate to inherit part of his esoteric book collection…and his great love of Subud books. That’s when the seed was planted…the idea of gathering under one roof everything written about Bapak and Subud and by Subud members. It has grown slowly since then until, with the advent of the Internet, it became possible to begin systematically collecting much of what has been written about Subud and by its members. This is certainly a work in process, far from finished; in fact, never to be finished as long as Subud continues. It is more than a list…it is a living history of Subud, beginning with Rofe’s first article in October 1951 in an obscure journal (discovered by divine inspiration in a sub-basement of the New York Public Library) and continuing through all the great (and some not-so-great) Subud-related books and articles of the past half century.
    [Show full text]
  • Vice President's Power and Role in Indonesian Government Post Amendment 1945 Constitution
    Al WASATH Jurnal Ilmu Hukum Volume 1 No. 2 Oktober 2020: 61-78 VICE PRESIDENT'S POWER AND ROLE IN INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT POST AMENDMENT 1945 CONSTITUTION Roziqin Guanghua Law School, Zhejiang University, China Email: [email protected] Abstract Politicians are fighting over the position of Vice President. However, after becoming Vice President, they could not be active. The Vice President's role is only as a spare tire. Usually, he would only perform ceremonial acts. The exception was different when the Vice President was Mohammad Hata and Muhammad Jusuf Kalla. Therefore, this paper will question: What is the position of the President in the constitutional system? What is the position of the Vice President of Indonesia after the amendment of the 1945 Constitution? Furthermore, how is the role sharing between the President and Vice President of Indonesia? This research uses the library research method, using secondary data. This study uses qualitative data analysis methods in a prescriptive-analytical form. From the research, the writer found that the President is assisted by the Vice President and ministers in carrying out his duties. The President and the Vice President work in a team of a presidential institution. From time to time, the Indonesian Vice President's position has always been the same to assist the President. The Vice President will replace the President if the President is permanently unavailable or temporarily absent. With the Vice President's position who is directly elected by the people in a pair with the President, he/she is a partner, not subordinate to the President.
    [Show full text]
  • How Far? (Acts 17:16-34), June 22/23, 2013
    How Far? June 22/23, 2013 Digging Deeper (Questions are on the last page) How Far? Written by: Robert Ismon Brown ([email protected]) Background Notes Key Scripture Text: Acts 17:16-34 Introduction How far can we go with this Jesus thing, anyway? Are there really untouchables in the world that must always remain unreached? What do we do when the neediest people around us simply aren’t like us? For those of us living in the U.S., it’s no longer a question of reaching the world outside, because the world has arrived inside our borders, bringing different languages, different cultures, different faiths, and different ideas. And we are anxious about that, and we imagine that such an onslaught of newcomers means less of everything for us: less jobs, less resources, less healthcare, less social services. Anxiety is commonly born of fear that there will never be enough in a closed economy where the rule is scarcity. “They’ve gone too far…” we say about the policy makers. But not everybody thinks like that. There are some who embrace the vision of a different world, where anxiety is replaced by trusting fidelity and where scarcity is replaced by abundance. Some say that God is the Creator of heaven and earth. Some say the Creator has invested the world with more than enough. Some say that God has already gone the far distance from His infinite self to the world’s finite need, and that He is in fact already in our midst in Jesus of Nazareth. And some say He has providentially brought the mission to us, and so now we must choose whether to see the developments in our generation as a horrible tragedy of epic proportions — an epic fail — or whether to see them as the Great Surprise from the God who wants all of His lost children found.
