CAPÍTULO 2. EXCLUSIÓN SOCIAL, POBREZA Y JUVENTUD: UN
2.6. Los jóvenes en el debate de la exclusión social
2.6.2. Juventud, ciudadanía y políticas sociales
In Banda Aceh, like other Southeast Asian cultures, the popular religions, in this case, Islam has also shaped the ways people understand and venerate heritage places. To some extent Islam has assimilated itself into much older traditions of venerating the spirit of places, such as animism and Hinduism. Now, Islam has colonized the landscape of present-‐day Banda Aceh. This is in synergy with the phenomenon in Southeast Asia that former religious cultures were assimilated and embodied in later religious cultures (Byrne, 2012). As building traditions in Asia was also shaped by manifestation of rituals and beliefs (Widodo, 2012), Islam has also influenced the relationship between people and buildings. Therefore, it is essential in this thesis to discuss Islamic conservation approaches by looking at a
specific interface between Islamic teachings about mosque conservation as the most obvious sacred, protected place in Islam.
Many Southeast Asians believe that places have spirits residing at them or associated with them (Byrne, 2012, p. 4). Supernatural spirits reside in objects such as Buddhist stupas, Christian Crosses and statues, Hindu statues, and animism old trees. In Islam, God is not particularly in heaven, as Byrne (2012) described for the Protestant Reformation, he does not present himself in objects either. Places on earth are just a medium through which people perform their worship to God, Allah. Thus, Moslems do not venerate places in the way they worship places or objects, but rather in the way they use, respect and look after places and objects. This occurs for at least two interrelated reasons.
Firstly, it is quite similar, to some degree, to other Southeast Asian cultures. The animism tradition of venerating place, on the arrival of Islam, was assimilated with Islamic teachings. Therefore, there is shift in Islamic society from venerating the spirits of ancestors and deities to respecting the spirits of Sufi saints residing in such places. In addition, religious buildings like mosques have similar association as houses of God. The places are religiously important, and like mosques and other Sufi saint tombs are considered keuramat17 places. During important days like Idul Fitri, during the month of Ramadan, and Idul Adha, people make pilgrimages to such places and during their visit they would prepare a kenduri and pray, asking a favor from God through the spirits of the saints (Siapno, 2002) or, as I witnessed as an Acehnese, for thanking God for what they have. The contemporary Islamic
17 This word is Arabic derived, and means a miracle performed by a wali (saint). According to Dahri (2007),
keuramat is also the priority given to a person who is always obedient to God’s rules; one who consistently follows Islamic teachings. Keuramat are also Malay tutelary spirits, so that it is strongly associated with Islam by Chinese in the Malay Peninsula (Byrne, 2014) . According to Snouck Hurgronje (1985b, p.338-‐9) in
generation in Aceh regard the tradition of venerating places as un-‐Islamic, see for example Siapno (2002).
Secondly, Moslem look after the environment not because God is in heritage sites, or it is the world of God, but because it is a command from God to do so. Humans in Islam are given the privilege of making use of the earth, at the same time they have a responsibility to look after it (Khan, 2011). In return, followers of Islam would obtain rewards from God. As argued by Khan (2011, p. 22), this stewardship includes the protection of heritage: “The servants of (Allah) All Merciful are they who tread gently upon the earth with humility” (Quran 25: 63). For Khan (2011, p. 22) this saying is interpreted as “being prudent with both building and natural capital supports this notion of safeguarding them for future generations”. As nature is God’s creation so it is a human obligation to look after it. In contrast, architecture is not a direct creation of God, but through their hands humans make use of natural resources to create architecture. In this sense, natural conservation links to cultural heritage conservation. In Islam balancing use and conservation is an essential foundation in human life. In Islamic teachings, the universe and its various elements are evidence of the Creator’s greatness, and there is not a thing He has created but celebrates and praises Him. In this regard, worshipping things rather than God is strictly prohibited in Islam. Muslims do not respect a place or object but in the name of God, or as a part of merit making for preparing for their life in the hereafter. In addition, as Akbar (2012) argues, Moslems should avoid overvaluing material objects, and suggests that valuing materiality is not in accordance with Islamic values and practices. Given this explanation, for Muslims, materiality, which is strongly associated with life in this world, is impermanent,
but activities conducted at certain material places that praise God, or are performed in the name of God, are more permanent and have greater currency.
