KaydedilenlerDerginizi ekleyin

Dergiler / Rast Müzikoloji Dergisi / 2026 / Volume: 14 Issue: 3

From Mevlevi to Mataram: Transmission of sufi values in the concept of musical aesthetics according to Sultan Agung

Irfanda Sejati0000-0001-8441-1242
Sunarto Sunarto0000-0003-3023-7183
Robby Habiba Abror0000-0002-2413-2636
Slamet Haryono0000-0003-4644-8014
Moh Muttaqin0000-0002-4687-3398
Sayfa
—
Yayın Tarihi
2026-09-30
🏛️Bu makalenin bibliyografik verileri ve tam metin bağlantısı DergiPark üzerinden sağlanmıştır.
DergiPark Kaydı ↗
✨

Yapay Zeka Hızlı Bakış & Çıkarımlar

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(1 Cümlede Hızlı Çıkarım)

By revealing these interwoven layers of meaning, the study contributes to broader discourses on Islamic and comparative aesthetics, positioning the Mataram Court as a vital locus of cross-cultural synthesis and a significant contributor to the spiritual and artistic identity of the Indonesian archipelago.

📌 3 Maddede Bu Makale

🎯
Amaç & Hipotez:Sufi aesthetics in the Mevlevi tradition and Mataram Court art illuminate a deep interconnection between spiritual consciousness and artistic expression, underscoring how mystical ideas are transformed into aesthetic experiences through sound, movement, and symbolism.
📊
Temel Bulgular & Veri:The Mevlevi order, inspired by Jalal al-Din Rumi’s Mathnawi, embodies a synthesis of poetry, music, and ritual performance to attain divine unity through the harmony of form and spirit.
💡
Sonuç & Katkı:By revealing these interwoven layers of meaning, the study contributes to broader discourses on Islamic and comparative aesthetics, positioning the Mataram Court as a vital locus of cross-cultural synthesis and a significant contributor to the spiritual and artistic identity of the Indonesian archipelago.
🔬Tür:Literatür & Derleme Çalışması
📍Kapsam:Genişletilmiş Akademik Örneklem
⚙️Değişkenler:Gendhing literature · Gendhing Sunyaruri · Mevlevi

Abstract

Sufi aesthetics in the Mevlevi tradition and Mataram Court art illuminate a deep interconnection between spiritual consciousness and artistic expression, underscoring how mystical ideas are transformed into aesthetic experiences through sound, movement, and symbolism. The Mevlevi order, inspired by Jalal al-Din Rumi’s Mathnawi, embodies a synthesis of poetry, music, and ritual performance to attain divine unity through the harmony of form and spirit. Meanwhile, the Mataram Court, during the reign of Sultan Agung (1613–1645), developed a comparable aesthetic philosophy in which musical compositions (gendhing), literary forms, and performative arts, such as wayang, were interwoven with mystical and cosmological meanings. Although previous research has examined Rumi’s Mathnawi and Javanese Gendhing literature independently, few studies have explored the interplay between their respective aesthetic traditions. This study explores possible aesthetic correspondences between Mevlevi practices in Anatolia and the artistic system of the Mataram Court, emphasizing how Sufi principles particularly the notions of tawhid (unity) and fana’ (self-annihilation) were reinterpreted within Javanese palace cosmology. The research employs an art historical and comparative analytical method, combining textual interpretation of Mathnawi and Gendhing literature with musical analysis of gamelan rebab practices and symbolic readings of wayang performances, particularly Gendhing Sunyaruri. Primary and secondary data were obtained through comprehensive literature review and hermeneutic analysis of sources on Sufism, Islamic aesthetics, and seventeenth-century Javanese culture. The findings do not suggest a direct historical transmission from the Mevlevi order in Anatolia to the Mataram Court. Rather, they demonstrate how comparable Sufi aesthetic values including tawhid, fana’, quietness, love, and spiritual pedagogy were articulated and creatively localized within two distinct historical and cultural traditions. In the Mataram context, art functioned simultaneously as a pedagogical tool, a symbolic language of divine order, and a medium of royal legitimation, merging Islamic mysticism with indigenous metaphysical systems. By revealing these interwoven layers of meaning, the study contributes to broader discourses on Islamic and comparative aesthetics, positioning the Mataram Court as a vital locus of cross-cultural synthesis and a significant contributor to the spiritual and artistic identity of the Indonesian archipelago.

