Hari/tangggal: Rabu, 18 November 2015
Waktu: Pukul 13:00-15:00
Ruang Sidang Pimpinan Gedung C
Pembicara: Emilie Wellfelt
The Wali in Wati and Woi: Oral traditions on the introduction of Islam in the Aru Islands
The twin islands Wasir (Wati) and Ujir (Woi) in the Aru archipelago are as far as we know the easternmost reach of early Muslim missions in Island Southeast Asia. According to local oral traditions Islam was introduced by a wali (holy man) from the Holy Land.
The talk presents new findings achieved through an ongoing project aimed at documenting Ujir, one of Indonesia’s endangered languages. The project, “Roos and Ruins”, has generated a body of recordings of oral traditions pertaining to the arrival of Islam in Aru. This event (as yet undated) highlights the early involvement of Aru in international networks.
Ujir, or Woi, is known from previous archaeological research as the location of extensive and so far unidentified ruin areas. Some of these seem to be of pre-Islamic date, while others are associated with Islam. Ruins, religion and oral traditions provide intriguing possibilities for exploring the historical past of Aru and the spread of Islam into the eastern parts of the Indonesian archipelago. The presentation concerns work in progress which might form the basis of a future interdisciplinary research project. Comments and suggestions on possible directions for further studies and interpretations of the findings presented are highly appreciated.
The presentation is held in English. Questions and comments can be posed in English or Indonesian.
About the speaker:
Emilie Wellfelt is a Swedish researcher with extensive experience from ethnographical, anthropological and historical studies in Indonesia. She holds an MA in Social Anthropology and is about to finish her PhD in History.
At present Wellfelt holds a split position, working for Linnaeus University Centre for Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, Sweden, and University of Cologne in Germany on language documentation in Aru while also doing research on material culture at Linnaeus University in Sweden.
Wellfelt studied Indonesian at UGM in the years 2000-2001.
