Syncretic Tradition Research Articles

Islamic-Javanese Hybridization in Politic Cultural Mataram After the Weakening of the Politic Role of Santri

The transformation of Java into a stronghold of Islam can be attributed to the emergence and evolution of Islamic boarding schools, which played a crucial role in disseminating the religion across the region. Initially rooted in the assimilation of the elitist Hindu-Javanese mandala educational model. Throughout their evolution, Islamic boarding schools were instrumental in shaping Islamic politics, particularly during the Sultanate of Demak to Pajang. The influential Walisanga, also known as Kyai of the pesantren, served as pillars in teaching, fighting, and sustaining the sultanates. A qualitative historical research approach using literary sources delves into the factors behind Mataram's diminishing support for the political role of the santri, Sultan Agung's subsequent actions, and the resulting impacts. The study concludes that the King of Mataram perceived the political influence of Islamic boarding schools, especially the former Walisanga Islamic boarding school, as an obstacle to absolute authoritarianism. Sultan Agung's ambition to become the sole ruler comparable to the greatness of Majapahit was hindered. Following the collapse of the political role of Islamic boarding schools, Sultan Agung asserted himself as Agung Binathara, reinforcing acculturative Islamic culture through the Islamic-Javanese calendar and traditions. The aftermath included authorities' arrogance towards Islamic boarding schools, leading Amangkurat I to replace Sultan Agung through the arbitrary slaughter of Kyai and santri. Additionally, this era gave rise to Islamic-Javanese syncretic traditions at the Mataram Palace, encompassing the garbage ceremony, bedoyo tawang dance, belief in the supernatural powers of heirlooms, and the Kejawen concept, embodying Javanese-Islamic syncretism.

The role of Goddess Kesaikhaiti in shaping and constructing the identity of the Deoris

ABSTRACT This article examines the role of Goddess Kesaikhaiti in the construction of the ethnic identity of the Deori community of Assam. The Deoris have successfully established their identity as followers of Goddess Kesaikhaiti. We also look at the goddess’s association with other ethnic communities of Assam. There is a marked difference between Goddess Kesaikhaiti and the other institutionalized goddesses of Assam or India. Most importantly, beliefs and practices associated with the goddess that are prevalent in different parts of the state of Assam reveal some of the age-old syncretic traditions that have marked the indigenous communities and their public life for many centuries. Thus, seemingly contradictory philosophies of Vaishnavism (with its strong message against animal sacrifice) and the sacrificial rituals associated with Goddess Kesaikhaiti continue to exist together. An analysis of the figure of Goddess Kesaikhaiti thus throws light on many important aspects of the societies of Assam.

The Music of Malaysia: The Classical, Folk, and Syncretic Traditions by Patricia Matusky and Tan Sooi Beng

