From acting to being: Expressions of religious individuality in Aceh, ca. 1600–1900. Issue 3 (18th January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kloos, David
• Is Part Of: Itinerario. Volume 39:Issue 3(2015)
• Page Start: 437
• Page End: 461
• Publication Date: 2016-01-18
• Subjects: Aceh, -- epic literature, -- hikayat, -- individuality, -- Islam, -- religious practice; Netherlands -- Colonies -- Periodicals; Colonies -- History -- Periodicals; Imperialism -- History -- Periodicals; 909
• DOI: 10.1017/S016511531500087X
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0165-1153

Abstract

Abstract : This article discusses the early modern Acehnese epic tradition to demonstrate the emergence of an individualized Muslim ethics. From the late seventeenth century onwards, a protracted decline of Acehnese royal power initiated a process of political fragmentation as well as the gradual integration of rural areas in the globalizing economy. This shift coincided with the emergence of local religious teachers as a new and influential social group. Contingent upon these changes, the Acehnese epic tradition shifted from a dominant cosmological model based on ritual hierarchies to a paradigm of reflexive ethics based on individual responsibility to God.