In Banda Aceh, in addition to Islamic teachings, living under continuous natural and human-‐made destruction has also contributed to attitudes toward materiality as being impermanent. Banda Aceh had experienced several disasters that have impacted on its political and social development (McKinnon, 2006). Its position at the mouth of a river has resulted in a sequence of major and minor floods, which have been recorded in the notes of several travellers who came to Banda Aceh (see for example in Lombard, 1991). The river, nevertheless, was one source of drinking water for foreign traders and passers-‐by across the Indian Ocean and the China Sea, because its high quality water could last for six months without sedimentation, and was thought to be able to cure several diseases (Lombard, 1991, p. 57-‐58). Besides flooding, Beaulieu (1620-‐30) also noted the recurrence of earthquake three to four times a year, and it was on 7 March 1621 that a large earthquake hit Banda Aceh and caused panic (Lombard, 1991). In addition, he also witnessed a big fire, just a couple months after the earthquake on 4 June 1621, which burnt approximately 260 houses (Lombard, 1991). It is, however, hard to find written records and archaeological proof of the existence of ancient tsunamis. Recent archaeological work undertaken by McKinnon (2006) has argued that over the last two hundred years tsunami’s have been experienced (McKinnon, 2006). His hypothesis is drawn from, and strongly supported by, a recent geophysical research conducted by Aron J. Meltzner et. al (2010), which documents the history of earthquakes and tsunamis in Aceh between 1390 and 1455. Travelers also noted the resilience of people demonstrated by the quick reconstruction after disasters using traditional techniques and materials (Lombard, 1991)
The Mosque is a good example to illustrate the ways Muslims look after their architectural heritage. It is not only one of the places most venerated in Islamic society, including Acehnese society, but also has enough data to enable me to analyse the people engaged in maintaining the mosque. As argued by Khalfana and Ogurab (2012, p. 594), as Islamic ritual objects the mosques are morally imbued with protection value; once erected they cannot be demolished, unless they are to be replaced. Yet, in their study of the role of waqf18 in building conservation in
Zanzibar, they mistakenly interpret this mosque protection. They believe that mosques in Islamic societies have not changed physically and functionally. They contrast this to Churches that have undergone changes, for example in England. Their proposition contrasts with what other scholars have written on the conservation of other mosques. Khan (2011) finds that mosques are under continuous change, enlargement, and restoration over centuries. Ariffin (2005) finds that the Nabawi mosque shows continuous physical changes as well. In addition, the Masjidil Haram19 -‐-‐ containing the Ka’ba, the Islamic praying
direction, and located in the holy land Mecca – is under continuous enlargement and modification, even modernization, to accommodate the growing number of worshippers (Khan, 2011). Therefore, the protection here is undertaken on function; so that once a mosque is erected, the function and uses of such building cannot be changed.
We can illustrate this building conservation practice in Banda Aceh through the development of the Baiturrahman. The mosque has also experienced many
18 An Islamic endowment
19 I am aware that there is a debate over this enlargement which demolished other sites of heritage in Mecca,
yet I do not interrogate this further in this thesis since it is beyond the scope of this thesis. The purpose to this example is to show how the change has occurred in Islamic heritage overtime to accommodate activities and function.
