Sunan Giri
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Sunan Giri (also called Raden Paku), Muhammad Ainul Yakin born AD 1442 in Blambangan (nowadays Banyuwangi) Is considered to be one of the Wali Sanga of Java in Indonesia
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[edit] History
He was the son of Dewi Sekardadu and Maulana Ishak of Melaka (brother of Maulana Malik Ibrahim, but later adopted as a son by Nyai Semboja). A traditional story says that he was the son of a Hindu princess, who had come to Balambangan as a missionary. The princess was forced to abandon him in a crisis and set him adrift on the ocean in a small boat, from which he was rescued by sailors (a story reminiscent of the Biblical Moses).
[edit] Education and Contributions
As ayoung man Sunan Giri went out to study in the school of Sunan Ampel, whose daughter he eventaully married[1], and where Raden Patah was his fellow student.
He looked forward to migrate out into Melaka and Pasai and later established his own school in Desa Sidomukti at Southern Gresik in East Java - a location from which he got his name ("Giri" means "hill") [2]. The Islamic School which he established was not only an institute of religious studies, but also center for various local civic activities and social development.
[edit] Political Leadership
It is said that the king of Majapahit became anxious and worried about the increase of Sunan Giri's influence. To forstall the possibility of his eventaully leading a rebellion, the king granted Giri the authority to expand his role in political leadership, which later on to lead to the greater development of the school, popularly nown as Giri Kedaton. Sunan Giri was also known as Prabu Satmata, due to his remarkable record.
Sunan Giri foretold the rise of Mataram, and spread Islam to Lombok, Sulawesi, and Maluku. He was a proponent of orthodox Islam, and disapproved of innovation (much like "modernist" Islamic scholars of the 1800s and 1900s).
[edit] Later history of the Giri Kedaton school
Giri Kedaton, as a center of religious and political aurhtority led by Sunan Giri's descendants, lasted for 200 years. Its prominent 18th Century head Pangeran Singosari was known for his most persistent resistance to the Dutch VOC and to Amangkurat II, who collaborated with the Dutch colonization efforts [3].
The creation of popular children's toys and games such as Jelungan, Jamuran, lir-ilir and Cublak Suweng is attributed to Sunan Giri. His name is also associated with Gending Asmaradana and Pucung (Javanese poetry) - although they had been mostly influenced by pre-Islamic Javanese beliefs and traditions, but show the signs of eventual Islamization [4].
