As said in the Preface, this book examines Islam as it is experienced by Muslims in Bima in Sumbawa, Indonesia. The point I wish to put across is that, although the Muslims in Bima are unified in the name of Islam, Islamic expressions are highly diverse. The Sultan and Raja Bicara (the prime minister), the basic dyadic social and political organization in Bima, who reflect the historical and cultural legacies of the area, has been very significant in the forming of the religious orientations in the region. The Sultan's attachment to the traditionalist Islam and the Raja Bicara's affiliation to the reformist Islam has had a wide impact on the dynamics of Islamization and being a Muslim in Bima. The argument presented in this book is that, being Muslim is not a single trajectory but influenced by many aspects, and is continuously in the making. As discussed later, the book shows that even within one single Islamic community, different religious orientations on the same issue exist next to each other. The focus is on the productive agency of Muslims in the embodied meanings of being Muslim in everyday life. The book investigates Islam in Bima as experienced by the local Muslims.

Focusing on agency places this book in an important shift in the anthropology of Islam, which recognizes that self-cultivation plays a pivotal role in religious practices. I argue that my study represents a turning away from the description of Islam as a “fatalistic religion” in which Shari’at (Islamic religious law) predetermines all forms of action to a view that Islam enables Muslims to be active agents. The book introduces readers to a new discourse suggesting that Islamic presentations in the public lives of Bima Muslims, or public religious expressions (PRE) as put by Stewart et al. (2017), cannot be always equated with Islamic radicalism and Islamism, a political ideology. My findings show that the vast majority of Bima Muslims simply want their identities as Muslims and their cultural products to be recognized by the outside world. Muslims in the eastern part of Indonesia are proud of their historical legacy and traditions, as I demonstrate within the context of contemporary Bima.

In this respect, this book touches on the process of what local Muslims practize as cultural meanings, religious symbols and systems which are expressed through rituals and festivals.

My motivation for writing this book grew out of my desire to present the everyday experiences of Muslims and what constitutes being Muslim in Bima. At present, Bima has been attracting large audiences nationwide. The region, located in the island of Sumbawa, province of Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) in Indonesia, became the subject of unprecedented attention when two suspected terrorists were shot dead by Densus 88 counterterrorism squad personnel in 2017. They were reportedly members of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD). The Indonesian National Police stated there was good reason for thinking that JAD in Bima is affiliated with the Mujahidin Indonesia Timur (MIT), the East Indonesia Mujahidin, a terrorist network in Poso, Central Sulawesi. The MIT was led by Santoso, alias Abu Wardah, before he was killed in July 2016 (The Jakarta Post, Tuesday, October 31, 2017).

On hearing this news, people experience a gut reaction rather than resorting to careful analysis, which easily leads to an overgeneralization which labels the Muslims in Bima radical and evokes the idea that the region has become a breeding-ground for terrorism. In the case of JAD and its activities in Bima, emotional reactions often give rise of the mistaken view that this is what is happening there in general. During further visits to Bima, in 2018 and 2019 respectively, when exploring the activities undertaken by NU and Muhammadiyah members there to combat the radical movements of the members of JAD, I discovered that JAD is a tiny group and certainly not representative of the whole picture of Islam in Bima. As discussed in greater depth in this book, in their religious orientation and observances most Muslims in Bima rely either on the NU or Nahdlatul Ulama (the Indonesia's largest Muslim organization affiliated to traditionalist Islam founded in East Java in 1926) or on the Muhammadiyah (the Indonesia's second largest Muslim organization associated to reformist Islam founded in Yogyakarta in 1912). The NU and Muhammadiyah are two largest Muslim organizations in the country and enjoy a reputation as role models of moderate Islam in Indonesia.

Therefore, in this book, I seek to present a systematic analysis of the everyday Islamic practices of the Muslims in Bima in order to give an unbiased depiction of Islam in the eastern part of Indonesia.

