Symbolism in Nusantara masjid architecture: Why and wherefores

Nusantara or the Malay Archipelago lies in South East Asia. An equatorial maritime area was rich with trades and people traffic between the islands and mainland, with its own distinct culture. The coming of Islam into the region was accepted naturally without conquest and thus pave the way into the...

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Main Authors:	Mohd Nawawi, Norwina, Abdul Rahim, Zaiton, Abdul Majid, Noor Hanita, Denan, Zuraini, Abdullah, Fadzidah
Format:	Conference or Workshop Item
Language:	English English
Published:	2019
Subjects:	GN Anthropology GT Manners and customs NA Architecture NA190 History NA4590 Religious buildings
Online Access:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/70889/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/70889/1/USM-Symbolism%20Nusantara%20Masjid-300119.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/70889/23/70889%20-booklet.pdf

id	iium-70889
recordtype	eprints
spelling	iium-708892019-03-11T03:21:40Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/70889/ Symbolism in Nusantara masjid architecture: Why and wherefores Mohd Nawawi, Norwina Abdul Rahim, Zaiton Abdul Majid, Noor Hanita Denan, Zuraini Abdullah, Fadzidah GN Anthropology GT Manners and customs NA Architecture NA190 History NA4590 Religious buildings Nusantara or the Malay Archipelago lies in South East Asia. An equatorial maritime area was rich with trades and people traffic between the islands and mainland, with its own distinct culture. The coming of Islam into the region was accepted naturally without conquest and thus pave the way into the Malay culture and manifested in the existing architecture. In the inquiry of the meaning of symbolism found in the Masjid architecture in this region, differing from traditional masjid of the middle east or India, this paper intends to demonstrate how acculturation of Islamic faith and culture of the people in the Malay Archipelago were seamlessly expressed as symbolic meanings in their masjid architecture. Through literature review and case study visits to selected existing masjid of the Nusantara, the findings denote that symbolism, within the permit of the shariah, enhances the spatial and spiritual experience of the people. In the case of a masjid in Kerinci, Jambi in West Sumatra, the symbolic meanings derived from Islamic faith and local culture, both structural and non-structural components of the masjid, were encoded, presented and communicated in the form of architectural features, gave meanings and heightened the spiritual experience of the users. Symbolic meanings in the old masjid architecture of Kerinci are simplified abstractions manifesting the worldview of the local people or society. The paper summarises that in such society, incorporating symbolism in designing a masjid to them, can enhance and exalted the spiritual level of users, and in the same process add character and soul to the masjid. This research finds historic or old vernacular masjids are the best example of how architecture can play a major role not only in providing a physical shell for the users but enhance their spatial and spiritual experiences, where, in the process able to create an identity and unique character to the place. 2019 Conference or Workshop Item NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/70889/1/USM-Symbolism%20Nusantara%20Masjid-300119.pdf application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/70889/23/70889%20-booklet.pdf Mohd Nawawi, Norwina and Abdul Rahim, Zaiton and Abdul Majid, Noor Hanita and Denan, Zuraini and Abdullah, Fadzidah (2019) Symbolism in Nusantara masjid architecture: Why and wherefores. In: Exhibition and Lecture : Malay Architecture Resilience of Tradition from Origin to the Contemporary, Penang. (Unpublished)
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	International Islamic University Malaysia
building	IIUM Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English English
topic	GN Anthropology GT Manners and customs NA Architecture NA190 History NA4590 Religious buildings
spellingShingle	GN Anthropology GT Manners and customs NA Architecture NA190 History NA4590 Religious buildings Mohd Nawawi, Norwina Abdul Rahim, Zaiton Abdul Majid, Noor Hanita Denan, Zuraini Abdullah, Fadzidah Symbolism in Nusantara masjid architecture: Why and wherefores
description	Nusantara or the Malay Archipelago lies in South East Asia. An equatorial maritime area was rich with trades and people traffic between the islands and mainland, with its own distinct culture. The coming of Islam into the region was accepted naturally without conquest and thus pave the way into the Malay culture and manifested in the existing architecture. In the inquiry of the meaning of symbolism found in the Masjid architecture in this region, differing from traditional masjid of the middle east or India, this paper intends to demonstrate how acculturation of Islamic faith and culture of the people in the Malay Archipelago were seamlessly expressed as symbolic meanings in their masjid architecture. Through literature review and case study visits to selected existing masjid of the Nusantara, the findings denote that symbolism, within the permit of the shariah, enhances the spatial and spiritual experience of the people. In the case of a masjid in Kerinci, Jambi in West Sumatra, the symbolic meanings derived from Islamic faith and local culture, both structural and non-structural components of the masjid, were encoded, presented and communicated in the form of architectural features, gave meanings and heightened the spiritual experience of the users. Symbolic meanings in the old masjid architecture of Kerinci are simplified abstractions manifesting the worldview of the local people or society. The paper summarises that in such society, incorporating symbolism in designing a masjid to them, can enhance and exalted the spiritual level of users, and in the same process add character and soul to the masjid. This research finds historic or old vernacular masjids are the best example of how architecture can play a major role not only in providing a physical shell for the users but enhance their spatial and spiritual experiences, where, in the process able to create an identity and unique character to the place.
format	Conference or Workshop Item
author	Mohd Nawawi, Norwina Abdul Rahim, Zaiton Abdul Majid, Noor Hanita Denan, Zuraini Abdullah, Fadzidah
author_facet	Mohd Nawawi, Norwina Abdul Rahim, Zaiton Abdul Majid, Noor Hanita Denan, Zuraini Abdullah, Fadzidah
author_sort	Mohd Nawawi, Norwina
title	Symbolism in Nusantara masjid architecture: Why and wherefores
title_short	Symbolism in Nusantara masjid architecture: Why and wherefores
title_full	Symbolism in Nusantara masjid architecture: Why and wherefores
title_fullStr	Symbolism in Nusantara masjid architecture: Why and wherefores
title_full_unstemmed	Symbolism in Nusantara masjid architecture: Why and wherefores
title_sort	symbolism in nusantara masjid architecture: why and wherefores
publishDate	2019
url	http://irep.iium.edu.my/70889/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/70889/1/USM-Symbolism%20Nusantara%20Masjid-300119.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/70889/23/70889%20-booklet.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T21:40:37Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T21:40:37Z
_version_	1777413115107868672

Symbolism in Nusantara masjid architecture: Why and wherefores

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