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14.000 The beginning of the Islamic period in Java. Javanese Mysticism.*

In the fifteenth century Muslim traders acquired political influence in the mercantile towns on the North Coast of East Java and in the sixteenth century Islam was in the ascendant politically and culturally. In the structure of Javanese civilization and social life Islam took approximately the same place as Indian religion occupied before. That is to say, for a long time both Indian and Muslim religion were cultural assets of people belonging to the ruling class and the professional class of men of religion. Probably in many districts in the interior of the country the common people were scarcely interested in the unfamiliar rites (see 10.000). The first Muslims in Java were foreigners coming from Further India. Champa (Cëmpa) is repeatedly mentioned in Javanese histo rical legends referring to the introduction of Islam. The ethnical origin of the earliest Muslim traders’ families settling in East Java is difficult to ascertain. Perhaps they belonged to the extensive social group of traders and sailors of mixed descent, often speaking several languages, which was the more or less floating population of the har bours on the coasts of India, beginning with Gujrat, in the west, down to the Peninsula, in the east. About their reasons for leaving their native country in Further India noth ing is know with certainty. Probably they were traders seeking in the first place ma terial profit. The opportunities for extending their trade relations and the relative safety in the harbours of East Java may have been attractive to them.

It is possible that they had already fa voured Islamic mysticism in their home land. There seems to be little reason to assume, however, that their mystic inter pretation of Islam was a powerful motive which induced them to emigrate to Java in order to propagate their faith. Proselytizing always has come natural to Muslim traders who settled in foreign countries among unbelievers. The Indian traders of mixed blood who introduced Islam in Java may have had connections of long standing with Javanese middle-class people, tradesmen and artisans. In middle-class circles in maritime towns and market-boroughs in the country, Javanese men and women who were accustomed to perform religious rites connected with their trades may have been the first to show some interest in Islam. In India Muslim rulers, having cultural connections with Persian Islam, superseded native Kings, and Persian became the vehicle of Islamic culture. In the Peninsula and the Archipelago that function fell to Malay. Perhaps for a long time before the introduction of Islam some kind of Malay was already the idiom of interinsular com- * Islamic religious and moralistic texts belonging to Eras C and D of Javanese cultural history, the Pasisir period and the period of the renais sance of classical literature (see 00020), have been registered together in the following para graphs (14.000—18.600), because in this religious literature the continuity is very much apparent. The literary idioms of the texts are East Javan ese, Pasisir Javanese and modern Javanese, Sura karta and Yogyakarta standards (see 00030, groups 3, 4 and 5).