Research Note

Ibn ‘Arabī and the Metaphysical Meanings of the Shadow Play in Java

Volume: 4 Number: 1 June 10, 2025
  • Lee Shan Tse *
TR EN

Ibn ‘Arabī and the Metaphysical Meanings of the Shadow Play in Java

Abstract

This article is about shadow play as a pedagogy in Indonesia and beyond, connecting it Ibn ‘Arabī’s teachings. Ibn ‘Arabī is known as one of the most important Islamic thinkers from the 13th century, and his teachings have expanded across the entire Islamic world. However, his two main works, al-Futūḥāt and al-Fuṣūṣ, have remained largely inaccessible over the last 800 years, transmitted not through translations or writings but through teachers to select students. A Mursyid from Bandung has been teaching ‘Ibn ‘Arabī since 2019 publically. I am interested in the teachings, elucidations and use of the pedagogy of the shadow play in communities which strive to make meaning and value in people’s lives. Theteacher of this community offers insights into the shadow play as a mystical tool for pedagogy. This article touches upon the often lost meaning of the shadow play central in Islamic teaching over the centuries. I will offer an ethnographic study of the role of shadow play in the seeker’s search for their self as it was told to me by the Mursyid. By doing so, we understand the interplay between the Divine and the Human within the shadow play, the search for the soul, and its metaphysical order of veil, light, and shadows.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

The Evans Fund

Thanks

This etnographic research was funded by an Evans Fellowship at the University of Cambridge between 2023-2025. I am grateful for the Fellowship for funding this independent research.

References

  1. Keeler, Ward. Javanese Shadow Plays, Javanese Selves. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987.
  2. Rassers, Willem Huibert. “On the Origin of the Javanese Theatre.” In Pañji, The Culture Hero: A Structural Study of Religion in Java. 93-215. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 1931.
  3. Schechner, Richard. “Wayang Kulit in the Colonial Margin.” TDR 34, 2 (1990): 25-61.
  4. Winkel, Eric. An Illustrated Guide to Ibn Arabi. New York: Pir Press Inc. 2021.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Sufism

Journal Section

Research Note

Authors

Lee Shan Tse * This is me
0009-0007-6168-3086
United Kingdom

Publication Date

June 10, 2025

Submission Date

April 8, 2025

Acceptance Date

April 20, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 4 Number: 1

APA
Tse, L. S. (2025). Ibn ‘Arabī and the Metaphysical Meanings of the Shadow Play in Java. Tasavvuf Araştırmaları Enstitüsü Dergisi, 4(1), 143-154. https://doi.org/10.32739/ustad.2025.7.81
AMA
1.Tse LS. Ibn ‘Arabī and the Metaphysical Meanings of the Shadow Play in Java. JISS. 2025;4(1):143-154. doi:10.32739/ustad.2025.7.81
Chicago
Tse, Lee Shan. 2025. “Ibn ‘Arabī and the Metaphysical Meanings of the Shadow Play in Java”. Tasavvuf Araştırmaları Enstitüsü Dergisi 4 (1): 143-54. https://doi.org/10.32739/ustad.2025.7.81.
EndNote
Tse LS (June 1, 2025) Ibn ‘Arabī and the Metaphysical Meanings of the Shadow Play in Java. Tasavvuf Araştırmaları Enstitüsü Dergisi 4 1 143–154.
IEEE
[1]L. S. Tse, “Ibn ‘Arabī and the Metaphysical Meanings of the Shadow Play in Java”, JISS, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 143–154, June 2025, doi: 10.32739/ustad.2025.7.81.
ISNAD
Tse, Lee Shan. “Ibn ‘Arabī and the Metaphysical Meanings of the Shadow Play in Java”. Tasavvuf Araştırmaları Enstitüsü Dergisi 4/1 (June 1, 2025): 143-154. https://doi.org/10.32739/ustad.2025.7.81.
JAMA
1.Tse LS. Ibn ‘Arabī and the Metaphysical Meanings of the Shadow Play in Java. JISS. 2025;4:143–154.
MLA
Tse, Lee Shan. “Ibn ‘Arabī and the Metaphysical Meanings of the Shadow Play in Java”. Tasavvuf Araştırmaları Enstitüsü Dergisi, vol. 4, no. 1, June 2025, pp. 143-54, doi:10.32739/ustad.2025.7.81.
Vancouver
1.Lee Shan Tse. Ibn ‘Arabī and the Metaphysical Meanings of the Shadow Play in Java. JISS. 2025 Jun. 1;4(1):143-54. doi:10.32739/ustad.2025.7.81