Reviewed by: The Music of Malaysia: The Classical, Folk, and Syncretic Traditions by Patricia Matusky and Tan Sooi Beng Raja Iskandar Bin Raja Halid (bio) The Music of Malaysia: The Classical, Folk, and Syncretic Traditions, second ed. Patricia Matusky and Tan Sooi Beng. SOAS Musicology Series. London: Routledge, 2017. xxii + 438 pp., 603 b&w illustrations, notes, bibliography, discography, videography, index + two CDs. ISBN: 9781472465047 (hardcover), $132.00; ISBN: 9781315223025 (e- book), $38.00. In the past five decades, efforts have been made by the Malaysian government to document, preserve, and promote the traditional performing arts as part of the nation’s plan to bridge the social and economic gap between the major populations. This led to the establishment of Kompleks Budaya Negara (National Cultural Complex) in 1972, after the National Cultural Congress a year earlier. The National Cultural Complex was later known as Istana Budaya (Palace of Culture), where traditional performers were employed as instructors, and performances were held. This was followed by the opening of Akademi Seni Kebangsaan (National Arts Academy) in 1994. Now known as ASWARA, the academy offers tertiary education in traditional performing arts including makyung and wayang kulit. Since music was included in the national school curriculum, there have been demands for more music school-teachers and instructors. Students are also taught traditional performing arts in many schools and universities as part of extracurricular activities. Publications and teaching materials for traditional music and performing arts have still been lacking, however. Matusky and Tan’s original publication The Music of Malaysia was an important contribution at a time when there was a dire need for source books on Malaysian music. It was written especially for music teachers, university lecturers, researchers, and the general public with some understanding in music. This book was first published in Malay in 1997 and followed by an English version in 2004. It was a culmination of years of work by the two ethnomusicologists, with additional materials by a number of scholars in Malaysian music. This new edition, published by Routledge in 2017, has been fully revised and includes two audio CDs of field recordings. The Music of Malaysia is now accessible to a much wider readership and is available in both print and e- book versions. The book is stunning in its scope and coverage. It is divided into six chapters, preceded by an introduction that provides an overview of Malaysia’s history, society, politics, and economy. Here the authors provide a historical timeline of Malaysia’s musical development and outline five musical categories that encompass the major ethnic groups of the country. This inclusivity shows the ethnic diversity and multicultural nature of the country. The music performed in these societies is categorized as classical, folk, syncretic, and contemporary art music. Although some of the performances may overlap, [End Page 150] this categorization greatly facilitates the research and documentation of Malaysian music and performing arts. The first chapter looks into the music of major theatrical forms, which comprise shadow puppetry, dance and opera, and musical theater. It gives an overview of the Malay shadow puppet play wayang kulit; Chinese po- te- hi glove puppet theater; makyung, menora, mekmulung, and randai dance dramas; the Malay opera Bangsawan; boria musical theatre; and Chinese opera. Drawing from Matusky’s own research, the wayang kulit is well explained here, together with transcriptions and analysis of the music. Samples of wayang kulit music taken from her field recordings in the 1970s are also provided on the accompanying CDs. Makyung, an ancient Malay theater from Kelantan that uses the same tetawak and gendang instruments as the wayang kulit with an addition of the rebab (or bowed lute), also receives lengthy coverage with examples of its music. After a brief look at mekmulung from Kedah and randai from Negri Sembilan, the chapter moves to the Malay opera Bangsawan, which appeared as a result of British colonization of the Malay Peninsula. Its music comprises songs that have a combination of Malay and Western musical elements. This can be heard through recordings of two 1930s Bangsawan songs found on the CDs. The chapter ends with a look at menora folk dance theater found in the states of Penang, Kedah, and...

Translation or Divination? Sacred Languages and Bilingualism in Judaism and Lucumí Traditions

I compare the status of a sacred language in two very different religious traditions. In Judaism, the Hebrew language is the language of liturgy, prayer, and the Written Law. The traditional way of reading Torah passages involved translating them into Aramaic, the everyday language of communication in the Middle East in the first half of the first millennium CE. Later, other Jewish languages, such as Yiddish, played a role similar to that of Aramaic in the Talmudic period, constituting a system referred to as the “Traditional Jewish Bilingualism”. Hebrew lexemes had denotations related to the realm of Biblical texts, while Aramaic/Yiddish lexemes had everyday references. Therefore, the act of translation connected the two realms or domains. The Lucumí (Santería) Afro-Cuban religion is a syncretic tradition combining Roman Catholicism with the Ifá tradition, which does not have a corpus of written sacred texts, however, it has its sacred language, the Lucumí (Anagó) language related to the Yoruba language of West Africa. While the Spanish-Lucumí bilingualism plays an important role in Santería rituals, the mechanisms of reference are very different from those of the Hebrew-Yiddish bilingualism in Judaism. In Santería, divinations about the meaning of Lucumí words play a role similar to the translations from Hebrew in Judaism. I further discuss the role of ritual dances in Santería for the transition from the sacred to the secular domain and a function of Hebrew epitaphs to connect the ideal world of Hebrew sacred texts to the everyday life of a Jewish community.

Shintō, the disenchanter

In 1920 Emperor Meiji (1867-1912) was venerated as a god at a Shintō shrine in central Tokyo: was this an archaic cult for the hero of modernity? While nothing suggests that religion cannot play a role in the modernisation process, the evolution of Shintō in the modern era took the form of a destruction of syncretic traditions, and thus a kind of secularisation, all under the pretext of a return to Japan’s ancient origins. Denying the recent past reinforced a linear conception of time and allowed the solar calendar to be rapidly adopted. Furthermore, reactivating the mythical past enabled the deification of the country – the Japanese version of Western nationalism and its attachment to the land of the ancestors. The sacred royalty invoked in order to restore imperial rule paved the way for a deification of the sovereign, which was the Shintō version of the providential man of twentieth-century dictatorships. The official Meiji Shintō, far from being a minor phenomenon, can thus be considered a major part of Japanese modernity.

