The Encounter of Islam and Javanese in Sultan Ngarum, a 19th Century Manuscript

Abstract

Tradition in Java has come and influenced by various traditions which come outside Java. Manuscript is one product of culture which records the whole element exist in the society at that era. Sultan Ngarum manuscript is a manuscript which comes from Indramayu, a region which is part of the West Java. The manuscript records the encounter of Javanese and Islamic tradition reflected in the characters, character symbolization, and dialogue. The encounter of the two tradition results in hybridity shown in the name of the character and terms related to tradition. Moreover, in the story, the relation between Javanese and Islam was portrayed harmony although at the first attendance, Islam has not yet considered as part of Java. Through analysis of the symbols found in the text, it is shown that the religion has brought a good change for Javanese through the medium of knowledge as a way to protect oneself from inner and physical evil. The object of this research is manuscript. The content of the manuscript will be analyzed with thematic study through the element of the text such as narration, expression and dialogue. Then the symbols found in the findings will be analyzed using representation theory.