In relation to the kinship terms, there is no big difference between Dou Mbojo and Dou Donggo. The two are similar, since the they derive from the same ancestors. For example, wa’i for va’i (PM, PP, CC) in Donggo; amancawa for amancava (Z [m.s]) in Donggo; wei for vei (W) in Donggo; riana mone (male) and riana siwe (female) for riana (SpP) in Donggo; and wae CSpP [besan] for vai (CSpP) (Ind.: besan) in Donggo. The following lists Bima's kinship terms:

This background chapter furnishes the context of the study. This includes a detailed literature review in which I explain what previous studies have said about the topic and discuss recent developments and identify the gap in the literature which has led to pinpointing the research problems in the study. In short, it is not only an account of the society under study as an ethnographic record but also theoretical and methodological insights which expand the study of Islam in the eastern Indonesia. The historical experiences of Muslims in Bima from the time of their conversion to Islam to the present day have resulted in Islamic practices which accentuate their distinctive ways of being Muslim and of showing their admiration for religious figures.

Of course, this means that I explore the introduction of Islam, the conversion to Islam, the further dissemination of Islamic practices, the growth of the Muslim population and the spread of Islamic religious ideas in Bima. Overall, as said in Chapter One, the process of Islamic conversion in Bima is multi-branched. It involved a dialectic process between early Islamic preachers and the locals, including the agency of the locals in the decision to embrace Islam (see Comaroff and Comaroff, 1991 and 1997, for Christianity).

On the 22 February, 2012, in the city of Bima in Sumbawa, eastern Indonesia, I stood in a crowd of thousands in the hot sun to witness the festival of Hanta Ua Pua. In this festival, a litter topped by a Malay-style house is carried by bearers from Kampung Melayu along the three-kilometre road to the Sultan's palace. This recently revived festival symbolizes the key role of Malay proselytizers in Bima's Islamization in the seventeenth century and, on a more secular note, serves as a key element in tourist promotion. As described in Chapter Three, I see the festival is as a critical lens which enables us to realize that the role of religious practices in public life and popular culture is alive and well in Bima.

This study engages with the diversity of expressions of Islamic beliefs and practices in Bima, of which Hanta Ua Pua is an important example. Incontestably, the festival represents the dominant storyline of the Islamization of Bima and the Islamic character of Bima in general. Nevertheless, dig deeper and the diversity of the representations of Islam in the religious practices among Bima Muslims are revealed.

In this chapter, I draw on an ethnographic study of the observation of ritual prayers performed by mosque participants in the light of the scriptural interpretation given by mosque officials. By focusing on the observation of ritual prayers in the Sultan mosque during Ramadan and on Friday, my aim is to posit that the distinctive ritual prayers of the mosque participants are deliberately constructed through the interplay between mosque officials and the royal authority. As discussed later, these particular ritual prayers reflect the different religious orientations in contemporary Bima.

The topic of prayer-leader and Islamic ritual prayer has attracted the attention of Islamic studies and historians on religion, while anthropological studies of Islam have focused on the non-Islamic elements in Muslim rituals. This chapter will provide a middle way by building on the research on ritual prayers across the Muslim worlds conducted by scholars such as Bowen (1989 and 2000), Parkin and Headley (2000), Bowker (2000), Mahmood (2001), Henkel (2005), Möller (2005) and Muhaimin (2006). Bowen (1989 and 2000) and Möller (2005) have pointed out that, although Islamic ritual prayer is the most important aspect of Islamic piety, it is still understudied. Bowen (1989) in particular has encouraged us to become more familiar with Islamic prayer. Parkin and Headley (2000) postulate that for Muslims ritual prayer is imbued with different meanings in different locations.

Mahmood (2001) has found that the divergent views on understanding ritual prayer among anthropologists are related to various ways of developing the discursive and practical conditions of authority and on variable concepts of personhood. She (2001: 828) concluded that the performance of ritual prayer among the mosque participants she studied was an important way by which they could construct their ‘intentions, emotions and desires in accord with orthodox standards of Islamic piety’. Examining the theological aspects, Mahmood (2001: 830) added that Islamic ritual prayer requires sincerity (Ar.: ikhlas) in the worship God and, by concentrating exclusively on God during prayer, it is an important practice in achieving a suitable humility (Ar.: khusyu’). After looking at the difference between ‘formal (conventional) and spontaneous conduct’, Mahmood (2001: 845) proposed the idea that among the mosque participants she studied in Egypt ritual prayer can be best analysed as a ‘disciplinary practice that complexly combines pragmatic action (that is, day-to-day mundane activities) with formal and highly codified behavior’.