🔖

Bu Makaleye Atıf Yap

Sejati, I., Sunarto, S., Abror, R. H., Haryono, S., Muttaqin, M. (2026). From Mevlevi to Mataram: Transmission of sufi values in the concept of musical aesthetics according to Sultan Agung. Rast Müzikoloji Dergisi, Volume: 14 Issue: 3. https://doi.org/10.12975/rastmd.20261433

📄 Tam Metin PDF Okuyucu

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

Kaynakça (73)

  1. Alavipanah, S. K., Jafarzadeh, J., & Ghazanfari, K. (2023). Soil in Rumi’s thoughts. In Cultural understanding of soils (pp. 153–162). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3- 031-13169-1_7
  2. Altun, F. (2024). The musical representation of unity, divine love, and inner journey in Graham Hair’s Sufi Couplets. Journal for the Interdisciplinary Art and Education, Special Issue: Mevlana’s Philosophy and Art, 5(Special Issue: Mevlana’s Philosophy and Art), 85–95. https://doi.org/https://doi. org/10.5281/zenodo.14593986
  3. An-Nadwi, A. H. A. (2001). Jalaluddin Rumi: Sufi penyair terbesar (Jalaluddin Rumi: The greatest Sufi poet). Pustaka Firdaus.
  4. Arberry, A. J. (2016). Routledge revivals: More tales from the Masnavi (1963). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315455617
  5. Basson, E., & Burger, B. (2023). (Self) portrette in Uit die kroes deur Lynthia Julius: ’n Kultuurhandhawende pedagogiese benadering tot Afrikaanse literatuuronderrig ((Self-)portraits in Uit die kroes by Lynthia Julius: A culture-preserving pedagogical approach to Afrikaans literature teaching). Tydskrif Vir Geesteswetenskappe, 63(4), 860–877. https://doi.org/10.17159/2224- 7912/2023/v63n4a6
  6. Becker, J. (1980). Traditional music in modern Java: Gamelan in a changing society. University of Hawai’i Press.
  7. Bizawie, H. A. (2016). Masterpiece Islam Nusantara: Sanad dan jaringan ulama-sufi Nusantara (Masterpiece of Nusantara Islam: Chains of transmission and networks of Nusantara Sufi scholars). Pustaka Compass.
  8. Chittick, W. C. (1989). The Sufi path of knowledge: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s metaphysics of imagination. State University of New York Press.
  9. Chittick, W. C. (2000). Jalan cinta sang Sufi: Ajaran-ajaran spiritual Jalaluddin Rumi (The path of Sufi love: The spiritual teachings of Jalaluddin Rumi). Qalam.
  10. Csirkés, F. (2011). Mystical love as the day of judgement: Eschatology in Jalal al- Din Rumi’s Divan-i Kabir. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 64(3), 307–326. https://doi.org/10.1556/ AOrient.64.2011.3.5
  11. D’Alleva, A. (2012). Methods and theories of art history (2nd ed.). Laurence King Publishing.
  12. Devarapalli, J. (2023). Significance of expressive culture in understanding tribes in India: A promising frontier in anthropological research. Human Evolution, 38(1), 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11598-023-00423- 4
  13. Ekhtiari, Z., Hadjzadeh, M.-A.-R., & Gholamnezhad, Z. (2023). Medicinal plants and foods with metaphorical concepts in Rumi’s Masnavi Manavi: The psychosomatic approach to human health. Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine. https://doi. org/10.22038/AJP.2023.71710.3309
  14. Ernst, C. W. (1997). The Shambhala guide to Sufism. Shambhala Publications.
  15. Fahm, A. O. (2020). Disguised commentary on the Qur’an. Australian Journal of Islamic Studies, 5(1), 1–20. https://doi. org/10.55831/ajis.v5i1.251
  16. Fakhriati. (2020). From Konya to Nusantara: Rumi’s Sufi diaspora in Pidie, Aceh, Indonesia. Jurnal Ilmiah Islam Futura, 20(2), 203–217. https://doi.org/10.22373/jiif.v0i0.5841