    [Show full text]
  • THE ROLE of CHENG HO MOSQUE the New Silk Road, Indonesia
    DOI: 10.15642/JIIS.2014.8.1.23Islamic Cultural Identity-38 THE ROLE OF CHENG HO MOSQUE The New Silk Road, Indonesia-China Relations in Islamic Cultural Identity Choirul Mahfud Institute for Religions and Social Studies, Surabaya – Indonesia | [email protected] Abstract: This article discusses the role of the Cheng Ho mosque in developing cultural, social, educational and religious aspects between the Chinese and non-Chinese in Indonesia and in strengthening the best relationship internationally between Indonesia and China. The Cheng Ho Mosque is one of the ethnic Chinese cultural identities in contemporary Indonesia. Currently, it is not only as a place of worship for Chinese Islam, but also as a religious tourism destination as well as new media to learn about Islamic Chinese cultures in Indonesia. In addition, Cheng Ho mosque is also beginning to be understood as the “new silk road”, because it assumed that it has an important role in fostering a harmonious relationship between the Indonesian government and China. It can be seen from the establishment of Cheng Ho mosques in a number of regions in Indonesia. In this context, this article describes what the contributions and implications of the Cheng Ho mosque as the new silk road in fostering bilateral relations between Indonesia and China, especially in Islamic cultural identity. Keywords: the Cheng Ho Mosque, Chinese muslim, Cultural Identity Introduction The Cheng Ho Mosque is a part of interesting topics on Chinese Muslim-Indonesian identities in Indonesia. Many researchers from all countries pay attention to this Mosque from different views. Hew Wai Weng in his doctoral research at ANU Canberra on “Chinese-style mosques in Indonesia” highlighted the unique architecture of the JOURNAL OF INDONESIAN ISLAM Volume 08, Number 01, June 2014 23 Choirul Machfud Cheng Ho Mosque in Surabaya, which has a Chinese style.
    [Show full text]
  • What Is Indonesian Islam?
    M. Laffan, draft paper prepared for discussion at the UCLA symposium ‘Islam and Southeast Asia’, May 15 2006 What is Indonesian Islam? Michael Laffan, History Department, Princeton University* Abstract This paper is a preliminary essay thinking about the concept of an Indonesian Islam. After considering the impact of the ideas of Geertz and Benda in shaping the current contours of what is assumed to fit within this category, and how their notions were built on the principle that the region was far more multivocal in the past than the present, it turns to consider whether, prior to the existance of Indonesia, there was ever such a notion as Jawi Islam and questions what modern Indonesians make of their own Islamic history and its impact on the making of their religious subjectivities. What about Indonesian Islam? Before I begin I would like to present you with three recent statements reflecting either directly or indirectly on assumptions about Indonesian Islam. The first is the response of an Australian academic to the situation in Aceh after the 2004 tsunami, the second and third have been made of late by Indonesian scholars The traditionalist Muslims of Aceh, with their mystical, Sufistic approach to life and faith, are a world away from the fundamentalist Islamists of Saudi Arabia and some other Arab states. The Acehnese have never been particularly open to the bigoted "reformism" of radical Islamist groups linked to Saudi Arabia. … Perhaps it is for this reason that aid for Aceh has been so slow coming from wealthy Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia.1 * This, admittedly in-house, piece presented at the UCLA Colloquium on Islam and Southeast Asia: Local, National and Transnational Studies on May 15, 2006, is very much a tentative first stab in the direction I am taking in my current project on the Making of Indonesian Islam.
    [Show full text]
  • MALAY HEALING PRACTICES Ubat-Ubatan As Remedies Administered Hybridised Form of Islam
    BIBLIOASIA OCT – DEC 2018 Vol. 14 / Issue 03 / Feature Nadirah Norruddin is an Associate Librarian with the National Library, Singapore. Her PAWANG, BOMOH AND BIDAN gathering and preparing ubat-ubatan main responsibility lies in managing and Traditional Malay healers are the from plants and herbs developing the Singapore and Southeast Asian collections. main providers of Malay medicine. In his book, A Descriptive Diction- To achieve the necessary credentials, ary of British Malaya (1894), Nicholas some have resorted to living in soli- B. Dennys compares the dukun to tude, spending their time meditating, “being on par with witch doctors of fasting or putting themselves through history”. Although the dukun has been strict dietary regimens – all in the generally described in disparaging name of spiritual cleansing. Healers terms by Western scholars, a small are also expected to have an extensive minority saw the merits of these knowledge of botany and nature so traditional healers. Percy N. Gerrard that they can classify and identify the defines the “doctor” as a bomoh, dukun right plants and herbs as well as their or pawang in his dictionary, A Vocabu- healing properties, and prescribe the lary of Malay Medical Terms (1905). correct remedies. Bidan Pawang Also known as “Mak Bidan” or “dukun A pawang is commonly defined as a beranak”, these midwives specialise shaman or general practitioner of in women’s health matters, including magic who incorporates incantations fecundity, midwifery and contraception, (Facing page) The betel vine, prayer bowl engraved into his craft. He is usually involved in along with a variety of beauty-related with Quranic verses and invocations, and the mortar conducting agricultural rituals and disorders.
