JAVANESE GLOSSARY

1. Abangan A variant of Islam perceived to be not of the ‘pure’ tradition which blends Muslim practice with localbeliefs in Java
2. Adzan To recite the call to prayer; this ritual is also used by the villagers on entering the caves at Pamijahan
3. Ajengan Religious scholar in the Sunda region
4. Amalan Formulaic chants given to pilgrims by the custodian and the ajengan
5. Apuputra Genealogical term, “begat”, thus “he/she has offspring”
6. barakah Divine favour, blessing received by any good Muslim. In the local context of Pamijahan, this could be a blessing given to the place, to the wali.
7. Babad A chronicle, sometimes also indicates “a manual” for making something, i.e. Babad Kawung, see below.
8. Babad Pamijahan The chronicle of Pamijahan
9. Babad Kawung ‘Instructions on the cultivation and use of the sugar palm’.
10. Babad Tanah Jawi The Chronicle of Java
11. bedog Sundanese machete
12. Buku Sajarah A book of history
13. Buruh Unskilled labourer in Pamijahan
14. Cai zam-zam Water from the spring in the cave of Pamijahan, the name is taken from a famous sacred spring in Mecca
15. Cai kajayaan Holy water from another spring in the cave, believed to give invulnerability
16. Cai kahuripan Water from another spring in the cave, believed to heal any physical ailment
17. Darul Islam “Home of believers”, the Islamic state
18. Desa Village
19. Desa pamijahan The village of Pamijahan
20. Eyang Grand-grand father/mother, also used for ‘the ancestors”
21. Fatwâ Interpretation or advice given by religious experts regarding theological and juridical cases
22. Fuqaha Expert in Islamic jurisprudence
23. Guha Karamat The “Sacred Cave”, the most revered site in Pamijahan
24. Hadith Traditions based on the actions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad
25. Hadiyah “Gift”, the act of reciting holy texts as a gift for the souls of the dead
26. Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca
27. Hajj from Carang Deprecatory name given by Dutch colonial officers to refer to the “rebel” from Karang
28. Hikayat Traditional story, account, history
29. Ibadah Pious activity
30. Ijazah Local inauguration given to a person who has completed a certain stage of Sufi learning
31. Ilmu karang Magical knowledge associated with the karang area, both pre-dating Islam and after
32. Imam Muslim leader
33. Isnad Intellectual chain of transmission in Sufism
34. Jabal kupiah The “rock of the hat”, a formation in the wall inside the sacred cave
35. Jubah Long robe of Arabic style
36. Jumaah Friday prayers
37. Kabupaten, Regency
38. Kabuyutan The term for a sacred space believed to have been inhabited and used for ritual purposes by the ancestors for centuries, yet still evident
39. Kebatinan Batin, the inner aspects of the human being, hence Kebatinan, a set of practices among Javanese mystics
40. Kacamatan Subdistrict
41. Kaca-kaca The main gate to the Pamijahan area
42. kâfir billah Unbeliever
43. Kampung Village
44. Kampung naga A traditional village located in the Tasikmalaya regency believed to have connections with the old Sundanese Kingdoms
45. Kakantun Heritage
46. Karamat Sacred
47. Kapamijahanan Spatial concept referring to the Pamijahan entity
48. Kapongpokan Spatial concept associated metaphorically with the tomb
49. Karang Limestone,name of a place close to Pamijahan
50. Karangnunggal “Single limestone formation, name of a place close to Pamijahan believed to have spiritual power derived from the pre-Islamic period
51. Karuhun Ancestors
52. karuhun urang Our ancestors
53. Karya sastra Literary works
54. Kasauran karuhun Ancestors’ words or sayings
55. Kebatinan Inner knowledge, Javanese mysticism
56. Kejaksaan District attorney
57. Kelurahan Village administration
58. Kemusnahan naskah The disappearance of manuscripts
59. Ketua pongpok Leader of the four lines of family of the wali
60. Kepala desa Village head
61. Kesusastraan lama Old or traditional literature
62. Khatib Leader of the Friday prayers as imam who may also give sermons
63. Kitab Papakem Kuning “Book of the Yellow Guide”, oldest manual of guidance on Sufism in Pamijahan
64. Kitab Patorekan Shaykh Abdu The Catechism of Shaykh Abdul Muhyi
65. kitab tarekat Book of Sufi orders
66. kolot urang Our ancestors, cf. karuhun
67. kokocoran The “flowing of rivers”, genealogy, lineage
68. Kitab Istiqal Tarekat Qadiriyyah-Naqhsabandiyyah Book on the Qadiryyah and Naqshabandiyyah orders
69. Kris Dagger
70. Kulambu Bed canopy, the silk covering of the sacred tomb
71. kuncen Key bearers, custodians of the Pamijahan areas
72. Imu laduni Special knowledge believed to endow the adept with a capacity for quick learning; in the local context, the ability to be in two places at once
73. Lauk mijah “Fish hatchlings”, metaphor given to the Pamijahan area as a place for developing spirituality
74. Maghrib Sunset prayers
75. Makom 1. An advanced station in Sufism, 2. a grave yard
76. Makom Bengkok The grave of Bengkok
77. Makom Panyalahan The grave of Panyalahan
78. Makom Yudanagara The grave of Yudanagara
79. Makom Kangjeng Shaykh The grave of Kangjeng Shyakh
80. Martabat tujuh The seven grades of being, the mystical doctrine of the Shattariyah order
81. Maung Tiger
82. Masjid Mosque
83. Masjid Karamat Sacred mosque
84. Menyan Incense
85. Mutih “White diet”, a program of fasting for one conducting
86. mystical practice, consuming only rice and water.