Похоронно-поминальная обрядность татар-мишарей Республики Мордовия

In Muslim communities of contemporary Russia, the processes of re-Islamization are ac-tively taking place, leading to the transformation of traditional ritual. The study of the ongoing changes (usually accompanied by the disappearance of ethnic rituals) is an important research task. The article examines the funeral rites of Mishar Tatars of the Republic of Mordovia – their content and transformations. The analysis shows that in the territory of the region in the second half of the 20th century there was a syncretic tradition of carrying out funeral rites of the Mishar Tatars. The funeral and memorial combination included rituals and elements of rituals of a non-Islamic nature, borrowed from other religious, ethnic, cultural and ideological systems. At the beginning of the 21st century, the process of bringing the burial and memorial rites of Mishar Tatars of the Republic of Mordovia to Islamic canon was intensified. A distinctive feature of the process was the exclusion from the ritual practice of all rites and elements of rites that do not correspond to Muslim canons.

EDUCATING ISLAMIC VALUES THROUGH WIWITAN TRADITION

Javanese traditions such as wiwitan have often been perceived as being rooted in Hindu and Buddhist culture, and thus syncretic in nature. As the Javanese people have increasingly emphasized rational–functional values, and as orthodox (Islam as represented by santri has become more mainstream, these traditions have been transformed, allowing the ritual wiwitan to become Islamic tradition, expressing gratitude, alms, family, and tolerance. This article explores the educating processes of Islamic values through wiwitan tradition. Data are collected through observations, interviews, and focus group discussions. The analyses use a descriptive and interpretative approach. The findings have revealed that the wiwitan tradition by East Java's farmers is not a syncretic tradition, as commonly argued, but rather has experienced two important transformations. First, it has become more Islamic as an orthodoxy has become mainstream in Java. Second, the wiwitan tradition has a socio-religious purpose of providing a cultural space for divine ( ila hiyah ) and humanitarian (insa niyah) values. Wiwitan has thus offered a means of educating Islamic values, because it contains the values of shukr , s adaqah , kinship, and tolerance.

The Jamaat of Allah's Friends: Maulana Allahyar's Reformist Movement and Sacralising the Space of the Armed Forces of Pakistan

AbstractThis article discusses a Sufi-inspired reformist movement that was set up in Chakrala (Pakistani Punjab) by Maulana Allahyar during the second half of the twentieth century. Attention is paid to the polemical religious context in which this movement arose, in part linked to the proselytising activities of local Shias and Ahmadis. Allahyar's preaching in the town created sectarian divisions within Chakrala's syncretic religious traditions. His reformist ideas also were articulated through atablighi jamaat(missionary movement), which penetrated the armed forces of Pakistan during the military rule of Ayub Khan. Against this backdrop, the article also discusses the interface between Islam and the army, as this relationship played out in Indian prisoner-of-war camps holding captured Pakistani soldiers in the wake of the 1971 war, and so points to ways in which the mutual performance of mystical practices by Allahyar's Jamaat created a cohesive moral community.

Disability Theology Despite Itself

This article examines the biography, literature, and religious thought of Shi Tiesheng (1951–2010), arguably the most influential author with a disability in contemporary China. Using the definition of “theology” in its broad sense, it argues that Shi has developed a kind of disability theology through his non-fiction and fictional works, though he never claimed to be a theologian or saw his works as theological. This theology borrows terms and ideas from Christianity, but also follows the syncretic tradition of Chinese religions. In contemporary China, where religions have been marginalized, religious vocabulary and contemplation helped Shi break free of the narrative assigned to people with disabilities by the atheist state.

