Tag: Mecca

Burung Roc

~ The Koboi Project

In Islamic cosmography, heaven is often represented directly above the earth, the centre of which is marked by the Ka’ba. Represented below the earth, but in fact surrounding it, is Mount Qaf, a boundary world of jins and spirits, and further down lie the seven levels of hell. As represented in the Ottoman image on the left (above), the  Sacred trees of Islam – the Shajarat al-Tûba, and the Zaqqum tree, form a direct vertical line from the uppermost realm of Heaven, down to the gate of the Seven Hells, just as the  Pokok Pauh Janggi does in the Malay cosmology, connecting Kayangan to Dasar Laut. This lining-up of various sacred trees of Islamic cosmography might represent the intended indexing of an underlying cosmology, or it may simly be due to the limitations of 2-dimensional graphical ontology, but in any event, it an artifact of Islamic cosmographic representation. Other trees not represented in this Ottoman diagram, but that could also, hypothetically, be placed in line include the Sidrat al-Muntahā  or Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary (which marks the boundary between the astronomical and the theological Heavens), the šajaratu l-ḫuld or Tree of Immortality (which is the Tree at the centre of the Garden of Eden which Allah forbade to Adam and Eve) and the Olive Tree, whose centre is located everywhere (tawhid). In Middle Eastern mythology,  the Mountains of Qaf are also the abode of the giant bird, the Roc. In Nusantara folklore the Burong Roc nests on the top of the pokok Pauh Janggi, co-locating the ring of the Mountains of Qaf to the base of the Pokok Pauh Janggi one will find the enterance to the cavern that leads down to the Dasar Laut.


In my Pokok Pauh Janggi performance at Kappalorek Artspace the embroidered Eagle motif on a Western Bib shirt becomes a signifier for the Giant Burong Roc.

Image: https://magictransistor.tumblr.com/post/121976939786/ottoman-diagram-of-heaven-and-hell-caucasus

https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/the-great-birds-of-middle-eastern-legend-myths-or-reality–25445

The Koboi Returns 2023 -15

~ The Koboi Project

The Pohon Beringin represents the three levels to the Malay cosmos, with fishes, serpents, or crocodiles at the bottom level representing the lower Waterworld; land animals like monkeys or elephants in the middle level representing the earth; birds at the top level representing the Skyworld. This tripartite division maps on to 5. Kayangan (Skyworld), 1 Dunia (earth) and 6 Dasar Laut (Waterworld) of the more complex Malay Cosmology as laid out by Md. Salleh Yaspar. In this syncretic premodern Malay Cosmology that integrates all previous ontologies with that of Islam, 5. Kayangan is consonant with Syurga and 6 Dasar Laut with Neraka, above and below the 1 Dunia, respectively.

This structure arguably underpins the story of Haji Batu whose ship went down while crossing the fearsome Pusat Tasek, as he was journeying to perform the Haj, Haji Batu clung to the Pokok Pauh Janggi and drew himself up on 7 nails that he drove into the tree. When he reached the top, he attached himself to the Burong Roc (Garuda) and flew Westward on his Journey to Mecca. (see Walter William Skeat’s Malay Magic). The climbing up the 7 nails can be seen as being an analogy for rising from the seven realms of Hell (the 7 nails could equally represent the seven levels of Heaven of course, or both (seven is a number of multilayered cosmological and soteriological significance) and the flight of the Burong Roc, for an ascent into the Skyworld.

