We have seen that in BP the plot is arranged linearly following the contrast between the East and West. There is another logic that supports the plot, which is called the 'vertical axis'. It constitutes the genealogy of Shaykh Abdul Muhyi from two ancestral lines. Here the contrast is between socially 'high' and 'low'. Sunan Giri, the Javanese saint-king of Gresik in East Java and Ratu Galuh of Sunda represent the highest points. While very much shorter than other babad in the Javanese tradition, BP contains almost 80 different names in its genealogy. These are integrated into a genealogical structure which is divided into two parts: the first section illustrates the relationship between Shaykh Abdul Muhyi and Sunan Giri; the second between Shaykh Abdul Muhyi and the King of Sunda.
The genealogy given in BP shows the importance of Javanese linkages. From the number of names identified, Javanese names make up a larger proportion than Sundanese. The author gives more detail to the Javanese than to the Sundanese ancestors. BP traces the Javanese line through Shaykh Abdul Muhyi’s mother, Raden Tanganjiyah. She was a daughter of Entol Sambirana, who was the son of Raden Wiracandra. Raden Wiracandra himself was the son of Giri Laya and the grandson of the saint, Sunan Giri Kadaton.
Furthermore, from his father’s line, that of Lebe Warta, the Shaykh is linked to the kingdom of Galuh through Entol Panengah, Serepan Nebol, Mudik Cikawung Ading, Kuda Lanjar, Ratu Galuh, and Ratu Buhun.
There is an indication that these vertical ‘schemas’, to use again Levi-Strauss' term, tie the story firmly together. We will see that 'vertical' lines have an abstraction similar to the 'horizontal' lines. Both contrast two similar things. Let us see how the vertical lines are structured and joined to the horizontal lines.
The vertical line is a selection of names. The author puts these names, his characters, into the slots of events. For example, the series of episodes A to H are filled by figures from the Javanese world while the next cluster of episodes, I and J, is supplied with figures both from the East as well as from the West. Finally the last episode, K to L, is filled by Sundanese figures only. When these arrangements are schematised, the repertoire becomes apparent.
The first vertical line shows the events filled by the Javanese ancestors. The second vertical line presents the events filled by a combination of people from the East and the West, in the third line there are only those from the West. For the names identified (refer to the text), the Javanese names constitute a larger proportion than the Sundanese. The author also supplies more detail for the Javanese than for the Sundanese ancestors. It would appear that the author is more concerned with creating a narrative than a genealogy from the point of view of the Sundanese kingdom. He appears not to be familiar with Sundanese history relating to Raja Galuh, the King of Sunda. Thus, the text gives the genealogy of the king of Sunda only at the end of the narrative.
The two genealogies can be represented schematically as follows.
