IMG_5665
simonstown, western cape-
kramats of tuan ismail and his son tuan jaliel
family members (williams and anthony) tending to the kramats of their loved ancestors
***************************
The fact that there were of runaway slaves in the False Bay area early in the seventeenth century probably explains the presence of Kramats in Muizenberg and Simonstown.
For hundreds of years residents of Simonstown had known of the existence of two holy shrines situated just above Runciman’s Drive, there in a forest clearing above Goede gift. People from far and wide came to pay their respects. In the early years of Simonstown, the Muslim community was a small and concentrated one-all living within the immediate proximity of the two shrines. While the precise identity of these Auliyah could never be verified, regular visitors have been unanimous in their opinion that those buried in these graves are indeed the “friends of Allah”. Typical of all Kramats, the area has always been enveloped in an aura of calm and tranquility.
It was only earlier this century ( 21st) that a translation of a kitaab, a bound book passed from generation to generation, revealed with some certainty the identity of the Auliyah buried here. Written in ancient Sumbawanese, the kitaab identifies these Auliyah as Iman Abdul Karrien bin Imam Jalil bin Imam Islam of Sumbawa in Indonesia. (aka-Tuan Ismail Dea Malela and Tuan Dea Koasa).
In 1969,a second part of the “mystery” was put to rest by a UCT student, a certain Mr Muller who conducted his theisis on the Muslim community in Cape Town, and specifically Simontown. His research findings revealed what oral history had claimed for centuries – that Tuan Ismail Dea Malela and his son, Tuan Dea Koasa are of royal descent. His research cites the kitaab as the most valuable piece of evidence linking the families of the Dea royal family in Pemangong, Sumbawe, Indonesia and Sultan Kaharuddin to the Dea family in Simonstown.
excerpts above from the cape mazaar society's- kramats of the western cape'
************************************
A Kramat is a shrine or mausoleum that has been built over the burial place of a Muslim who's particular piety and practice of the teachings of Islam is recognised by the community. I have been engaged in documenting these sites around Cape Town over several visits at different times over the last few years. They range widely from graves marked by an edge of stones to more elaborate tombs sheltered by buildings of various styles. They are cultural markers that speak of a culture was shaped by life at the Cape and that infuses Cape Town at large.
In my searches used the guide put out by the Cape Masaar Society as a basic guide to locate some recognised sites. Even so some were not that easy to find.
In the context of the Muslims at the Cape, historically the kramats represented places of focus for the faithful and were/are often places of local pilgrimage. When the Dutch and the VOC (United East India Company aka Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) set up a refuelling station and a settlement at the Cape, Muslims from their territories in the East Indies and Batavia were with them from the start as soldiers, slaves and 'Vryswarten'; (freemen). As the settlement established itself as a colony the Cape became a useful place to banish political opponents from the heart of their eastern empire. Some exiles were of royal lineage and there were also scholars amongst them. One of the most well known of these exiles was Sheik Yusuf who was cordially received by Govenor van der Stel as befitted his rank (he and his entourage where eventually housed on an estate away from the main settlement so that he was less likely to have an influence over the local population), others were imprisoned for a time both in Cape Town and on Robben island. It is said that the first Koran in the Cape was first written out from memory by Sheik Yusuf after his arrival. There were several Islamic scholars in his retinue and these men encouraged something of an Islamic revival amoung the isolated community. Their influence over the enslaved “Malay” population who were already nominally Muslim was considerable and through the ministrations of other teachers to the underclasses the influence of Islam became quite marked. As political opponents to the governing powers the teachers became focus points for escaped slaves in the outlying areas.
Under the VOC it was forbidden to practice any other faith other than Christianity in public which meant that there was no provision for mosques or madrasas. The faith was maintained informally until the end of the C18th when plans were made for the first mosque and promises of land to be granted for a specific burial ground in the Bo Kaap were given in negotiations for support against an imminent British invasion. These promises were honoured by the British after their victory.
There is talk of a prophecy of a protective circle of Islam that would surround Cape Town. I cannot find the specifics of this prophecy but the 27 kramats of the “Auliyah” or friends of Allah, as these honoured individuals are known, do form a loose circle of saints. Some of the Auliyah are credited with miraculous powers in legends that speak of their life and works. Within the folk tradition some are believed to be able to intercede on behalf of supplicants (even though this more part of a mystical philosophy (keramat) and is not strictly accepted in mainstream contemporary Islamic teaching) and even today some visitors may offer special prayers at their grave sites in much the same way as Christians might direct prayer at the shrine of a particular saint.