1. Abdul Kahir (the first Sultan of Bima from 1620 to 1640) (Mantau Wata Wadu, whose stone grave). He married Daeng Sikontu, the daughter of Karaeng Kasuarang. This marriage gave birth Abi’l Khair Sirajuddin.

2. I Ambela Abil Khair Siradjuddin (the second Sultan of Bima from 1640 to 1682) (Mantau Uma Jati, whose jati house). He married on 13 April 1646 with Karaeng Bonto Je’ne, who is the younger sister of Sultan Hasanuddin of Gowa. This marriage gave birth Nuruddin in 1651.

3. Nuruddin Abu Bakar Ali Syah (the third Sultan of Bima from 1682 to 1687) (Mawa’a Paju, who brought umbrella), who married Daeng Ta Memang, the daughter of Raja Tallo (king of Tallo, Makassar). Of the marriage Jamaluddin was born.

4. Jamaluddin Ali Syah (the fourth Sultan of Bima from 1687 to 1696) (Mawa’a Romo, who brought weapons), was married to Fatimah, the daughter Karaeng Tanatana Karaeng Bessei. Of the marriage Hasanuddin was born.

5. Hasanuddin Muhammad Ali Syah (the fifth Sultan of Bima) (Mabata Bo’u, whose new grave), serving from 1696 to 1731. He married Karaeng Bisangpole or Bissa Mpole, the daughter of Karaeng Parang Bone and Karaeng Bonto Mate’ne of Gowa Sultanate, on 12 September 1704. From this marriage Alauddin Muhammad Shah was born in 1707.

6. Alauddin Muhammad Syah (the sixth Sultan of Bima from 1731 to 1747) (Manuru Daha, who lived in Daha) married Karaeng Tana Karaeng Tana Sanga Mamonca Raji, the daughter of Sultan Sirajuddin of Gowa Sultanate in 1727. From this marriage, Kumala Bumi Partiga and Abdul Kadim were born. Gordon (1975: 50) said that the Bima Sultan received Manggarai of today's sub-district in East Nusa Tenggara as a marriage gift. This is the best marriage gift ever given to other Sultanate as Manggarai had been a vassal state of Bima and source of cargoes of cinnamon, wax, rice and slaves (Gordon 1975: 48).

7. Kumala Syah or Kumalat Syah (or Kumala Bumi Partiga became the first female Sultan or Sultanah from 1747 to 1751). Kumala Bumi Partiga married Karaeng Kanjilo (or Abdul Kudus), the son of Gowa Sultan in 1750, and from this marriage Amas Madina Batara Gowa II was Born. Kumala Bumi Partiga became the Sultanah of Bima Sultanate because Abdul Kadim, Kumala's little brother, was only 13 years old at that time.

1. Ma Wa’a Bilmana

2. Makapiri Solo, La Mbila, (the first child)

3. Mambora Ba Cihu Lambahi, Ma Ama Lima Dai, (the second child)

4. Bumi Renda Manuru Suntu, La Mbila (the third child)

5. Mantau Dana Ntori (the fourth child)

6. Bumi Luma Kae Mambora Ese Buton, Abdullah (the fifth child)

7. Jeneli Bolo Wau Mantau Dana Timu (the sixth child)

8. Jeneli Rasana’e, Abdul Ali (the seventh child)

9. Manggemaci, Ismail (the eight child)

10. Nagalere, Muhyiddin (the eight child)

11. Mambora Ese Reo, Abdullah (the eight child) (d. 3 August 1803)

12. Tureli Donggo Mawa’a Kadi, Abdul Nabi, (the eight child) (d. 17 July 1839)

13. Kapenta Wadu, Muhammad Yakub (the twelfth child)

14. Ahmad Daeng Manasa (Makalosa Weki literally expelled noble)

15. Abdul Aziz bin Yunus, Bicara Saleko

16. Muhammad Kuraisy bin Muhammad Hidir (the thirteenth grandchild)

17. Abdul Hamid bin Abdul Majid (the sixteenth nephew)

(The manuscript 31, appendix G, Chambert-Loir and R. Salahuddin, 1999: 609)

In this chapter, I argue that the festival of Hanta Ua Pua was discontinued in the wake of the dissolution of the Bima Sultanate, the sole sponsor of the festival, in the late 1940s. The friction caused by the political rivalry between the Sultan and the Raja Bicara during that period probably also hastened its end. In the course of my investigation, I have found that the revival of the festival was made possible by the key role played by Siti Maryam, then heir to the Sultanate and architect of the Royal Customary Council, Majelis Hadat Dana Mbojo. This chapter shows how Siti Maryam, as the acknowledged heir to the Bima Sultanate, constructed the meaning of the Hanta Ua Pua festival as it is now celebrated to fit her account of the key role of Dato di Banda in the entry of Islam to Bima.

In this chapter I describe how the festival of Hanta Ua Pua is now celebrated in conjunction with the rituals associated with the Prophet Muhammad's birthday held in the palace of the Bima Sultan and in Kampung Melayu. After beginning with an account of the history of the festival and its relation to the presence of Malay people and Kampung Melayu, I move on to describe the admiration for Dato di Banda and Kampung Melayu commonly felt among the Bima people. The next section explains the celebration of the Prophet's birthday in the palace in Bima and in Kampung Melayu, followed by the discussion of those Mawlid texts widely recited in Bima. I follow this with a chronological description of the Hanta Ua Pua festival. It is also necessary to say a word or two about the dynamics of local politics engendered by the revival of the festival and the role of the Majelis Hadat Dana Mbojo. The final section examines the local dimension of traditionalist and reformist Islam in relation in the religious harmony in Bima.

Historical accounts of the festival

It was 8 a.m. on the morning of 22 February, 2012. The leader of the Malay community (Ind.: Penghulu Melayu), dressed in a red costume and wearing a large red hat, stood on the veranda of the mosque in the village of Kampung Melayu.

This chapter examines the way the Muslims in Bima celebrate their life-cycle rituals according to Islamic teachings (Cummings, 2001: 563; Dessing, 2001 and Gulevich, 2004). I am equipped with the theological understanding of the Five Pillars of Islam, but the way local Muslims integrate these Five Pillars into life-cycle rituals is worth studying as they diverge from my theologically based understanding. Local life-cycle rituals are called rawi rasa (Bim.: rawi means ritual and rasa means village). Despite its common objectives, I suggest that rawi rasa encompasses a series of typical life-cycle rituals which convey different meanings and ritual behaviour in the Bima context. Interestingly, the differing views about the details of the rituals are also widespread, for example, between traditional birth attendants (TBAs) or sando nggana (Bim.: sando means healer and nggana means delivery) and bio-medically trained midwives (Ind.: bidan). Both are knowledgeable about health behaviour, pregnancy and delivery outcomes. But the former, who are always among the elders in the village, relate their knowledge to local belief and customs as well as associating their services with rituals prior to and after delivery, which are led by a Lebe or local Hajj pilgrim (Ind.: Haji). Hence, they are often associated with the practices of traditionalist Islam. The bidan are mostly graduates in midwifery from formal colleges or institutes in Bima or elsewhere. The owner of my rented house is a well-known midwife in the village. She graduated in midwifery from a Muhammadiyah college in Bima town in the late 1990s.

Life-cycle rituals in Bima are commonly understood as those in which all villagers are expected to get involved. No matter what your status in the village, your participation in any village ritual and festival is crucial. Since life-cycles mark a change in status from one life stage to another, all cultures and religions observe similar transitions in life, such as, birth, adolescence, adulthood, marriage and death. Not all cultures and religions, however, have the same details and understanding when they celebrate these events. ‘The meanings and uses of the concept are diverse and are occasionally matters of considerable dispute’ (Eldar 1978, Featherman 1983, Murphy 1987; cited from M. O’Rand and L. Krecker, 1990: 241).

This chapter demonstrates the negotiation of the different interpretations of belief in supernatural beings and of the practice of healing rituals among Muslims in a village. It provides a basis for understanding the relationship between the belief in jinn, ghost, devils, spirit possession, sickness, spirit-possessed victims and healing practices in Bima culture. I show how Bima healers cultivate personal relationships with spirits to help individuals with their healing skills and mediumship, which are within the framework of Islamic teachings but in defiance of the religious reformism of the Muhammadiyah. This chapter questions a range of theoretical ideas to reach an understanding of the phenomenon of spirit possession from the specificities of locality of Bima. What are the local terms for spirit possession, mediumship, healers and ritual healing? How do the people in Bima describe and understand the relationship between supernatural beings, spirits, ghosts and sickness? How do the practices of the local healers intersect with the concepts of religion and modernity?

In March 2012, Firdaus finished his sunset prayer (Ind.: ṣalāt maghrib) in the Masjid Al-Muwahidin, in the village of Pane of Rasanae sub-district (my neighbourhood). He sat on the terrace of the mosque for a little while and conversed with others. Firdaus (pseudonym), a fifty- year-old man, seized the opportunity to spend time on the mosque terrace while waiting for evening prayer. It is common for local Muslims not to go home straightaway, as the interval between the sunset and evening prayer is only one hour. Firdaus invited me to have a seat and join the chat with others. I had met Firdaus several times previously, but this was the first time he introduced himself as a healer.

Right in the middle of our conversation, a sixty-year-old woman wearing a red veil dropped in and asked Firdaus to visit her house to deal with an emergency. Firdaus grabbed his motorbike and asked me to accompany him to the woman's house. When we arrived, a young girl was holding her stomach as it felt very painful. The woman told Firdaus that her daughter was menstruating but the stomach-ache she was suffering this time was unusually severe. Therefore, she asked Firdaus to cure her daughter, whom she believed was possessed.

As this book draws to its end, the conclusion has to be that religious practices in contemporary Bima reveal a variety of expressions of ‘being Muslim’. The historically distinct practices of religion observed in the society have not faded away, despite the influence of the religious purification propagated by the reformist ideas of the Muhammadiyah since the 1940s and Hajj pilgrims since the early 1900s. The observation of religious festivals in public life, the religiosity of everyday experiences and popular life-cycle rituals retain their vibrancy in present-day Bima. This is not to say there has not been change, local Muslims have reinterpreted their traditions within the Islamic framework and now conceptualize their religiosity and piety in response to current needs. Although the influence of the royal family undoubtedly colours the religious landscape of Bima, the everyday faith practices of Bima Muslims are very diverse.

Religiosity

After weighing up the evidence, the book attributes the coming of Islam to Bima was the fruit of its trading connections with various Malay Sultanates, predominantly in Sumatra, and, most prominently, with the Gowa Sultanate of Makassar. As Islam was first propagated to the rulers, the picture of Islam in Bima did not differ greatly from that in Makassar. That is, Islam spread out from the royal centre in which it had penetrated the political system of the Bima kingdom. Conversion to the new religion affected the religious practices, politics and culture of the people of Bima. The kingdom of Bima become the Sultanate of Bima and the title raja change to that of sultan. The book has shown conclusively that Bima Muslims must be counted among the practicing Muslims (Muslim taat) in Indonesia. However, this public religious expression (PRE) is not always connected to Islamist ideology.

Nevertheless, this book cautions not jumping to the conclusion and assessing traditions of the Bima Muslims as syncretic. Instead it introduces a new perspective by which to understand the present Islamic outlook of Bima as the product of adaptations past and present. Since Islam was first introduced to the kings by Malay preachers from Minangkabau in the early seventeenth century, Bima has been a key site of Islamization.