14 Architecture and Space ISIM NEWSLETTER 3/99

The Sacred
Rel i gi o u s S t ru c t u re s
R ON AL D A . L U K E N S - B U L L

In the centre of Tebu Ireng, Indonesia’s most famous

Islamic boarding school, is a mosque-graveyard com-
plex which includes the grave of Hashim Ashari, the
founder of Tebu Ireng who is remembered and
Geography
of an Indonesian
revered as both a Sufi master and an Indonesian na-
tional hero. Around this physical and spiritual cen-
tre, a number of new spaces (schools, a telecommuni-
cations office, computer labs, and banks) have
emerged. It is argued here that the very landscape of

Islamic Modernity
Tebu Ireng spatializes the kinds of relationships that
the school’s leaders argue that Muslims should have
with the State, secular science, and the global market
place.

In East Java, the sacred geography of a pe- The Tebu Ireng mosque is of the distinctive hold it. They also reject the claim that Sufism ship between the ummat (Islamic communi-
santren (Islamic boarding school) serves as a Javanese three-tiered pagoda roof style. The must be abandoned in order for Muslims to ty) and the government, as does its place-
model for how faith and modernity should be three tiers are said to symbolize Sharia, modernize. Finally, classical scholarship must ment at the edge of the complex. Good rela-
ordered in the lives of Indonesian Muslims. Tariqah, and Hakikat (Law, Mysticism, and continue to be an integral part of Muslim in- tions with the government are critical but
Pesantren Tebu Ireng has been for many In- Truth). At the entrance to this mosque stands tellectual life. not central.
donesian traditionalist Muslims a model for a large drum (beduq) used to call the faithful Between the schools and the mosque-
how to engage modernization through edu- to prayer. Local lore holds that when Hashim Secular, modern space graveyard complex is the general kitchen. By
cation. In addition to being a popular board- Ashari built this mosque he said that, as long All of Tebu Ireng proper is wakaf (land May 1995, all students ate here, a change that
ing school for students from throughout In- as it stood, students (santri) would find knowl- dedicated to religious purposes). By incor- reflects aspects of modernity. In traditional
donesia, it is also a popular pilgrimage desti- edge and baraka (blessing/power) at Tebu porating profane spaces within the sacred pesantren, students cooked for themselves, or
nation (over 2000 pilgrims each month). As an Ireng. Because of the special nature of the complex, the landscape of Tebu Ireng is de- in cooperative groups; this was seen as part of
institution that has undergone a transforma- mosque, some people have been antagonis- claring what the relationship should be be- the training in kemandirian (self-sufficiency).
tion from being a traditional centre of Islamic tic towards the building of additional mos- tween Islam and modernity. With Islam as However, since students are no longer cook-
learning, famous for training ulama, to a reli- ques for the pesantren’s use. central, Muslims may engage in all aspects ing for themselves, this part of the traditional
gious boarding school primarily for junior In addition to communal worship, the of modernity including education, medi- training in kemandirian has been lost. More-
high and high school students, Tebu Ireng’s mosque is used for the teaching of classical Is- cine, banking, and marketing. At Tebu Ireng, over, since general education has reduced
landscape reflects a tension between main- lamic texts (ngaji) including those of al-Ghaz- these activities are located in spaces within the amount of time for religious education,
taining tradition and modernizing. ali. Besides regular lessons on these texts, the orbit of the pesantren, depicting that Tebu Ireng and many other pesantren have
some of the leaders hold special sessions dur- such secular activities are acceptable when sought to regain this time by preparing food
A balanced centre ing school breaks and the Ramadan. These kept within the range of balanced Islamic for the students.
The mosque and the mahkam (graveyard) special sessions are open to pilgrims and reg- practice. Surrounding the mosque-grave- Across the road from the north gate is a
at the centre of Tebu Ireng form the most ular students alike and start after salat Isyak, yard complex on three sides are student new losmen (small simple inn). Although the
sacred space. The landscape proudly pro- the last prayers of the day, and continue for dormitories where students sleep, study for building and the land are owned by Yusuf
claims that both normative piety (as exem- several hours, sometimes until midnight. school, receive some ngaji lessons, and Hashim’s daughter, the establishment is
plified by the mosque) and mysticism (as ex- To the west of the mosque is the graveyard study for ngaji. Southeast of the mosque are staffed by Tebu Ireng santri. This five-room
emplified by the graveyard and the activi- of Hashim Ashari and his family members. Sa- the library and the fully computerized pe- inn is designed for those visitors to the pon-
ties which take place there) must be part of cred geography places this graveyard be- santren office. The library at Tebu Ireng sub- dok who want a more quiet and comfortable