IMG_5665
simonstown, western cape-
kramats of tuan ismail and his son tuan jaliel
family members (williams and anthony) tending to the kramats of their loved ancestors
***************************
The fact that there were of runaway slaves in the False Bay area early in the seventeenth century probably explains the presence of Kramats in Muizenberg and Simonstown.
For hundreds of years residents of Simonstown had known of the existence of two holy shrines situated just above Runciman’s Drive, there in a forest clearing above Goede gift. People from far and wide came to pay their respects. In the early years of Simonstown, the Muslim community was a small and concentrated one-all living within the immediate proximity of the two shrines. While the precise identity of these Auliyah could never be verified, regular visitors have been unanimous in their opinion that those buried in these graves are indeed the “friends of Allah”. Typical of all Kramats, the area has always been enveloped in an aura of calm and tranquility.
It was only earlier this century ( 21st) that a translation of a kitaab, a bound book passed from generation to generation, revealed with some certainty the identity of the Auliyah buried here. Written in ancient Sumbawanese, the kitaab identifies these Auliyah as Iman Abdul Karrien bin Imam Jalil bin Imam Islam of Sumbawa in Indonesia. (aka-Tuan Ismail Dea Malela and Tuan Dea Koasa).
In 1969,a second part of the “mystery” was put to rest by a UCT student, a certain Mr Muller who conducted his theisis on the Muslim community in Cape Town, and specifically Simontown. His research findings revealed what oral history had claimed for centuries – that Tuan Ismail Dea Malela and his son, Tuan Dea Koasa are of royal descent. His research cites the kitaab as the most valuable piece of evidence linking the families of the Dea royal family in Pemangong, Sumbawe, Indonesia and Sultan Kaharuddin to the Dea family in Simonstown.
excerpts above from the cape mazaar society's- kramats of the western cape'
************************************
A Kramat is a shrine or mausoleum that has been built over the burial place of a Muslim who's particular piety and practice of the teachings of Islam is recognised by the community. I have been engaged in documenting these sites around Cape Town over several visits at different times over the last few years. They range widely from graves marked by an edge of stones to more elaborate tombs sheltered by buildings of various styles. They are cultural markers that speak of a culture was shaped by life at the Cape and that infuses Cape Town at large.
In my searches used the guide put out by the Cape Masaar Society as a basic guide to locate some recognised sites. Even so some were not that easy to find.
In the context of the Muslims at the Cape, historically the kramats represented places of focus for the faithful and were/are often places of local pilgrimage. When the Dutch and the VOC (United East India Company aka Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) set up a refuelling station and a settlement at the Cape, Muslims from their territories in the East Indies and Batavia were with them from the start as soldiers, slaves and 'Vryswarten'; (freemen). As the settlement established itself as a colony the Cape became a useful place to banish political opponents from the heart of their eastern empire. Some exiles were of royal lineage and there were also scholars amongst them. One of the most well known of these exiles was Sheik Yusuf who was cordially received by Govenor van der Stel as befitted his rank (he and his entourage where eventually housed on an estate away from the main settlement so that he was less likely to have an influence over the local population), others were imprisoned for a time both in Cape Town and on Robben island. It is said that the first Koran in the Cape was first written out from memory by Sheik Yusuf after his arrival. There were several Islamic scholars in his retinue and these men encouraged something of an Islamic revival amoung the isolated community. Their influence over the enslaved “Malay” population who were already nominally Muslim was considerable and through the ministrations of other teachers to the underclasses the influence of Islam became quite marked. As political opponents to the governing powers the teachers became focus points for escaped slaves in the outlying areas.
Under the VOC it was forbidden to practice any other faith other than Christianity in public which meant that there was no provision for mosques or madrasas. The faith was maintained informally until the end of the C18th when plans were made for the first mosque and promises of land to be granted for a specific burial ground in the Bo Kaap were given in negotiations for support against an imminent British invasion. These promises were honoured by the British after their victory.
There is talk of a prophecy of a protective circle of Islam that would surround Cape Town. I cannot find the specifics of this prophecy but the 27 kramats of the “Auliyah” or friends of Allah, as these honoured individuals are known, do form a loose circle of saints. Some of the Auliyah are credited with miraculous powers in legends that speak of their life and works. Within the folk tradition some are believed to be able to intercede on behalf of supplicants (even though this more part of a mystical philosophy (keramat) and is not strictly accepted in mainstream contemporary Islamic teaching) and even today some visitors may offer special prayers at their grave sites in much the same way as Christians might direct prayer at the shrine of a particular saint.