Kuno Bayan Mosque, Lombok

1. The History

According to local source, the Kuno Bayan Mosque was constructed in the 16^th century. The story is begun when Sunan Giri, a prominent ulama from Gresik, East Java, Indonesia, came to the Island of Lombok, Indonesia, to spread Islam. Sunan Giri, when he arrived in Bayani village, was accepted by the king of Bayan whose title was Datu Bayan. Datu Bayan then gave a piece of land to Sunan Giri to establish a mosque within. There is no further explanation whether the mosque built by Sunan Giri himself or by his successors.  

Another source mentioned that dissemination of Islam in Lombok was held by Sunan Prapen who was also known as Pangeran Senopati, a grandchild of Sunan Giri. If this historical data is true, Sunan Giri was undoubtedly not the founder of the Kuno Bayan mosque. Although the two historical data above are different, the common ground shared by both data is that the mosque is very old.

Two big shady banyan trees stand firmly in the mosque`s yard. In addition, several graves lay not far from the trees. The epitaphs mention several names such as Pawelangan, Titi Mas Puluh, Sasaid and Karem Saleh, all of them were the religious figures who spread Islam in the region.

As the surrounding people do not use it to perform daily prayers, the mosque is always quiet. It is merely used for conducting Islamic festivals such as Maulud Nabi (the celebration of the Prophet`s birth), taraweh prayer (prayer performed during the month of Ramadan), and Eid prayer (prayer that celebrates a holy day in the end of Ramadan month).

It is worth noting that the local Muslim community upholds the teaching of wetu telu, which is completely different from Islamic teaching upheld throughout Indonesia. One argues that the teaching of wetu telu proves imperfect process of Islamization in the Island of Lombok.

Generally, the significant differences between the wetu telu believers and other Muslim communities are that the first group practices Ramadan fasting mere three days before the Ramadan month ends, not in the entire month; they celebrate Eid al-Fitr (a festival that ends the fast of Ramadan) not in the first of Shawwal, but in the third; and celebrate Maulud Nabi drunkenly, called Perisaian, although Islam strictly prohibits alcoholic drinks.

Despite some renovations, the mosque we see today is still similar to its previous design, because the renovations did not alter its original design. Even the mosque has not been lighted by electricity. Islamic festivals held in the mosque are merely lighted with bamboo torches called by the local people as dila lilit jojor.

2. The Location

The mosque of Kuno Bayan is located in Bayan village, North Lombok, about 87 kilometers from Mataram city, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara. The Bayan village lays between seashore and Rinjani volcano. The mosque sits on the top of small hill with the height around 355 meters from sea level.

3. The Measure

The mosque measures 81 square meters in total, stands on a piece of land measuring 1, 5 hectare.

4. The Architecture

The Kuno Bayan mosque architecture combines the architecture of Hindu-Bali and Islam-Java. The square plan of the mosque strengthened by four timber master columns is modeled like soko guru construction in the Javanese architecture. The influence of Java is clearly seen in the architecture of this mosque.

Despite the strong influence of the Javanese architecture such as joglo, some differences are found: first, tiered roof in Javanese buildings, called tajug, has three tiers, while the Kuno Bayan mosque`s roof has only two tiers; second, in joglo design, the upper most roof, called brunjung, is shaped to have sharper slope than the lower which is called penanggap. By contrast, the lower roof of the Kuno Bayan mosque is modeled to be more aslant than the upper. In addition, the influence of Bali appears in the shape of roof that is not as aslant as Javanese building`s roof.

Meanwhile, local architecture is structured in the mosque`s low wall that merely measures 1, 5 meters in height, much lower than the height of normal adult man. The same measure is repeated in the door, therefore for adult men or women who enter the mosque should bow their backs.          

The measure of both wall and door is adopted from traditional houses in Bayan and Lombok. Uniquely, the mosque has only one door, and has no window. The architectural style like those of local houses is influenced by the philosophy of life of the indigenous people in building houses. For them, one door symbolizes only one door of human life.

Building materials used for constructing the mosque are similar to that of houses in Lombok: timber as columns, plaited bamboo as wall, pieces of bamboo as roof, called by local people as santek, bamboo as fence and has earthen floor. As in other traditional buildings of the region, wooden nails are used to strengthen all elements of the mosque building.

5. The Planning

As explained above, the founder of the mosque construction is still unknown.

6. The Renovation

Due to its very old age, the mosque certainly had ever been renovated. The previous decayed building materials had been replaced with new materials except the timber master columns (soko guru). According to the local inhabitants, the renovation was organized merely to change several building materials, without altering the design and architecture of the mosque.

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Comment of "masjid kuno bayan lombok"

02 Jul 2011. Mangara Ambarita abang" abg aku g bisa daftar ulang...dikarenakan dia lagi Test AKMIL tanggal 04-09 juLy 2011.. jadi kami minta tolong La brikan ALAMAT yang jelas..biar nanti KODAM I yang ngurusin semua berkas"nya yang diperlukan untk pendaftaran ulang... (KODAM I yang akan mendaftarkan ulang abang saya) ALAMATnya yang Lengkap Tolong La.. trims

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