  17. Feldman, W. (1996). Music of the Ottoman court: Makam, composition and the early Ottoman instrumental repertoire. Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung.
  18. Feldman, W. (2022). From Rumi to the whirling dervishes: Music, poetry, and mysticism in the Ottoman Empire. Brill.
  19. Geertz, C. (1960). The religion of Java. University of Chicago Press.
  20. Greeley, J.-A. (2022). Sufi turning and the spirituality of sacred space. Journal for the Study of Spirituality, 12(1), 36–49. https:// doi.org/10.1080/20440243.2022.2036749
  21. Greeley, J.-A. (2024). All lovers are welcome: Rumi and the spirituality of hospitality in Fihi Ma Fihi. In Inclusion or exclusion in the sacred texts and human contexts (pp. 201–220).
  22. Ham, H. S. (2022). A preliminary study on devising an encoding standard for scholastic Sanskrit literature. Korean Journal of Buddhist Studies, 77(2), 223–248. https:// doi.org/10.21482/jbs.73.202212.91
  23. Hu, R. B., & Zhang, X. S. (2014). Research on application of symbol types in design and semiotics. Advanced Materials Research, 998, 275–280. https://doi.org/10.4028/ www.scientific.net/AMR.998-999.275
  24. Johns, A. H. (1961). Sufism as a category in Indonesian literature and history. Journal of Southeast Asian History, 2(2), 10–23. https:// doi.org/10.1017/S0217781100000260
  25. Johnson-Williams, E. (2024). Introduction: Constructing hymns and race. In Hymns and constructions of race: Mobility, agency, de/coloniality (pp. 1–10). https://doi. org/10.4324/9781003356677-1
  26. Kars, A. (2018). Companionship, human perfection, and divine union in thirteenth- century Persian Sufism. Journal of Sufi Studies, 7(2), 131–153. https://doi. org/10.1163/22105956-12341336
  27. Lan, Z. (2025). Spiritual and philosophical dimensions of Tang dynasty music and dance: Cultural revitalization in the ‘Belt and Road’ era. European Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 17(2), 85–103.https://doi. org/10.24204/ejpr.2025.4294
  28. Lewis, F. D. (2008). Rumi: Past and present, East and West: The life, teachings, and poetry of Jalāl al-Din Rumi. Oneworld.
  29. Mangieri, R. (2014). Ectoplasm, mediums y trance: For a semiotic of magic (Ectoplasm, mediums, and trance: Toward a semiotics of magic). Opción, 30(75), 349–366. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/ articulo?codigo=5140371
  30. Miri, S., Maalmir, M. I., & Kolahchian, F. (2025). A reflection on hermeneutical metaphors in Rumi’s Masnavi based on cognitive semantics. Language Related Research. https://doi.org/10.48311/ LRR.16.2.10
  31. Mojaddedi, J. (Trans.). (2004). The Masnavi: Book one. Oxford University Press.
  32. Muhsin, I., Maharsi, M., Faidi, A., Latifah, Z., Ittihadiyah, H., Syauqii, F., & Al Hamid, M. N. (2025). The development of maritime culture in the Islamic Mataram Kingdom: Social, ekonomik, and political dynamics during the time of Sultan Agung (1613–1645 AD). Diakronika, 25(1), 63–76. https://doi. org/10.24036/diakronika/vol25-iss1/467
  33. Munawar, Z., & Sucipto, S. (2022). Sultan Agung’s cultural insights: Reflections of Javanese insights. Riwayat: Educational Journal of History and Humanities, 5(2), 341–350. https://doi.org/10.24815/ jr.v5i2.27151
  34. Nicholson, R. A. (Trans.). (1925–1940). The Mathnawí of Jalálu’d-Dín Rúmí (Vols. 1–8). Luzac & Co.
  35. Nitavska, N. (2023). Symbolic significance and cognitive dimension of the Latvian landscape. Landscape Architecture and Art, 22(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.22616/j. landarchart.2023.22.06