    [Show full text]
  • Forbidden Wealth (Pesugihan) by Tjitro Waloejo in Surakarta
    The Aesthetics and Meaning of Traditional Paintings: Forbidden Wealth (Pesugihan) by Tjitro Waloejo in Surakarta Rahmanu Widayat1, Mohammad Khizal Mohamed Saat2*, Sigit Purnomo Adi1 and Sayid Mataram1 1Faculty of Arts and Design, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, INDONESIA 2School of the Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, MALAYSIA *Corresponding author: [email protected] Published online: 31 December 2020 To cite this article: Rahmanu Widayat, Mohammad Khizal Mohamed Saat, Sigit Purnomo Adi and Sayid Mataram. 2020. The aesthetics and meaning of traditional paintings: Forbidden wealth (pesugihan) by Tjitro Waloejo in Surakarta. Wacana Seni Journal of Arts Discourse 19: 29–45. https://doi.org/10.21315/ws2020.19.3 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.21315/ws2020.19.3 ABSTRACT At present, Javanese culture is increasingly less powerful in facing the changing times, where art that was once familiar in people’s daily lives has slowly begun to disappear. But Surakarta was fortunate to have Tjitro Waloejo, a traditional painter who died in 1990. He perpetuated the event of collecting illicit wealth (pesugihan) in the form of paintings as a life lesson portraying how some Javanese gathered their wealth under an agreement with Satan. The problem is what the paintings of Tjitro Waloejo are like, and what they really mean. The approach in this study is the concept of “wangun” (beautiful) which the writers explore from Javanese culture to study the art objects (barang kagunan). “Wangun” or beauty of the Javanese becomes (1) the form of “wangun” (beautiful) based on the perspective of the Javanese, (2) the appearance of “ora wangun” (not beautiful) or “aèng” (strange), (3) the form of “wangun” based on the king’s legitimacy or trend, and (4) the forbidden “wangun.” The important findings in the study of “pesugihan” painting reveal that there are perpetuated events of collecting illicit wealth (pesugihan) in the form of paintings as life lessons on how some Javanese gather their wealth under an agreement with demons.
    [Show full text]
  • Keberagamaan Orang Jawa Dalam Pandangan Clifford Geertz Dan Mark R
    Shoni Rahmatullah Amrozi 2fI: 10.35719/fenomena.v20i1.46 KEBERAGAMAAN ORANG JAWA DALAM PANDANGAN CLIFFORD GEERTZ DAN MARK R. WOODWARD Shoni Rahmatullah Amrozi Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Jember [email protected] Abstrak: Artikel ini membahas perbedaan pandangan Clifford Geertz dan Mark R. Woodward tentang keberagamaan orang Jawa. Kedua pandangan ini menjadi rujukan bagi para intelektual yang men- dalami kajian tentang agama (Islam) di masyarakat Jawa. Geertz mengkategorikan kelompok agama dalam masyarakat Jawa (Abangan, Santri, dan Priyayi) berdasarkan penelitiannya di Mo- jokuto (Pare, Kediri, Jawa Timur). Sementara itu, Mark R. Woodward meneliti keberagamaan orang Jawa di Yogyakarta. Woodward menganggap Yogyakarta sebagai pusat budaya masyarakat Jawa dan dianggap mampu mengkolaborasikan Islam dan budaya lokal. Artikel ini menyimpulkan bahwa Geertz menilai bahwa keberagamaan orang Jawa terkait dengan ketaatan dan ketidaktaa- tan. Sementara itu, Woodward melihat keberagamanan ini sebagai salah satu bentuk tafsir ter- hadap Islam oleh masyarakat Jawa.. Kata Kunci: Islam Jawa, Abangan, santri, priyai Abstract: This article examines the different views of Clifford Geertz and Mark R. Woodward about Javanese religiousness. Both of their studies, even today, have become references for intellectuals who study religion (Islam) in Javanese society. Geertz categorized the religious groups in Javanese society (Abangan, Santri, and Priyayi). Geertz's (the 1950s) view have based on his research in Modjokuto (Pare, Kediri, East Java). Meanwhile, Mark R. Wood- ward researched Javanese religiousness in Yogyakarta (the 1980s). Woodward observed Yogyakarta as the cultur- al centre of Javanese society. It is considered capable of collaborating between Islam and local culture. The article concludes that Geertz assessed that Javanese religiousness was related to religious obedience and disobedience.
    [Show full text]