Javanese religion, Islam or syncretism: comparing Woodward’s Islam in Java and Beatty’s Varieties of Javanese Religion

Abstract

It has been proven that the different findings in examining Javanese religious life are led by the differences in terms of academic approaches. It includes the ways some key terms are perceived and elaborated. The term 'Islam' is defined in its wide sense by one and its narrow sense by the other. The popular rite of Slametan is also elaborated its different aspects by different authors, one leading to Islam and the other leading to animism. The notion of mysticism and mystical practices are also employed to refer to something different, one referring to Sufi tradition, and the other referring to authentic Javanese mystical practices. In addition, authors' perspectives matter. Particular understanding of some notions applied from the beginning of the observation has been guided the attention to particular aspects of religious life. Certain understanding about Islam has made one author emphasize more on the aspects of Islam, rather than different religious tradition. On the other hand, an empty-assumption-like autor to conduct observation on religious life of Javanese has been easily fallen to the dominant view of previous examination on the field. Those factors may lead to using different sort of data. If a single religious tradition like Islam is considered, the useful IJIMS, Indonesian Journal of Islam and Muslim Societies, Volume 3, Number 2, December 2013: 223-266 224 resources are textual, since they tell much about the general development of the tradition. However, while no single religious tradition is considered more important than others, one may find that ethnographical account is the best way to see what kind of religious traditions exist and how the traditions are perceived and practiced. Lastly, as the leading notion and the subsequent sort of data used are different, the aspects of a religious tradition are emphasized differently, one the great and the other the little tradition. Therefore, the awareness -that 'there is subjective involvement in the process of knowing' is confirmed in this thesis. It has been proven by the fact that different findings of the same field research are caused by the ways researchers approach the problem. In fact, they have different approaches.Telah terbukti bahwa perbedaan temuan dilapangan dalam penelitian tentang keberagamaan masyarakat Jawa dipicu adanya perbedaan pendekatan penelitian. Perbedaan tersebut diantaranya adalah perbedaan cara memaknai beberapa kata kunci. Kata 'Islam' oleh satu peneliti didefinisikan secara luas, sementara oleh peneliti yang lain didefinisikan secara sempit. Pembahasan tentang Slametan juga ditekankan pada aspek-aspek yang berbeda oleh masing-masing penulis. Hasilnya, sementara yang satu menunjukkan bahwa upacara tersebut Islamik, yang lainnya cenderung animistik. Wacana tentang paham dan praktek mistik juga dikembangkan mengarah pada klaim yang berbeda, yang satu tradisi Sufi, yang lainnya paham kebatinan asli Jawa. Selanjutnya, beberapa point penting terkait dengan perspektif yang dikembangakan oleh peneliti. Istilah kunci yan...

Adzan Pitu? Syncretism or religious tradition: Research in Sang Cipta Rasa Cirebon mosque

“…The findings of this study relate to the influence of Hindu-Buddhist religious beliefs on the spread of Islam on the island of Java, especially in Cirebon, by Sunan Gunung Jati. This is in accordance with Salim's (2013) research which revealed that there was a belief in animistic dynamism in carrying out Islamic religion such as slametan. Slametan rituals are a common ritual performed by all Javanese.…”

“…The present study's findings have similarities with that of Salim's (2013) research in that both discussed syncretism.…”

Islamic Education Values of Barikan: Javanese Cultural Rituals as a Practice of Islam Nusantara

“…This opinion strengthens Woodward's findings stating that Javanese religiosity, in general, represents Islam by two main models, namely normative piety and the Sufistic tradition (Woodward, 1988). It is relatively stable and similar, regardless of locus and tempus (Salim, 2013).…”

Stress and Coping Strategies on Married Christian Students

“…Secondly, some other Santri practice a combination of normative piety and mysticism. Thirdly, nobilityadapts mystical concepts of radical Sufis who discard normative piety.Finally, non-Santrivillagers adopt the religiosity of noble family [16]. Keadaan masyarakat Islam yang menurut penelitian Geertz dan juga Betty dan Woodward mewarnai keberagaman masyarakat muslim ada di Desa Kedungwungu,…”