modern life and Indonesian statehood, and tween the believers and Mecca when they scribes to a wide range of magazines and environment than the crowded free gue-
it demands that they be placed firmly at the pray. Because the dead are buried facing to- newspapers, which the students are encour- strooms in the pesantren. The inn reflects a
centre. ward Mecca, the placement of the graveyard aged to read in order to develop a broad change in pesantren clientele. Many who stay
suggests that the great worldview. This is in sharp contrast to tradi- there are fairly wealthy parents from Jakarta,
kyai (ulama) buried there tional pesantren, which forbid any outside Surabaya, and other urban centres. It also re-
are still leading the com- reading material. The library is well used flects a trend in which the family of kyai run
munity in prayer. In Java, and includes an historical archive that holds businesses that cater to the needs of santri
this pattern is rare for most the kitab and journals of Hashim Ashari (in and their parents. However, detractors argue
pesantren leaders, but is Arabic) as well as copies of every research that any such support services should be run
common for great saints project conducted on Tebu Ireng. Another by the pesantren’s neighbours, thus con-
including the Walisonggo reflection of this greater openness to out- tributing to the economic development of
(the legendary nine saints side material is a television in an open-air the village.
who brought Islam to courtyard which students are allowed to This brief treatment of the sacred geogra-
Java). The graveyard is an watch on Thursday nights after tahlilan phy of Tebu Ireng, a pesantren in East Java,
important source of baraka (prayers for the dead) at the graves. Just in- has shown how a summary of the landscape
as it can linger in the body side the gate are interest-charging banks. provides a model for reality. The pilgrim en-
and is transmitted to the These banks serve a number of functions in- ters the pesantren, all of which is wakaf, and
area around the tomb. Pil- cluding wire transfers and savings and loans immediately sees a bank, a telecommunica-
grims will take a copy of for students, faculty, and neighbours. The tions office, and a library. He proceeds past
the Qur’an that has been at presence of interest-charging banks inside a student housing to the mosque-graveyard
the graves, absorbing pesantren is a controversial move toward complex and performs a number of rituals
baraka, and leave a re- what some consider the dangerous side of there. As he leaves, he passes through the
placement copy. modernity. back gate and encounters government cur-
The mosque-graveyard To the west of the main complex are the ricula schools and a helicopter-landing pad
complex forms the physi- compounds for the ‘secular’ junior high and for government visitors. As he moves through
cal and symbolic centre of high schools called Sekolah Mengenah Per- this landscape, he sees a model for how a
Grounds of Tebu Ireng the pesantren. This com- tama (SMP; First Middle School) and Sekolah Muslim should live in the modern world. This
plex is, then, representa- Mengenah Atas (SMA; Upper Middle School), model requires traditional piety and mysti-
tive of traditional Java- respectively. Outside the high school, a large cism, as an important part of Islamic practice
1. Mosque 13. Tsanawiyah building nese Islamic piety. It re- sign proudly boasts that the school has biol- that includes both religious and non-reli-
1b. Graveyard 14. Cafeteria flects three dimensions of ogy, mathematics, and computer laborato- gious scholarship, and good relationships
2. Student Affairs Office 15. Courtyard piety: Shariah, scholarship, ries. Further west is the Madrasah Aliyah with the existing government, even if it is
3. The kyai’s house 16. Girls’ pondok and mysticism. It clearly compound and the campus of Institut non-Muslim. ♦
4. Small store and Bank Rakyat Indonesia 17. Junior high school demonstrates that these KeAgaman Hashim Ashari (IKAHA), which
5. Overnight guest room 18. Senior high school three dimensions must be was originally established as Universitas
6. Security office 19. Aliyah building balanced; that one cannot Hashim Ashari (UNHASY) in the 1970s.
7. Staff dining room 20. IKAHA exist without the other. Tebu Ireng’s involvement in state projects
8. Stage (with TV) 21. Dormitory The leaders of Tebu Ireng is partially demonstrated by its educational
9. MAK dormitory 22. Volleyball court reject the idea that that it evolution. Next to the schools is a helicopter
10. General bathing room 23. Classrooms is possible to transcend landing area, said to be used for visiting Ronald A. Lukens-Bull, PhD, is assistant professor
11. The former house of Kyai Wahid 24. NU-SUMMA bank Shariah by mystical prac- government dignitaries. The presence of of Anthropology, Department of Sociology,
12. Skills centre 25. Pesantren office and library tice and therefore no such a facility, whether regularly used or Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, University of
longer be required to up- not, makes a statement about the relation- North Florida, USA. E-mail: rlukensbul@aol.com