The Understudied Side of Contemplation: Words, Images, and Intentions in a Syncretic Spiritual Practice

ABSTRACT The science of contemplation has focused on mindfulness in a manner quite disproportionate to its use in contemplative traditions. Mindfulness, as understood within the scientific community, is a practice that invites practitioners to disattend to words and images. The practitioner is meant to experience things as they “really are,” unfolding here and now in the flux of embodied sensations. Yet the use of words and images, together with intentions, is a far more common contemplative practice. The authors present ethnographic research with a syncretic contemplative tradition, Integral Transformative practice (ITP), which grew out of the Human Potential Movement of the 1960s. The authors focus on the practice of “affirmations,” in which practitioners seek to actualize spiritual goals by imagining future possibilities. Our ethnographic account invites new avenues for psychological research to illuminate the role of words and images in contemplation.

Ideologi Puritan Dalam Tafsir Jawa Pesisir: Kajian Terhadap Penafsiran Misbah Mustofa

The study examines the interpretation of the Coastal Javanese figure, Misbah Mustofa, who seems paradoxical to the traditionalist style of Islam which lies behind his socio-religious background. Misbah’s interpretation, indeed, shows the model of puritanical Islam. By using Hans Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutics, this article discusses Misbah’s interpretation of the QS. al-Baqarah [2]: 134, where he put his critics towards Javanese tradition, like tahlilan. The puritan style of Misbah’s interpretation is caused by several factors: First, the ideology of Coastal Javanese santri that makes Islamic sharia as a standard reference of religious teaching which tends to be more critical towards syncretic tradition of Javanese cults and rites. Second, Misbah’s pre-understanding of heresy and shirk. Third, the interpretation based on the general meaning, tends to be more textualist, and seems to ignore the virtue of socio-religious life of the community. The meaningful sense of Misbah’s interpretation is critical attitude towards religious teaching and proportionally locating permissive and conservative attitude in order to maintain the co-existance of religion and culture.

Gender, sect and shrine: discursive contestations at Bibi Pak Daman, Lahore

ABSTRACTThe syncretic traditions and practices at a shrine can defy the prevalence of rationalistic bureaucratisation and authorised tradition along a number of vectors. One can find such activities at one of the most thriving shrines of Lahore, Pakistan, that of Bibi Pak Daman. Not only is this site unusual because of the veneration of women spiritual figures, additionally the contesting claims and practices found at this site map onto sectarian (Sunni-Shia) boundaries and challenge the very origin, found in modern historiographical narratives, of the shrine. Cleavages around gender and sect increase with the administrative taking over of the shrine by the postcolonial state of Pakistan, which is ideologically determined to wipe out pluralistic practices in the name of modernisation. Interestingly, this study shows that, contrary to disenchantment arising from bureaucratic modernisation, rationalising claims perversely add a few more localised practices giving depth to the shrines sacred geography and make no difference to devotee numbers.

Pilgrimage in Islam: Traditional and Modern Practices

Pilgrimage in Islam: Traditional and Modern Practices

Pilgrimage in Islam: Traditional and Modern Practices

Pilgrimage in Islam: Traditional and Modern Practices

From the Kingdom of Kongo to Congo Square: Kongo Dances and the Origins of the Mardi Gras Indians by Jeroen Dewulf

