97

16.200 Edifying Literature, Eschatology (group D, 14.000).

Islamic eschatology, referring to a right eous King setting right what seems wrong in the world, has exercised a considerable influence in Javanese religiously minded cir cles, probably from an early date. The tur bulent character of Javanese political history, causing much distress to the rural population by the passing of armies and the depredations of banditti, prompted authors to write trea tises containing promises of a better time to come in a near future. Under a separate head of Part Two, His tory, of the present Synopsis (25.200), the Jaya Baya prophecies will be discussed. These texts refer to the course of political history of Java as revealed to a legendary King of the pre-Islamic kingdom of Kadiri. Perhaps they contain elements belonging to pre-Islamic, Old Javanese and Indian reli gious speculation on the periods of world- history. Islamic Messianic (Mahdi) expectations were couched in Arabic treatises containing information on the approaching Judgment and adhortations addressed to sinners h> mend their ways during the short time still allowed to them. Arabic treatises of that kind, allegedly written by pious divines in Mecca, circulated in Java, Javanese trans lations and adaptations, often in verse, are known under the name Kabar Kiyamat. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries some blending of Kabar Kiyamat elements with Jaya Baya prophecies was apparent. In the nineteenth century, probably on account of the unrest and Mahdi expectations apparent everywhere in the Muslim world

at the time, eschatological and Messianic treatises became very popular in Java. The expectation of the coming of the Ratu Adil, the Righteous King, tended to become a menace to the Dutch Government, and so the propagators of Messianic doctrines were prosecuted. Some of them used to take ad vantage of the common people’s credulity by urging buyers of cheap Messianic tracts to show their repentance by giving liberal fees to those who gave warning. Drewes’s thesis “Drie Javaansche Goeroe’s, hun Leven, On verricht en Messias-prediking”, Leiden, 1925, deals with Javanese Messianic preach ers. Under the present head manuscripts con taining Islamic eschatological texts and Ja vanese Kabar Kiyamat treatises, mostly in verse, have been collected. Relevant texts have been listed in the General Index under the catchwords eschatology, Kabar Kiyamat, Mahdi, Ratu Adil and Waslyat. 16.210 Notes on Islamic eschatology, Ara bic and Javanese: cod. 5775 (Kabar Kiyamat 1861-’62), 7175 (= 6536), KITLV H 593. 16.220 Notes on Messianic expectations, Ratu Adil, Panaraga: cod. 6565. 16.230 Notes on Javanese Ratu Adil ex pectations, Malai3 Yuda, Banumas, and his disciples: cod. 5612, 7577, 7578, 7579, 7583, 7585, 7586, 7587, 7588. 16.240 Kabar Kiyamat, eschatological trea tises in verse: