The encoded Cirebon mask : : materiality, flow, and meaning along Java's Islamic northwest coast / / by Laurie Margot Ross.

• VerfasserIn: Ross, Laurie Margot,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, The Netherlands ;, Boston, [Massachusetts] : : Brill,, 2016.; ©2016
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Series: Studies on Performing Arts & Literature of the Islamicate World 02.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (392 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

In The Encoded Cirebon Mask: Materiality, Flow, and Meaning along Java’s Islamic Northwest Coast , Laurie Margot Ross situates masks and masked dancing in the Cirebon region of Java (Indonesia) as an original expression of Islam. This is a different view from that of many scholars, who argue that canonical prohibitions on fashioning idols and imagery prove that masks are mere relics of indigenous beliefs that Muslim travelers could not eradicate. Making use of archives, oral histories, and the performing objects themselves, Ross traces the mask’s trajectory from a popular entertainment in Cirebon—once a portal of global exchange—to a stimulus for establishing a deeper connection to God in late colonial Java, and eventual links to nationalism in post-independence Indonesia.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- 1 The Pasisir in the Age of Steam, Sail, and the Railway -- 2 Independence: Registration Cards, Theme Parks, and Topeng Tours -- 3 Floating Artists on the Circumambulatory Road -- 4 Tuning the Body: Dzikir Flows and Sonic Theism -- 5 Engaging the Body and the Senses -- 6 Looking Closely: The Iconic Mask -- 7 Looking Closer: The Inner Face -- 8 Mapping Tarekat: Performing the Mosque/Grave Complex -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1: The Core Characters in the Topeng Cirebon Cosmology -- Appendix 2: Fitting Susuk -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Index.