Reviewed by: From the Kingdom of Kongo to Congo Square: Kongo Dances and the Origins of the Mardi Gras Indians by Jeroen Dewulf Timothy David Fritz From the Kingdom of Kongo to Congo Square: Kongo Dances and the Origins of the Mardi Gras Indians. By Jeroen Dewulf. (Lafayette: University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, 2017. Pp. xx, 242. $20.00, ISBN 978-1-9357-5496-1.) The vibrancy of New Orleans is a cultural standout from other southern cities because of its colorful festivals, musical distinction, and parades. Jeroen Dewulf, however, argues that much of what we understand to be representative of New Orleans culture already existed in parts of Africa before Louisiana experienced the advent of African slavery. From the Kingdom of Kongo to Congo Square: Kongo Dances and the Origins of the Mardi Gras Indians reframes the origins of the African-inspired dance performances of the Mardi Gras Indians. Rather than arising directly from the solidarity between oppressed Native Americans and African Americans, the dances evolved from the centuries-older expression of a syncretic tradition to which "Arab-Islamic and European-Christian—predominantly Iberian-Catholic—elements had contributed substantially" (p. xix). Dewulf's monograph consists of eight chapters that trace the transmission and evolution of the sangamento, a Kongolese mock war dance, from Africa, to the Portuguese islands off the coast of Africa, to Latin America and Louisiana. African culture is a vital component of that of wider Louisiana, and Dewulf recounts the spectacle of the Kongo sangamento dance in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century New Orleans as he begins his exploration of its transmission [End Page 966] from Kongo's King Afonso I, across temporal and imperial boundaries, to French and Iberian America. King Afonso's conversion to Christianity is central to this story, as his application of Catholic social and popular culture likely impacted the traditional sangamento. In ritual transitions of power in Kongo, the sangamento played an essential role. Dewulf proposes that when power passed to Afonso, who had already been baptized into Catholicism, elements of Portuguese performances honoring St. James combined with the sangamento. From that point on, Catholic social structures, such as brotherhoods and mutual aid societies, buoyed the performance ritual by providing a religious calendar and cultural space for the sangamento's continued practice. Dewulf draws parallels between performances in New Orleans and others in Latin America to demonstrate this continuity, linking together the headdresses and symbols of royalty in Ŝao Tomé, the Indian elements of Brazilian parades, and the Vodou influences of Haiti with contemporary parade and demonstration structures. Disparate locations caused the sangamento to develop in different ways throughout the Kongolese and greater African diaspora. One of the monograph's strengths is Dewulf's meticulous inclusion of observers' accounts, ranging from those of local government officials, religious leaders, and amateur and academic researchers to those of modern journalists. The sum of these accounts manages to support Dewulf's theories with visual language at times when the multidisciplinary threads that he endeavors to weave together in his account could otherwise become confusing to the reader. The theoretical underpinnings for Dewulf's work come from Robert Goffin's 1932 study on New Orleans jazz, in which Goffin noted sonic similarity between jazz and music in the Belgian colony of Congo. Stemming from this foundation, Dewulf's arguments also contribute to a corrective conversation critical of the Americanization of the origins of jazz as advanced by such works as Ken Burns's 2000 television documentary on the subject. By contextualizing New Orleans as the northern outpost of a Kongolese diaspora centered in South America, Dewulf joins such scholars as Matthew Mulcahy and Paul M. Pressly in depicting South Carolina and Georgia, respectively, as parts of a wider cultural region, such as the Caribbean or Atlantic world. Dewulf's work highlights the subtle syncretism, cultural accommodation, and appropriation that defined many aspects of enslaved culture. The longevity of the sangamento, despite new meanings and purposes ascribed to it in disparate locations and societies, shows that the dance was not simply an escape from oppression but part of a systematic response of Africans and their descendants to captivity. Timothy David Fritz Mount St. Mary's University...

The origin of Scythian caldrons in the context of the late Bronze − Early Iron Age of Eurasia

A detailed analysis of the historiography of the issue is presented, which takes into account works devoted to the antiquities of the early Iron Age. The authors come to the conclusion about the local production of Scythian metal boilers, seeing in this a very high level of development of metalworking of Scythian masters. With regard to the issue associated with the origin of the tradition of manufacturing these products, then in the historiography there were two theories: the Asian (L. N. Chlenova, S. V. Demidenko, V. S. Bochkarev, etc.) and native (O. A. Krivtsova-Grakova and others). In our opinion, the question of the origin of boilers should be considered taking into account the specific features of their morphology. Thus, open-shell boilers that dominate the archaic times (VII−VI centuries BC) are made taking into account the clearly formulated traditions and requirements for products of this category brought from the East to the Northern Black Sea Coast. Regarding the boilers with closed housing, which begin to appear in the VI century BC, we can say the following. Their production originates in the local traditions of the production of boilers, which were formed back in Cimmerian times (riveted boilers). But these traditions do not receive a direct line of development in Scythian time. We see rather complicated processes of formation of the Scythian center for the production of archaic cast caldrons in the Kuban region, where this tradition spreads throughout the Northern Black Sea Coast. In the course of this complex and multifaceted process, new syncretic traditions of the production of boilers are formed, combining the innovative method of production (casting) and the local traditions of perception of the shape of the caldron.

