THE CONFLUENCE BETWEEN ISLAM AND JAVANESE MYSTICISM IN THE AESTHETICS OF WAYANG PURWA: A RELIGIO-CULTURAL ACCULTURATION

Abstract

This study is an attempt to investigate into the role of aesthetics as a medium for religio-cultural accommodation of others in the local; in this case the accommodation of Javanese Mysticism and Islam in Java through medium of wayang purwa. There are three issues which were crucial to this investigation: The stories and origins of wayang purwa, wayang purwa transformations under Islam influence, and wayang purwa in ritual ceremony. This study employs a qualitative descriptive method with cultural and historical approaches. To obtain comprehensive data, literary studies, observation, interviews, and documentation were also used. The stories of wayang purwa, originating from the prominent Indian epics, served as ethical and aesthetical media in which the stories are thoroughly adapted to the Javanese culture. Under Islam influence, the vastly popular and essential shadow play form did not only survive but underwent the most exhilarating artistic alteration in Indonesian theatre. The results showed that tawhid (unization) theology—the basic principle in Islamic art—which teaches there is no God but Allah, has been influencing the transformations of wayang purwa to a great extent. In particular, it emphasizes the abstract quality of its aesthetic aspect (stylization/denaturation of wayang figures), and the reduction of the status of the wayang purwa Hindu-Javanese gods, highlighting the concept of Allah as a single Divine Being. The research found that new stories are being developed as extensions of the main plots based on the Indian epics, Ramayana or Mahabharata. These stories use the original characters in newly-invented episodes, inspired by the Walisongo’s attempts to promote Islam. Essentially, wayang purwa as a traditional art form in the countryside remains a focal medium of ritual ceremony. It provides a sense of connection with the Javanese past, as a means of contact with the forefathers, as expressed in Ruwahan ritual ceremony. In essence, the Javanese Hindu-based wayang purwa finds a level of compatibility with the imported religious system of Islam, an act which has been relatively peaceful throughout the process of acculturation.