Wali Pitu and Muslim Pilgrimage in Bali, Indonesia

This ethnographic book deals with the emergence of the Wali Pitu (seven saints) tradition and Muslim pilgrimage in Bali, Indonesia. It touches upon the issues of translocal connectivity between Java and Bali, Islam-Hindu relationship, relations between Muslim groups, and questions of authority and authenticity of saint worship tradition. It offers a new perspective on Bali, seeing the island as a site of cultural motion straddling in between Islam and Hinduism with complexities of local figurations, and belongings of ‘Muslim Balinese’. The study also urges the intricate relationship between religion and tourism, between devotion and economy, and shows that the Wali Pitu tradition has facilitated the transgression of spatial and cultural boundaries.

Syaifudin Zuhri is a lecturer at State Islamic University of Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah/UIN SATU and a former research fellow at Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies/BGSMCS.

This is a highly original study, very well executed, and an important contribution to the study of Indonesian Islam. A surprisingly mature work for what is obviously the author’s first book. It is very rich in new empirical information; the analysis is sophisticated and shows that the author is not only a perceptive observer but also well versed in the relevant literature. The manuscript has a clear and balanced structure; each chapter presents significant new insights.
– Martin van Bruinessen, Utrecht University

This mobile ethnography on the invention, experience and place-making of vernacularized Islamic worship in Bali offers a unique and compelling account of how a new sainthood tradition has manifested itself on the predominantly Hindu island of Bali. Through a transdisciplinary view from below and the comparative study of three sacred places, the importance of translocal spatial dynamics in the creation of Indonesian Islam is shown. As such this remarkable and insightful book by Syaifudin Zuhri deserves the attention of all those who are interested in Indonesian as well as in Islamic studies.
– Vincent Houben, Humboldt Universität, Berlin

This groundbreaking study challenges the common stereotype of the island of Bali as a Hindu enclave within the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the book focusses on the recently invented cult of seven Muslim saints in Bali, called the Wali Pitu, and the pilgrimage to their graves by mainly Javanese pilgrims, which has resulted in a lucrative business of religious tourism. Highly original, the book is a must-read for anyone interested in Islam in Indonesia, pilgrimage studies and Hindu-Muslim relations in Bali.
– Nico J.G. Kaptein, Leiden University