Pre-Islamic Symbol on Pedati Gede Pekalangan, Cirebon, Indonesia

Abstract

Pedati Gede Pekalangan is one of the important relics of Islamic archeology in Cirebon, Indonesia. This cart was made by Prince Cakrabuana around 1449 AD. Pedati Gede Pekalangan has an important role in spreading Islam in Java, especially in the Cirebon area. Even though it was made during the Islamic era, the cart contains symbols of Pre-Islamic culture. This study discussed the symbolic meaning of Pre-Islamic culture in the Pedati Gede Pekalangan architecture. This research was conducted using historical archeology methods. The data were collected through observations at the Pedati Gede Pekalangan site, literature studies, and interviews with Pedati Gede Pekalangan caretakers and Cirebon historians. In his effort to spread this new teaching, Prince Cakrabuana incorporated elements of Hindu-Buddhist culture, which the majority of the people embraced at that time. Cultural acculturation at the time of the entry of Islam in Cirebon by incorporating elements of Hindu and Buddhist culture can be seen from the art and architecture of Pedati Gede Pekalangan. Kilin and starling ornaments are not Islamic cultural heritage but the pre-Islamic culture that influenced the architecture of Pedati Gede Pekalangan. Meanwhile, the eight wheels of Pedati Gede Pekalangan in this main series have the meaning of eight feelings that are naturally owned by every human being in Hindu belief, namely: love, laughter, sadness, anger, enthusiasm, fear, disgust, and admiration. While the twelve spokes on each wheel represent the support of life, which should always be filled with goodness, it can also be correlated with the Full Moon and Tilem holidays, which occur twelve times a year. Another symbolic thing is to describe the number of months in the Saka year that revolves around a wheel circle.