Demak Great Mosque

Masjid Agung Demak (or Demak Great Mosque) is one of the oldest mosques in Indonesia, located in the center town of Demak, Central Java, Indonesia. The mosque is believed to be built by the Wali Songo ("Nine Muslim Saints") with the most prominent figure Sunan Kalijaga, during the first Demak Sultanate ruler, Raden Patah during the 15th century.[1]

Demak Great Mosque
Masjid Agung Demak
Religion
AffiliationIslam
ProvinceCentral Java
RegionDemak
Location
LocationJalan Sultan Fatah, Bintoro Demak, Central Java, Indonesia
AdministrationDemak government
Geographic coordinates6.8947°S 110.6373°E / -6.8947; 110.6373
Architecture
Architect(s)Sunan Kalijaga
StyleJavanese
Completed1479
Minaret(s)None

Features

Although it has had a number of renovations, it is thought to be largely in its original form. It is a classic example of a traditional Javanese mosque. Unlike mosques in the Middle East it is built from timber. Rather than a dome, which did not appear on Indonesian mosques until the 19th century, the roof is tiered and supported by four saka guru teak pillars. The tiered roof shows many similarities with wooden religious structures from the Hindu-Buddhist civilizations of Java and Bali. The main entrance of Masjid Agung Demak consists of two doors carved with motifs of plants, vases, crowns and an animal head with an open wide-toothed mouth. It is said that picture depicts the manifested thunder caught by Ki Ageng Selo, hence their name Lawang Bledheg (the doors of thunder). Like other mosques of its era, its orientation towards Mecca is only approximate.[2]

Carving and historical relics
Pictures of Masjid Agung Demak at the end of the 19th century

Its walls contain Vietnamese ceramics. With their shapes derived from conventions of Javanese woodcarving and brickwork, they are thought to have been specially ordered. The use of ceramic rather than stone is thought to have been in imitation of the mosques of Persia.[3]

  • Masjid Agung Demak, end of 19th century
  • 1920-1939
  • August 2016
  • Minaret, August 2016

References
  1. Florida, Nancy K. (1995). "5: The Demak Mosque: A Construction of Authority". Babad Jaka Tingkir: Writing the past, inscribing the future: history as prophesy in colonial Java. Durham, N. C.: Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-1622-6.
  2. Turner, Peter (November 1995). Java. Melbourne: Lonely Planet. pp. 78–79. ISBN 0-86442-314-4.
  3. Schoppert, Peter; Damais, Soedarmadji & Sosrowardoyo, Tara (1998), Java Style, Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, p. 41, ISBN 962-593-232-1

See also


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