Table of Contents
Kakantun, in Sundanese, is a polite word to specify something that is left by someone who has special position in the speaker’s perceptions. It may be used to signify action or culture from the past. Karuhun is a kinship term referring to predecessors at least two or three generations back and is often used in ritualised language. The Pamijahanese understand the meaning of kakantun karuhun as a reference for tali paranti, or custom, as well.
The manuscripts, or naskah kuno, in Pamijahan are mostly written in Sundanese and Javanese using pegon [1] script. This is clear evidence of a Javanese scholarly influence in the interior of Sunda. (For more on this see Chapters 4, 6 and 7.)
Philological research on Sundanese manuscripts found in the land of Sunda is just in its beginings. Of course, there has been research on old Sundanese epics such as Lutung Kasarung and Mundinglaya (Pleyte 1910) conducted by Dutch orientalists. Continuing this task, local Sundanese scholars, in particular Ekadjati (1983), Atja (1969 and 1981) and Atja and Ayatrohaedi (1984/1985), have made preliminary inventories of manuscripts. It is due to their contributions that Sundanese scholars today have unprecedented access to their written heritage. In contrast to orientalist accounts of Sundanese and Javanese manuscripts, Professor Ekadjati and his colleagues have recorded diverse genres of Sundanese written material in the hands of local collectors, many of which are still in use within their communities. The living use of manuscripts adds a post-colonial dimension to a tradition whose place was once believed to be the sterile ‘safety’ of public library collections. For instance, many manuscripts dealing with the isolated Kampung Naga community (a mere 60 km. north-west of Pamijahan) and with Pamijahan itself have been taken away for study, not only by Dutch researchers but also by Indonesians. Their actions may well have been agreed to by the owners of the manuscripts, but today I believe there is room for scholars to discuss the functions and continuing significance of manuscripts in the communities from which they originate. We are well aware of the question: how can we study a manuscript when it is no longer in the possession of its true owners? The desecration of a ritual object by its removal from its environment is a real possibility. We need a new framework in philological studies, an ‘ethno-philology’ to provide an better understanding of both the artefact and the narrative it transmits as well as the functions of both in the view of the people who own the manuscript.
I now turn my attention to the manuscripts found in Pamijahan. They have not been previously described in any catalogue or scholarly study. As suggested in manuals of philological practice, it is important to make a preliminary note listing the manuscripts relating to Shaykh Abdul Muhyi that are held in various places. For this purpose I will refer to the Library of the Rijksuniversiteit in Leiden, the National Library of Indonesia (Perpustakaan Nasional) in Jakarta, as well as personal collections in West Java, particularly in and around Pamijahan. However, for further analysis I will only use the manuscripts found in Pamijahan.
The Library of the Rijksuniversiteit in Leiden holds at least 33 manuscripts mentioning the name of Abdul Muhyi. These manuscripts are Cod. Or. 7461, Cod. Or. 7265, Cod. Or. 7717, Cod. Or. 77176, Cod. Or. 7527, LOr 7412, Cod. Or. 7432, Cod. Or. 75333, Cod. Or. 7764, Cod. Or. 7721, Cod. Or. 7705, Cod. Or. 7526, Cod. Or. 7743, Cod. Or. 7857, Cod. Or. 7446, Cod. Or. 7414, Cod. Or. 7705, Cod. Or. 7486, Cod. Or. 7454 (Mal. 2225), Cod. Or. 7419, Cod. Or. 7455, Cod. Or. 7540, Cod. Or. 7465, Cod. Or. 2235, Cod. Or. 7708, Cod. Or. 6534, Cod. Or. 7432, Cod. Or. 7753, Cod. Or. 8634, Cod. Or. 7459, Cod. Or. 6461, Cod. Or. 6457b, LOr. 7689. These manuscripts contain both mystical doctrines and chronicles (Ekadjati 2000).
I shall deal with texts from outside the village first, since these were what I first encountered in the field. There are a number of manuscripts owned by private collectors who are mostly Shattariyyah followers or their heirs. Ekadjati (2000) reports that many Shattariyyah manuscripts have already been identified in various parts of West Java, but there are many others still awaiting description, not only in West Java but also in the farther provinces of Central and East Java. It is interesting to note, however, that the National Library of Indonesia in Jakarta holds only one manuscript associated with Shaykh Abdul Muhyi, namely SD 180 (Kossim 1974). This manuscript appears to have been vandalised; its binding is intact, but only one page of the text remains.
At the outset, it is important to make an inventory and a description of manuscripts associated with Pamijahan, both those which are kept in the village and those that are scattered through neighbouring areas. D.A. Rinkes (1909) has supplied us with preliminary information in manuscripts held in Tasikmalaya and Cirebon which reflect Pamijahan genealogies, but he has not given us an adequate description of those found in the village itself, nor does he offer any text edition of Javanised versions of Shattariyyah practice and belief. In response to this lacuna, I will now brief sketch the Shattariyyah teachings found in the Pamijahan manuscripts and in other manuscripts closely associated with Shaykh Abdul Muhyi.
During my fieldwork, I discovered seven works that could be characterised as historical chronicles (babad) or that relate to mystical orders and to Shattariyyah in particular. I surveyed five Shattariyyah texts (described below as mss. A, B, C, D, and F), one Qadiriyyah text (ms. E), and two babad texts (mss. G, H). I believe there are other manuscripts in the hands of villagers which demand further research.
Certain individuals have inherited the role of custodians who preserve the chronicles (babad) and Sufi writings (kitab tarekat). These are Ajengan Satibi (85 years of age at the time of my fieldwork), Ajengan Endang (47), Pak Apap (65), and Pak Beben (35). In theory, these individuals have high status and may play an important role in the community, partly by virtue of their blood relationship with Shaykh Abdul Muhyi. Ajengan Endang, for example, is the brother of a recent custodian of Pamijahan, and Ajengan Satibi is the son of the immediately previous custodian. Both of these men are respected as ajengan and they are often invited by people from other villages to give lectures or to deliver sermons. Ajengan Endang is more popular than Ajengan Satibi, even though he is younger, because he is recognised as having ilmu laduni,[2] and his lectures quite often attract larger audiences. Pak Beben is formally recognised as a Shattariyyah leader because he holds both an ijazah, or religious license from a Shattariyyah master, and a certificate of recognition from the government.[3]
The kitab tarekat found in Pamijahan have three main features in common in terms of form and content. The first is an historical feature telling of the legitimation of the master. This is the genealogy or silsilah. The second is a practical aspect outlining methods of recitation and contemplation. The third is a more philosophical aspect under which are described the foundations of the metaphysical doctrine of the Shattariyyah referred to as ‘The Seven Levels of Being’, or the martabat tujuh.
Unfortunately, not all of the Pamijahan manuscripts are wholly legible. Some have been damaged or are incomplete, though comparison with manuscripts from neighbouring areas may turn up clues to missing or unclear contents. Let us now turn to a description of the manuscripts found in Pamijahan. To provide a further illustration of these texts, particularly of Shattariyyah manuscripts, I will include a manuscript from Limus Tilu which has been examined by Ekadjati.
In this part I use the form of description suggested by Professor Hooker (Hooker 1991:91) in her study of Malay manuscripts.