Demak Great Mosque () is one of the oldest

mosques in Indonesia This is a list of mosques in Indonesia. The Indonesian term ''Masjid Agung'' is translated as "Great Mosque", while ''Masjid Raya'' is translated as "Grand Mosque." ''Masjid Keramat'' is translated as "Holy Mosque." ''Masjid Jami'' is translated ...

, located in the center town of Demak,

Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. The mosque is believed to have been built by the ''Wali Songo'' ("Nine Muslim Saints") with the most prominent figure,

Sunan Kalijaga Sunan Kalijaga (born Raden Mas Said; 1450–1513) was one of the "nine saints" of Javanese Islam ( Wali Sanga). The "Kalijaga" title was derived from an orchard known as "Kalijaga" in Cirebon. Other accounts suggest that the name derives from ...

, during the first Demak Sultanate ruler,

Raden Patah Raden Patah, also known as Jin Bun (; zh, t=靳文, s=, p=Jìn wén) (1455 in Jepara – 1518 in Demak) was the first sultan of the Demak Sultanate. Ascending to the throne in 1475, he remained a vassal of the Majapahit Empire until 1478. R ...

, during the 15th century.

Features

Although it has had several renovations, it is thought to be largely in its original form except for the addition of a verandah or surambi in the nineteenth century. It is a classic example of a traditional Javanese

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

. Unlike mosques in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, the Demak Great Mosque is built from

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

. Rather than a dome, which did not appear in Indonesian mosques until the 19th century, the

roof A roof (: roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of tempera ...

is tiered and supported by four saka guru teak pillars. The tiered roof shows many similarities with wooden religious structures from the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

civilizations of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

. The main entrance of Masjid Agung Demak consists of two

door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide securit ...

s carved with motifs of

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

vase A vase ( or ) is an open container. It can be made from a number of materials, such as ceramics, glass, non- rusting metals, such as aluminium, brass, bronze, or stainless steel. Even wood has been used to make vases, either by using tree specie ...

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

s, and an animal head with an open wide-toothed mouth. It is said that the picture depicts the manifested

thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

caught by Ki Ageng Selo, hence their name ''Lawang Bledheg'' (the doors of thunder). Like other mosques of that era, its

orientation Orientation may refer to: Positioning in physical space * Map orientation, the relationship between directions on a map and compass directions * Orientation (housing), the position of a building with respect to the sun, a concept in building des ...

towards

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

is only approximate.

Carving and historical relics

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM De moskee van Demak TMnr 10016515

Its walls contain

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

ese ceramics. With their shapes derived from conventions of Javanese woodcarving and brickwork, they are thought to have been specially ordered. The use of ceramic rather than stone is thought to have been in imitation of the mosques of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Gallery

File:Moskee te Demak.jpg, Demak Great Mosque, Java in 1810, KITLV 29489 File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM De moskee van Demak TMnr 10016515.jpg, Masjid Agung Demak, end of 19th century File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM De moskee van Demak TMnr 60054754.jpg, 1920-1939 File:Masjid Agung Demak.jpg, August 2016 File:Menara_Masjid_Agung_Demak.jpg,

Minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

, August 2016

References

{{Mosques in Indonesia Demak Regency Mosques in Central Java Cultural Properties of Indonesia in Central Java Buildings and structures completed in 1479 Mosques completed in the 1470s Demak Demak Sultanate

Features

Carving and historical relics

Gallery

See also

References