87. Muhammadiyah The chief revivalist institution promoting a return to the Quran and the Sunnah
88. Naskah kuno Old manuscripts, handwritten texts
89. Neangan tarekah Finding a path, way
90. Niatt Intention
91. Nu nganteur A guide to the cave or graveyard
92. Orang Jawa Barat The people of West Java
93. paesan Tomb
94. Paimaran A place in the mosque from where the imam leads ritual
95. Pakuncenan Custodianship
96. Pamujaan Place for worship
97. Pakuat-pakait Interconnected/ness
98. Pamasalahan The place for solving problems
99. Panyalahan Village of those accused of the wrong siting of their village
100. Perdikan Villages free of taxes under the time of Mataram’s influence
101. Pasantren Traditional Islamic boarding school
102. Penghulu A person in charge in religious affairs; traditional intermediary between the village and state
103. Pitutur Narration, words of the ancestors
104. Pongpok The four “sides” around Abdul Muhyi’s tomb, used to indicate the lines of descent from the Saint’s wives; a metaphor of social division
105. Punduh Government apparatus in the village dealing with local administrative matters
106. Pancuran Spring water from a bamboo pipe
107. Pangeran Seda Lautan The “king who died at sea”
108. paranti Customary tool, place regularly used for an activity, hence custom, tradition
109. Paririmbon Various texts important to the villagers, associated with local knowledge and Sufism, containing instructions and prohibitions
110. Patilasan Place which has been used by ancestors, hence, grave
111. Pegon Javanese and Sundanese written in Arabic characters
112. Petunjuk Guidance
113. Perjuangan Mission (of Abdul Muhyi)
114. Pitutur karuhun Sayings of the ancestors
115. Pucuk Green leaves, new sprouts, associated with hope for the future
116. Priyayi Aristocracy
117. Qaraba Relatives, close linkages
118. Rabiulawwal (Maulid) Third month of the Islamic calendar, in which the birth of the Prophet is celebrated
119. Rajab Seventh month of the Islamic calendar, in which the Night Journey of the Prophet is celebrated
120. Saur Sepuh Narratives of the ancestors
121. Santri Pupil in a pesantren
122. Shalat Daily prayers
123. Shalat wajib The five daily formal obligatory prayers
124. Sharî’ah Islamic law
125. Shattariyyah The Shattariyah Sufi order
126. Sastra Literature
127. Sastra lama Old literature
128. Sastra modern Modern literature
129. Sejarah History
130. Sejarah Babad Kuna Genre of narrative of pre- and early Islamic propagation in a region
131. Sastra tradisional Traditional literature
132. Sepuh urang Our ancestors
133. Syahadat Statement of Islamic doctrine, recited during the obligatory prayers, and on conversion
134. Surutu Cigar, often used by the locals in traditional Sundanese villages as an offering
135. Silsilah Genealogy
136. Surat wasiat Testaments
137. Tajallî Illumination
138. Tali paranti The strings of custom
139. Talqin Instructions given to the murid (pupils) of a Sufi order; also instructions to the soul around the moment of death to prepare it for the hereafter
140. Tanam paksa Forced agriculture, the enforced cultivation of plantation crops
141. Tanah pasidkah Charity lands, once free from land tax, but today under government imposed taxes
142. Tarekah The Way, Sufi order; also Sundanese word for any method or way to achieve an end
143. Tarekat Sufi Order
144. Tasawwuf Sufism
145. Tatar Sunda, The Sundanese region
146. Tawassul Mediation
147. Tempat nu ziarah Pilgrimage place
148. Tempat penziarahan pertama The first stage of visitation in Pamijahan
149. Tempat cai zam-zam Place of sacred water
150. Tempat cai kahuripan Place of healing water
151. Tempat tapa, Place for meditation
152. Tempat tawajjuh Place for coming “face to face with God”, place for contemplation or concentration
153. Tentara Islam Indonesia Indonesian Islamic soldiers of the Islamic separatist rebellion in West Java
154. Tetengger Tombstone
155. Tirakat Vigilance
156. Torikoh Shattariyyah Shattariyah order, Sundanese rendering
157. Tukang batik Batik trader
158. Turunan Successors
159. Turuq Arabic plural form of tarekah
160. Tutuik Words or sayings of the ancestors, meaning close to tuturan in Sundanese
161. Tuturan Sayings
162. Ujian sarjana Examination for achieving a degree
163. Ulama, Islamic scholars
164. Urang Jawa, The Javanese people
165. Urang gunung People from the mountain
166. Urang wetan People from the east, hence, the Javanese
167. Urang Karang People of the Karang area
168. Urang hindu Hindus
169. Wujud makhlûq The realities of mankind
170. Wahdat al-wujûd The Unity of Being, mystical philosophy
171. Wali Saint
172. Wali Sanga, The Nine Saints of Java
173. Warisan kebudayaan Cultural heritage
174. Wudu Ablutions performed before the formal prayers
175. Wujud Haq Ta’la, The Reality, Essence of the Most High
176. Yayasan Kakaramatan The non-profit Institution of the sacred places of Pamijahan
177. Ziarah Pilgrimage