Identification of the Spread of Islam and Muslim Identity Through the Architectural Pattern of Tombs in Bali in the 17th-19th Centuries AD

Abstract

The spread of Islam in Bali was a historical process that developed through trade networks, migration, inter-island mobility, and socio-cultural interaction. Amid the dominance of Balinese Hindu traditions, Muslim communities from diverse ethnic backgrounds left various material remains, particularly tombs and gravestones. This study aims to identify patterns of Islamic dissemination and the formation of Muslim identity in Bali through an examination of the forms, typologies, materials, ornaments, inscriptions, and spatial arrangements of Muslim tombs dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries CE. This research employs a qualitative method using a literature review and historical approach through the stages of heuristic inquiry, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The findings indicate that Muslim tombs in Bali display diverse architectural characteristics corresponding to the ethnic backgrounds of their communities. Tombs associated with Javanese Muslim communities, such as the tomb of Raden Mas Mangkuningrat in Cemagi, exhibit features including stone kijing, upright gravestones with Arabic calligraphy, and tomb complexes protected by cungkup, reflecting strong influences of traditional Javanese Islamic funerary architecture. However, the protective structures and decorative elements also incorporate aspects of Balinese architecture. Meanwhile, Bugis-Makassar Muslim tombs in Serangan display stepped tomb structures, pseudo-jirat, gunungan-shaped gravestones, the use of coral stone and wood, as well as floral and foliage motifs, demonstrating an interaction between Bugis-Makassar funerary traditions and the Balinese cultural environment. These differences in tomb typology indicate that the spread of Islam in Bali developed through multiple mobility networks, particularly those connecting Java and the maritime networks of the Bugis-Makassar. Therefore, Muslim tombs and gravestones can be understood as material archives that record patterns of mobility, ethnic and religious identity, and the acculturation of Muslim communities with Balinese local culture. The Islamization of Bali did not produce a uniform Islamic cultural form, but rather generated diverse funerary architectural expressions through which Muslim communities maintained their cultural identities while adapting to the socio-cultural environment of Bali.