In fact, in the sufi understanding of being, which is based on the Quranic Jihad al-nafs (battle agains the self), there are seven nafs or states of desire through which the adept must rise. The lowest state is Nafsi Ammara, a manifestation of the animal soul in man.  In Nafsi Lawwama man hears the voice of his conscience and tries to resist carnal desires. Nafsi Mulhima is when man receives direct instructions from his Lord. In Nafsi Mutmainna, man is freed of self-indulgence and finds peace and tranquility in a state of piety and obedience to the Lord. Nafsi Radiyya is when man accepts all that happens without any resentment or pain, and when good and bad become equal to him. In Nafsi Mardiyya man assumes the Divine Attributes, leaving behind the material realm, and finally, in Nafsi Safiyya, man reaches the purity of perfect harmony.

https://ejournal.um.edu.my/index.php/MJPVA/article/view/13970/9368

https://books.google.com.my/books?id=-AR-V3ymAzoC&pg=PA274&lpg=PA274&dq=mohd+taib+osman+pusat+tasik&source=bl&ots=Ck_2ts5cvN&sig=ACfU3U189ige7-t0nqKA3yKcLDIurDnuoQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi688zh_sDmAhVT8XMBHaXlC1QQ6AEwAXoECAwQAQ#v=onepage&q=mohd%20taib%20osman%20pusat%20tasik&f=false
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/47873/47873-h/47873-h.htm

https://sufipathoflove.com/seven-levels-of-being/

The Koboi Returns 2023 -13

~ The Koboi Project

According to Malay folklore, far out in in the deep ocean somewhere, there is said to be a momentus whirlpool, known as Pusat Tasik, that swirls down to the depths, draining the waters into the earth. Rooted to the ocean floor at this nexus, is the fabulous Pokok Pauh Janggi that reaches up to the heavens. In the Selangor Malay tale of Haji Batu, a man, journeying to perform the Haj, had to cross the fearsome Pusat Tasek (Siapa terjatuh atau tergelincir, tersuruplah ia ke dalam pusar. Tempat menanti segala mara bahaya. Tempat duduk menantinya Nenek Sepit Pentala Naga di Laut Buih Gelombang Tujuh. Kalau si lemah yang sampai, maka hilang ghaiblah ia di mulut Raja Naga yang maha bisa). As Haji Batu’s ship went down, he clung to the Pokok Pauh Janggi in the middle of the swirl of the Pusat Tasek, and following instructions he had received in a dream, drew himself up on 7 nails that he drove into the tree. When he reached the top, he found the nest of the mythical gigantic Burong Roc (Garuda) that lived there.  He waited therein and when the Roc returned, he attached himself to the bird and flew Westward on his Journey to Mecca. (see Walter William Skeat’s Malay Magic). The above diagram presents the outline of a Pokok Pauh Janggi Wayang Kulit puppet collected by Walter William Skeat from a Tok Dalang from Kelantan in the late 19th Century. Could the figure in the tree possibly be this Haji Batu about to be attach himself to the Burong Roc, or could it be the great bird itself (note the aquline features of the figure’s head)? Perhaps it is a composite figure combining the two entities?

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/47873/47873-h/47873-h.htm

Dari Pusat Tasek 26

~ The Koboi Project
Could that be Haji Batu (on the right) climbing up the Pokok Pauh Janggi on this Wayang Kulit puppet?

In the Selangor Malay tale of Haji Batu, a man, journeying to perform the Haj, had to cross the fearsome Pusat Tasek (Navel of the Seas), a dangerous and fiendish place (Siapa terjatuh atau tergelincir, tersuruplah ia ke dalam pusar. Tempat menanti segala mara bahaya. Tempat duduk menantinya Nenek Sepit Pentala Naga di Laut Buih Gelombang Tujuh. Kalau si lemah yang sampai, maka hilang ghaiblah ia di mulut Raja Naga yang maha bisa). 

As Haji Batu’s ship went down, he clung to the Pokok Pauh Janggi in the middle of the swirl of the Pusat Tasek, and following instructions he had received in a dream, drew himself up on 7 nails that he drove into the tree. When he reached the top, he found the nest of the mythical gigantic Burong Roc (Garuda) that lived there.  He waited therein and when the Roc returned, he attached himself to the bird and flew Westward on his Journey to Mecca. (see Walter William Skeat’s Malay Magic).

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/47873/47873-h/47873-h.htm