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sentiments are expressed in a lyrical form, which is exceptional in Javanese literature (see 30.170). In the eighteenth century mystic suluks seem to have been considered as an important sub-division of literature at the Court of the Cërbon Sultans. The West Javanese authors of these Court suluks some times used macapat metres which were un known or unusual in Central Java (see 00050). Probably vagrant students of Islamic lore, wandering santris (see 30.780), were instrumental in spreading the suluk genre all over Java. Suluks seem to have been popular in most districts of Central and East Java since the beginning of the eighteenth century. Poerbatjaraka (“Kapustakan Djawi”, 1952, p. 94 and 98) considered suluk Sukarsa and suluk Wujil as belonging to the oldest group, written in the beginning of the seventeenth century, or perhaps even earlier. Most suluks are called after one of the personages who are mentioned in the text, either asking questions or giving answers. Some suluks have names referring to the subject-matter of the text. In some cases it is difficult to> ascertain whether a given mystic poem is correctly called a suluk. The difference between the didactic mystic poems mentioned under the preceding head and suluks proper seems to consist mainly in the latter’s character of songs originally made to be sung in religious meetings. However, in the course of time some very popular suluks, such as suluk Sujinah, seem to have been enlarged so as to develop into complete didactic poems. Perhaps the encyclopedic poem Cëntini even owes its name to a suluk Cëntini which long ago has disappeared in the overwhelming mass of the voluminous book (see 30.800).

Again it is not easy to* make a clear distinction between suluks proper and nar rative didactic poems referring to mystic masters, such as Cabolèk, Téka Wërdi etc., which will be discussed under the next head. Sometimes suluks seem to have been in corporated in these narrative texts, which probably were popular reading-matter in communities of adepts of mysticism, where the shorter mystic poems were regularly sung. Sometimes popular catechisms and text books of religious instruction were versified, and these didactic poems were also called suluks (see 15.800). Perhaps in some reli gious communities the didactic suluks oc casionally were sung in the same manner as the mystic songs which are discussed under the present head. Under a preceding head, on Javanese- Balinese religious poetry (12.800), a relation ship between some songs, hymns and in cantations belonging to Javanese-Balinese non-Islamic religious practice, as a rule called ajis, and Muslim mystic suluks has been suggested. Probably both kinds of re ligious poetry were primarily meant to be sung in meetings of religiously minded people. Some popular devotional songs have been registered under the present head (though they are not called suluks), on ac count of their being sung by professional street-singers, probably relatives of the wan dering santris who used to> sing real suluks in their religious meetings. Some suluks were published by local publishing houses in Java in compilations of religious poetry (e.g.: “Soeloek”, van Dorp, Semarang 1905). Editions with Dutch translations and commentaries of suluks