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The Strange Journey of Latawalujwa in Java, From Two Pre-Islamic Goddesses to an Elastic Term for God

In the early history of Islam, pre-Islamic female goddesses named Al-Lat and al-‘Uzza were regarded as particular threats to the new faith. They appeared in one of the oldest surviving Modern Javanese manuscripts, a Caritanira Amir written no later than 1629, as Lata wa-l-‘Uzza, their names being joined by the Arabic conjunction wa. This appears to be the key to later Javanese misunderstanding of these two names as a single one: Latawalujwa (or close variants thereof). This misunderstanding is even to be found in a Javanese translation of the Qur’an in Javanese (rather than Arabic) script, which refers to a singular “idol named Latawalnguza.” From the 18th to the early 20th centuries we find several Javanese examples of this singular name being used for a divinity, sometimes for God himself, sometimes for other sorts of divinities. The origin of this name in the two pre-Islamic idols seems to have been entirely forgotten.In the early history of Islam, pre-Islamic female goddesses named Al-Lat and al-‘Uzza were regarded as particular threats to the new faith. They appeared in one of the oldest surviving Modern Javanese manuscripts, a Caritanira Amir written no later than 1629, as Lata wa-l-‘Uzza, their names being joined by the Arabic conjunction wa. This appears to be the key to later Javanese misunderstanding of these two names as a single one: Latawalujwa (or close variants thereof). This misunderstanding is even to be found in a Javanese translation of the Qur’an in Javanese (rather than Arabic) script, which refers to a singular “idol named Latawalnguza.” From the 18th to the early 20th centuries we find several Javanese examples of this singular name being used for a divinity, sometimes for God himself, sometimes for other sorts of divinities. The origin of this name in the two pre-Islamic idols seems to have been entirely forgotten.

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Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

ARCHIPEL; Vol.98 Tahun 2019

No. Panggil

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Penerbit

: .,

Deskripsi Fisik

p. 109 - 119

Bahasa

English

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Tipe Isi

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Tipe Media

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Tipe Pembawa

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Edisi

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

M. C. Ricklefs

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