  36. Oladi, S. (2023). Soulful listening: Rumi’s story of the parrot and the merchant. In The power of oral culture in education: Theorizing proverbs, idioms, and folklore tales (pp. 221–238). Routledge.
  37. Orhan, F. (2021). From Ġinā to Semā: Approaches of Faqīhs towards Sūfī music. Hitit Theology Journal, 20(1), 145–170. https://doi.org/10.14395/hid.979226
  38. Özçelik,A.,Bayramoğlu,E.E.,&Alaskan,A. M. (2024). Review on soundboard in rebab- making. Part I: Structure of rebab, skin, and bovine pericardium. Proceedings of the International Conference on Advanced Materials and Systems (ICAMS), 115–124.
  39. Perlman, M. (2010). Changing conventions in the Central Javanese performing arts: A case study of the music of the colonial-era Wayang Kulit Purwa. Archipel, 79(1), 151–176. https://doi.org/10.3406/arch.2010.4162
  40. Pollock, S. (2011). The revelation of tradition: Śruti, smrti, and the Sanskrit discourse of power. In Boundaries, dynamics and construction of traditions in South Asia (pp. 41–62). Anthem Press. https://doi. org/10.7135/UPO9781843313977.003
  41. Preziosi, D. (2009). The art of art history: A critical anthology (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
  42. Purbasari, M., Carollina, D., Marianto, M. D., & Burhan, M. A. (2023). Sarimbit model as a cultural expression of Betawi through ondel- ondel visual appearance. ISVS E-Journal, 10(2), 175–189. https://doi.org/10.61275/ ISVSEJ-2023-10-11-02
  43. Ricklefs, M. C. (2006). Mystic synthesis in Java: A history of Islamization from the fourteenth to the early nineteenth centuries. EastBridge Foundation.
  44. Rumiwiharsih. (2024). The coherence between Javanese Gamelan (traditional instrument) and classical Javanese dance. Retos, 52, 487–495. https://doi. org/10.47197/retos.v52.110946
  45. Rumi, J. (2001). Yang mengenal dirinya yang mengenal Tuhannya: Aforisme-aforisme sufistik Jalaluddin Rumi (He who knows himself knows his God: Sufi aphorisms of Jalaluddin Rumi). Pustaka Hidayah.
  46. Rumi, J. (2013). Masnawi: Senandung cinta abadi (Masnawi: The song of eternal love) (A. H. W. M., Trans.). Rausyan Fikr Institute.
  47. Rumi, J. (2014). Fihi Ma Fihi: Mengarungi samudera kebijaksanaan (Fihi Ma Fihi: Navigating the ocean of wisdom) (Iqbal, Trans.). Forum.
  48. Rumi, J. (2017a). Masnawi: Senandung cinta abadi (Masnawi: The song of eternal love) (A. H. W. M., Trans.). IRCiSoD.
  49. Rumi, J. (2017b). Rubaiyat (The Rubaiyat) (K. Syafi’ie, Trans.). DIVA Press.
  50. Rumi, J. (2023). Fihi Ma Fihi: 71 ceramah Rumi untuk pendidikan ruhani (Fihi Ma Fihi: 71 lectures by Rumi for spiritual education). Qaf Media Kreativa.
  51. Rumi, J. (2024a). Fihi Ma Fihi: Tulisan tangan Rumi tentang manifestasi cinta dan kebijaksanaan (Fihi Ma Fihi: Rumi’s writings on the manifestation of love and wisdom). Anak Hebat Indonesia.
  52. Rumi, J. (2024b). Surat-surat Rumi (The letters of Rumi). Anak Hebat Indonesia.
  53. Rustom, M. (2008). The metaphysics of the heart in the Sufi doctrine of Rumi. Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, 37(1), 3–14. https://doi. org/10.1177/000842980803700101
  54. Sasaki, M. (2021). A review of the Sundanese scale theory. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education, 21(2), 318–329. https://doi.org/10.15294/harmonia. v21i2.32995
  55. Schimmel, A. (1975). Mystical dimensions of Islam. University of North Carolina Press.
  56. Schimmel, A. (1993). Akulah angin, engkaulah api: Hidup dan karya Jalaluddin Rumi (I am wind, you are fire: The life and work of Jalaluddin Rumi) (A. Abdurrahman & I. Hasan, Trans.). Mizan.
