''Babad Tanah Jawi'' ( jv, ꦧꦧꦢ꧀ꦠꦤꦃꦗꦮꦶ, "History of the land of Java"), is a generic title for many manuscripts written in the
Javanese language
Javanese (, , ; , Aksara Jawa: , Pegon: , IPA: ) is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, Indonesia. There are also pockets of Javanese speakers on the nort ...
. Their arrangements and details vary, and no copies of any of the manuscripts are older than the 18th century.
Due to the scarcity and limitations of primary historical records, ''Babad Tanah Jawi'', is one of a number of accounts of Indonesian legends that scholars use to help illuminate aspects of
the spread of Islam in Indonesia
The history of the arrival of Islam in Indonesia is somewhat unclear. One theory states that Islam arrived directly from Arabia as early as the 9th century, during the time of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates. Another theory credits Sufi trav ...
, the dominant religion in the Indonesian archipelago since the 16th century.
The texts attribute the first
Javanese conversions to Islam to the ''
Wali Sanga
The Wali Songo (also transcribed as Wali Sanga) are revered saints of Islam in Indonesia, especially on the island of Java, because of their historic role in the spread of Islam in Indonesia. The word ''wali'' is Arabic for "trusted one" ("gua ...
'' ("nine saints"), although their names and relationships vary across the texts to the extent that perfect reduction and agreement between them is not possible. Although most of the manuscripts accept the convention of nine saints, a number list ten. These names commonly appear throughout the ''Babad Tanah Jawi'' texts:
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Sunan Ngampel-Denta
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Sunan Kudus
Sunan Kudus (born Ja'far Shadiq; 1500-1550), founder of Kudus, is considered to be one of the Wali Sanga of Java, Indonesia.
He is said to have originated the wayang golek, and founded the masjid at Kudus using (it is said) the doors from th ...
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Sunan Murya
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Sunan Bonang
Sunan Bonang (born Raden Makdum Ibrahim in Tuban, East Java, in 1465 CE; died in 1525 CE at Pulau Bawean) was one of the Wali Songo, along with his father Sunan Ampel and his brother Sunan Drajat.
Bonang is a village in Rembang Regency. Suna ...
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Sunan Giri
Sunan Giri (also called Raden Paku or Joko Samudro), Muhammad Ainul Yakin (born 1442 CE in Blambangan (now Banyuwangi) is considered one of the Wali Sanga (revered saints of Islam) of Indonesia.
History
He was the son of Dewi Sekardadu and ...
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Sunan Kalijaga
Sunan Kalijaga (1460-1513), born as Raden Mas Said son of a Duke of Tuban in East Java, Indonesia, was one of the "nine saints" of Javanese Islam (Wali Sanga). the "Kalijaga" title was derived from an orchard known as "Kalijaga" in Cirebon. O ...
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Sunan Sitijenar
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Sunan Gunungjati
Sunan Gunungjati (1448–1568) was one of the Wali Songo, or nine saints of Islam revered in Indonesia. He founded the Sultanate of Banten, as well as the Sultanate of Cirebon on the north coast of Java.
Gunungjati was born Syarif Hidayatulla ...
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Sunan Walilanang
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Sunan Bayat (an oft-mentioned tenth saint)
See also
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Sejarah Banten ''Sejarah Banten'' ("History of Banten") is a Javanese chronicle containing stories of conversion to Islam in Indonesia. The manuscripts of the chronicle date from the late nineteenth century, although two are known to be copies written from the or ...
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References
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Further reading
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Hans Ras
Johannes Jacobus (Hans) Ras (1 April 1926 – 22 October 2003) was emeritus professor of Javanese language and literature at Leiden University, the Netherlands. In 1961 he was lecturer at the University of Malaya, and in 1969 first representat ...
, The Babad Tanah Jawi and its reliability. Questions of content, structure and function. In: C.D. Grijns and S.O. Robson (eds.), Cultural contact and textual interpretation. Papers from the Fourth European Colloquium on Malay and Indonesian Studies, held in Leiden in 1983 (1986, Dordrecht, Cinnaminson: Foris. VKI 115, pp. 246–273)
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Hans Ras
Johannes Jacobus (Hans) Ras (1 April 1926 – 22 October 2003) was emeritus professor of Javanese language and literature at Leiden University, the Netherlands. In 1961 he was lecturer at the University of Malaya, and in 1969 first representat ...
, The genesis of the Babad Tanah Jawi. Origin and function of the Javanese court chronicle. (1987, BKI 143: 343-356)
{{Islam in Indonesia
History of Islam in Indonesia
Javanese culture
Javanese literature