changes since its establishment during the Iskandar Muda era in the early 17th
Century (Raap, 1994). In his era, Aceh was at its most powerful, which has been remembered as a “glorious time”20. Yet, the date of when this mosque, with its
three tiered roof (see figure 2), was built is still debatable. In different versions of history, the mosque was established before Iskandar Muda, and he just enlarged the mosque to accommodate increasing numbers of the faithful (Manguin, 1999). However, the intention here is not to discuss who built the mosque, but rather to discuss the development of the mosque and the attitudes of Acehnese towards it. After the death of Sultan Iskandar Muda, the Kingdom of Aceh gradually became less powerful under a controversial sequence of women leaders (Reid, 2006). At the end of this era there was a reaction against the power of women, which was believed as contrary to Islamic conviction (Reid, 2006). There were four Sultanahs who ruled Aceh after the death of Iskandar Tani, the successor to the throne of Iskandar Muda between 1636 and 1641. They were Sultanah Tajul Alam Safiatuddin Syah (1641-‐1675), Sultanah Nurul Alam Nakiatuddin Syah (1675-‐ 1678), Sultanah Inayat Syah Zakiatuddin Syah (1678-‐1688) and Sultanah Kamalat Syah (1688-‐1699). To protest these leaderships, people burnt several public buildings, including the palace and the Baiturrahman mosque. The mosque was rebuilt again several times, and finally in the 1860s, under the direction of Sayyid Abd al-‐Rahman bin Muhammad al-‐Zahir, an Arab immigrant and reputed descendant of the prophet Muhammad -‐-‐ in a different style, more like the model of the Masjidil Haram in Mecca (Raap, 1994), where the Ka’bah21 is (see figure 2).
How this mosque appears still raises doubts, since there is no local evidence of this mosque.
20 This era is regarded as “golden age” in some books such as one written by Raap (1994), or zaman gemilang/
What does the establishment and enlargement of the mosque (if we are to believe another version of the mosque history), its immediate rebuilding, and the rebuilding in different styles, tell us about the relationship between Islamic society in Banda Aceh and architectural heritage? This shows how the Acehnese Organic Heritage Discourse (OHD), which is strongly influenced by Islamic teachings, was expressed. It is evidence of a renewal of the conservation ethos as conservation methods that Kwanda (2010) argues as important aspect of heritage conservation in Indonesia and Asia. Byrne (2012) observes that in the name of merit making several venerated places, such as temples, have undergone beautification and renewal. The enlargement of the mosque was undertaken as a way to maintain its existence by rebuilding it quickly to accommodate the need for space and the continuation of ritual practices. Moreover, a quick rebuilding in different styles was also done to maintain these ritual practices, and it did not change the meaning of the mosque for Acehnese people. This suggests that materiality is seen impermanent, so that it is subject to change. For Acehnese to make a public architectural heritage, especially religious buildings such as mosques and meunasah,22 in sound condition, does not require its original form, style and
material to be maintained. What is valued is the spirit and sense of the place of the mosque rather than its material aspect.
For Acehnese people establishing, maintaining, transferring and visiting the mosque and meunasah are, thus, maintaining and visiting God’s house and ensuring the sustainability of Islamic learning practices, and consequently Acehnese Islamic identity. Thus, this relates to merit making, cultural continuity, and sources of resilience. Not surprisingly, then, the religious building is a
community inheritance and important for community resilience. Thus, a good Muslim, especially a leader, should pay attention to the development and maintenance of religious buildings, especially mosques, making merit by keeping them in sound condition (Hurgronje, 1985a; Yani, 2011). In Acehnese society, constructing and looking after the public facilities and buildings, including mosques and meunasah, are done by the community through gotong royong23, so
that the whole community obtains merit for their life in the hereafter. Every village has a responsibility for looking after its village including village facilities (Mahdi, 2012).
Given all these explanations and debates, what is important to note is that memories for Acehnese people are embodied in religious and everyday activities; rather than architectural forms or other inscribed texts. The change of the forms, even the transformation of the modern ones, is undertaken to accommodate the continuity between the past and the present through the authenticity of activities. It was the Dutch, during the colonial era, who introduced a modern way of conserving buildings.