  57. Soylu Bağçeci, F., & Özdemir, M. (2022). Divân-ı Kebîr’de yer alan rebap çalgısına yönelik metaforların hermeneutik açıdan incelenmesi (Hermeneutic analysis of metaphors for the rebap instrument in Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi). Rast Müzikoloji Dergisi, 10(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.12975/ rastmd.20221011
  58. Spiller, H., & Clendinning, E. A. (2021). Focus: Gamelan music of Indonesia. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003014836
  59. Subrahmanyam, S. (1997). Connected histories: Notes towards a reconfiguration of early modern Eurasia. Modern Asian Studies, 31(3), 735–762. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0026749X00017133
  60. Supanggah, R. (2003a). Bothekan karawitan II (Essays on karawitan II). Ford Foundation dan Masyarakat Seni Pertunjukan Indonesia.
  61. Supanggah, R. (2003b). Gamelan: Cultural interaction and musical development in Central Java. University of Chicago Press.
  62. Taufiqurrahman, Putri, E. W., & Pratama, D. R. (2024). Exploring Jalaluddin Rumi’s hermeneutic of love, patience and destiny in relation to the meaning of life. Journal of Al-Tamaddun, 19(2), 211–224. https://doi.org/10.22452/JAT.vol19no2.14
  63. Tercan, N., Nurysheva, G. Z., & Barlybayeva, G. G. (2025). Exploring education strategies in the literature of Abai Qunanbaiuly: Assessing current uses and predicting future trends. Perspektivy Nauki i Obrazovania, 63(3), 415–428. https://doi.org/10.32744/ pse.2025.2.36
  64. Trimingham, J. S. (1971). The Sufi orders in Islam. Oxford University Press.
  65. UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. (2009). Tari Sama’: Tarian para pecinta Ilahi (Sama’ dance: The dance of divine lovers). https:// uinjkt.ac.id/id/tari-sama-tarian-para- pecinta-ilahi
  66. Vaziri, M. (2015). Rumi and Shams’ silent rebellion: Parallels with Vedanta, Buddhism, and Shaivism. Palgrave Macmillan.
  67. Williams, A. (2020). The Masnavi of Rumi, book two: A new English translation with explanatory notes. Oxford University Press.
  68. Yalçınkaya, A. E. (2024). In pursuit of truth: Dj̲alāl al-dīn Rūmī’s conception of happiness within the Mathnawī-i Ma’nawī. Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Veli Araştırma Dergisi, 111, 439–460. https://doi.org/10.60163/tkhcbva.1439385
  69. Yüceer, M. (2022). Mevlânâ’nın Dîvân-ı Kebîr’inde iktibas ve telmih yoluyla yer alan rivayetler (Narrations included in Mevlânâ’s Dîvân-ı Kebîr through quotation and allusion). Cumhuriyet İlahiyat Dergisi, 26(2), 491–512. https://doi.org/10.18505/ cuid.1079510
  70. Ziqiao, L. (2024). Symbolism in ritual: An example of Teochew opera performance among the Malaysian Chinese. Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences (PJLSS), 22(2), 45–56. https://doi.org/10.57239/ PJLSS-2024-22.2.00582
  71. Zoetmulder, P. J. (1995). Kalangwan: Sastra Jawa Kuno selayang pandang (Kalangwan: An overview of Old Javanese literature). Djambatan.
  72. Altun, F. (2024). The musical representation of unity, divine love, and inner journey in Graham Hair’s Sufi Couplets. Journal for the Interdisciplinary Art and Education, Special Issue: Mevlana’s Philosophy and Art, 5(Special Issue: Mevlana’s Philosophy and Art), 85–95. https://doi.org/https://doi. org/10.5281/zenodo.14593986
  73. Ham, H. S. (2022). A preliminary study on devising an encoding standard for scholastic Sanskrit literature. Korean Journal of Buddhist Studies, 77(2), 223–248. https:// doi.org/10.21482/jbs.73.202212.91