Understanding Islamic Architecture by Petruccioli Attilo;Pirani Khalil K.;

Author:Petruccioli, Attilo;Pirani, Khalil K.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1395274
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group

Quoting a Mohammediya member, “The Masjid Perak, referred to as ‘Firaq’ or independent mosque, symbolizes the freedom of the followers of the Muslim faith from the dirtiness and chill of the past.”20

Figure 4. A winding narrow pathway in the traditional Javanese Kota Gede settlement. (Photo: Tulus Setyo Budhi)

The conflict gradually subsided; the Mohammediya even gained the support of the majority of the Kota Gede community, not only owing to the benefits they obtained from the order’s religious, social, and educational activities, but also from the sympathetic approaches they used utilizing Javanese idioms. Thanks to the services of two kraton monks approached by the Mohammediya, the administration of the Great Mosque was handed over to this organization,21 where it remains to this day. The Mohammediya are still the dominant religious and social organization in Kota Gede.22

Kota Gede has long attracted many visitors, particularly because of its historical importance as a Javanese traditional city. The Mataram civic center is still recognizable with its royal graveyard and Great Mosque in a single complex surrounded by a wall around 2.5 meters high with a Hindu-Javanese gate at each entrance (Figure 3). As is common among the important burial places of the Muslim kingdoms in Java, this settlement shows symptoms of syncretism: it combines the Hindu candhi concept of the original Javanese ancestor-worship with Islamic ritual modes and facilities.23 On certain days, usually Fridays, the air is filled with praying voices and the aroma of flowers and incense spreading out from offerings at the graveyards.24

Other interesting features of the heritage in Kota Gede, in addition to the location of the graveyard and mosque in one complex, are the traditional Javanese villages and houses. The houses are spread over all comers of the city, but hidden among amazingly winding narrow pathways (Figure 4). A Javanese house in Kota Gede generally consists of the pendapa (ceremonial space) and the dalem (main living facilities) with additional buildings on the left, right, and rear, and the entry from the yard (see Figure 5). Every morning and afternoon one can encounter women sweeping or chatting in the yards and pathways, while the men look after their cattle and the children play around. Kota Gede has become a town that encourages the socialization of children and the reproduction of Islamic Javanese values.25

All the traditional Javanese houses in Kota Gede face south in honor of Nyai Roro Kidul (Queen of the South Seas), and also because the common people believe it improper to face the same direction as the kraton, which faces north.26

The community in ancient Kota Gede was divided into groups according to profession, social status, and degree of religious piety. There were quarters known as santri quarters (occupied by pious Muslims), such as Kudusan, Boharen, Purbayan and Ledok. The so-called abangan quarters, where the non-Muslims or the “superficial” Muslims lived, are Jagalan, Prenggan, and Keboan.27 But these groups no longer exist today. There is no significant difference between an abangan and a santri house, except for the senthong, the most sacred room in a Javanese house.

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