The Babad Pamijahan (BP) was written in the simplest of narrative forms. There is no flash back, insertion or maintaining of parallel plots. The plot is arranged entirely in a linear direction. In some sections we cannot find a time sequence, but instead move into a list of names. However, in its brevity and simplicity, BP conveys meaningful signs to its audience. Our task is to unmask the structure of the narrative by asking how meaning arises from its structures. Given that the narrative was written in the traditional genre of the babad, the organisation of events suggests itself as a good point of departure for our discussion.

It is evident that the narrative structure of this chronicle reveals a mythic abstraction of space, suggested by the travelling motifs related to Abdul Muhyi’s ancestors who moved from the east (the Javanese space) to the west (the Sundanese space). From an anthropological perspective, such a narrative has implications in that it gives expression to the mythical space which provides the ground for the ancestors' mythical travelling, or topogeny (Fox, 1997: 91). This is the way people trace their ancestry through the metaphor of the journey in narratives. (ibid.) Fox states that ''By 'topogeny' I refer to an ordered succession of place names. I see the recitation of a topogeny as analogous to the recitation of a genealogy.'' (ibid.) Therefore, at the same time, narratives can also illustrate genealogical lines. Fox observes that genealogy focuses on personal names while topogeny focuses on place names. (ibid) Elsewhere, Fox (1995: 225) has elaborated the metaphor of space and name by proposing the concept of 'apical' and 'lateral' expansion. These concepts refer to the structure of cognitive schemas which function as mnemonic devices. I believe that to some extent the Babad Pamijahan also employs these two metaphors, providing people with a cultural framework relating to their origins. This in turn is used for structuring cultural and social organisations crucial in managing the sacred sites and pilgrimage. Let us see how the Babad Pamijahan meets these assumptions. In doing so, I will first examine the linear structure, the 'horizontal axis', of the Babad Pamijahan.