Sajarah Leluhur: Hindu Cosmology and the Construction of Javanese Muslim Genealogical Authority

ISSN： 1471-6917

Source： Journal of Islamic Studies, Vol.17, Iss.2, 2006-05, pp. : 129-157

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Abstract

The paper looks at the genealogical preface to an early nineteenth century Javanese historical text known as the Serat Sajarah Leluhur. The preface contains two genealogies for the central Javanese Sultans of Yogyakarta, one that contains figures from Muslim and biblical accounts of sacred descent from Adam, and a second that refers to Hindu cosmological entities. The paper argues that both genealogies were written by Muslim scholars but that the ‘Hindu’ section uses Hindu terminology because it represented the lingua franca of religious language during the early Islamization of Java. The “Hindu” section thus charts the descent of God’s mystical knowledge from Adam through his ‘grandson’ Anwar and on through a chain of ‘descendants’ using figures from the Hindu purāa tradition as well as the Mahābhārata and the Javanese Wayang Kulit. The genealogy argues that the central Javanese Sultans of Yogyakarta are the recipients of God’s mystical knowledge, thereby investing them with spiritual authority and power that is designed to augment their political authority.