Mimesis stories: composing new nature music for the shakuhachi

ABSTRACTNature is a widespread theme in much new music for the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute). This article explores the significance of such music within the contemporary shakuhachi scene, as the instrument travels internationally and so becomes rooted in landscapes outside Japan, taking on the voices of new creatures and natural phenomena. The article tells the stories of five compositions and one arrangement by non-Japanese composers, first to credit composers’ varied and personal responses to this common concern and, second, to discern broad, culturally syncretic traditions of nature mimesis and other, more abstract, ideas about the naturalness of sounds and creative processes (which I call musical naturalism). Setting these personal stories and longer histories side by side reveals that composition creates composers (as much as the other way around). Thus it hints at much broader terrain: the refashioning of human nature at the confluence between cosmopolitan cultural circulations and contemporary encounters with the more-than-human world.

Militarization in Jammu and Kashmir: Youth, Peacebuilding and Narratives of Identity

This paper focuses on the different narratives of identity of Kashmiris living in Delhi. It will try to examine the identity crossfire in which these Kashmiris find themselves due to the conflict between the idea of Kashmiriyat and Indian nationalism. This paper interrogates the causes of the widening of the trust deficit between Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris due to the lack of an interface over a period of time. The meaning of ‘Kashmiriyat’ has transformed over a period of time from meaning a syncretic tradition rooted in the Sufi version of Islam to a radical, ideologically driven and a resilient point of view regarding Kashmiri Nationalism. In the same manner, the idea of Indian Nationalism has gone through significant changes in recent times. The dominant discourse reinforced by the coverage of the Jammu and Kashmir conflict by the mainstream media portrays the state as an integral part of India while bypassing any discussion of the demand by the Kashmiri’s to Right to Self-Determination. In the light of the existence of these two contrasting understandings of nationalism, Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris often find themselves on different sides of the same debate. Young people constitute more than half of the population of Kashmir. This is the generation which has grown up while militancy was rampant in the valley which resulted in the militarization of Jammu and Kashmir. The youth of Kashmir has seen the darker side of Indian Nationalism while simultaneously struggling with the lack of quality education, employment and access to livelihood opportunities. This deprivation of a peaceful and normal upbringing coupled with a sense of marginalization in public and social life has further alienated the Kashmiri from the non-Kashmiri. This paper tries to gauge the depth of this sense of marginalization through the interviews conducted. This paper will also attempt to suggest that to initiate an honest process of reconciliation between the youth of Kashmir and those not belonging to Kashmir, it is important to rectify the constant chain of broken promises, in order to lessen the trust deficit. The atmosphere of mutual suspicion needs to be put an end to and the intrinsic talents of the Kashmiri youth need to be recognized, honed and harnessed for the benefit of all. That, in this paper's view, would be the start of the much-required peace building process which will, hopefully, result in lessening of the hostilities.

Hybridity and harmony

Nineteenth-century British writers made frequent observations on Malay music, which are preserved in multiple forms of ethnographic writings and travel accounts, as well as dictionaries and linguistic treatises. Although the cultural boundaries of Malay ethnicity remained a subject of debate, British writers distinguished Malay music from Chinese, Indian, and Javanese traditions. The types of musical practices they observed in the urban centres of Penang, Melaka, and Singapore were probably syncretic traditions, incorporating stylistic influences from several cultures. The melodies from some of these genres were considered analogous to European music, and some writers speculated on reasons for this, such as the earlier influence of Portuguese colonialism. Malay music was transcribed in European staff notation; James Low published a collection of 28 ‘Malayan melodies’ in 1837. The perceived affinities between Malay and European musics in melody and harmony led to comments on the adaptability of Malay melodies within European genres, and the production of exoticist works for pianoforte and other instruments. The earliest published ‘Malay Tune’ (1807) is discussed here, along with other examples from the 19th century.

Undermined Syncretism

The syncretic cultural tradition of India for the last five thousand years is a noble legacy and a contribution of India to the world. Some major religions of the world took their birth in India. The incoming of foreigners added new elements to India’s cultural tradition, and enriched it—and subsequently, this tradition evolved into a composite culture. This paper primarily looks into the aspect of what happened during the colonial period in India, which undermined this rich syncretic tradition and subsequently fragmented the Indian subcontinent along the religious lines. The paper is based upon the hypothesis that separatism is a gradual process, which is nurtured during a period of time and which leads to the eruption of division, partition, or the breaking up of the state. The result of this process becomes a strong movement if actions to combat it are not launched. This paper also explores how Muslim separatism was fed by various reactionary elements, which included colonial and imperial forces comprised of members of different castes, creeds, and religions.