Makam Agung Arosbaya, One Of The Religious Tourism In Bangkalan City Which Has Historical And Cultural Value For The Community

Private documentation

             

Private documentation

               

Private Documentation

                

Private Documentation

              Makam Agung Arosbaya is a place for ancient tombs or cemeteries which have very important historical and cultural value for the local community. Particularly in the Bangkalan region, specifically in the Arosbaya district of Bangkalan regency. The tomb is located in Makam Agung Village, Arosbaya District. Many people come to this place for pilgrimage. Madura has a strong culture of pilgrimage, such as visiting the tombs of saints or religious figures considered sacred by madurese community. The Makam Agung Arosbaya is a religious tourism activity that has support from various parties, both in terms of facilities and services. Because, it is equipped with facilities for worship such as a spacious prayer room (Musholla) which is quite large, there is a parking area, and  also equipped with bathrooms. There is also a charity box there if someone wants to give alms, there is also a large board containing an explanation of the history or condition of the Makam Agung Arosbaya, equipped with a barcode so that visitors can see the history and condition of the Makam Agung Arosbaya in more detail via the internet.

            Furthermore, the Makam Agung Arosbaya differs from other tombs in Bangkalan city in terms of its surroundings. When we enter the tomb area we will see the condition of the tomb spread out wide in the open. We will see a very beautiful and soothing green view, because there are lots of trees. There is a stretch of rice fields stretching along the edge of the tomb. However, despite this, there are still inadequate facilities and infrastructure. For example, there are no people selling souvenirs or food and drinks around the tomb area. Visitors can come to this place at any time because there is no set time limit, some people even come here in the middle of the night.  So, this place is always open without stopping. 

            This tomb consists of 3 courtyards, each courtyard is bordered by a gate. Page I is a room without a tomb which is marked by a gate in the form of a monument.  Page I is a room without a tomb which is marked by a gate in the form of a monument. This page is a fairly large blank page, the boundary between page I and page II is a gate measuring 6 m long, 1.63 m wide and 2.6 m high. Page II is the room where there is a new pavilion. The boundary of pages II and III is marked by a gate which was renovated in 1930-1940 AD. Page III has three batur, namely the western tomb batur (first batur) consisting of 22 tombs with the main character Kyai Pratanu (Panembahan Lemah Duwur). The Batur floor is made of white stone arranged in rows. This building faces South (it is marked that the entrance is to the South). The decoration at the bottom of the building is in the form of carved sulur-sulur gelung. On the south side of Batur, to the east of the stairs/entrance, there is a pillar in the form of a miniature temple consisting of the legs, body and roof of the temple. On the north side, to be precise, to the north/top of Kyai Pratanu's tomb, there are 3 prabhas. One of them (the middle part) is the main building. The architecture of the building in the Makam Agung Arosbaya has influences from Java, as can be seen from the carvings and the shape contains cultural values. The architectural form is in the form of a Bentar semu temple with dimensions of 2.50 cm long, 1.48 cm wide and 0.57 m thick.

            So, no anyone dares to change the shape and carvings of the stone buildings here at all. Since ancient times, this has been the model of the building surrounding the tomb. However, currently the buildings in Agung's tomb are better maintained than in previous times. At the Makam Agung Arosbaya, there are 3 people who always clean the tomb area every day, such as someone sweeping, turning off the water tap, turning on and off the lights, etc. This religious tourism is always visited by visitors every day. Sometimes visitors even carry out religious traditions such as Slametan (Selameddhan in Madurese) using rasol in Madurese or we known as tumpeng in Indonesian. This slametan activity is carried out as a form of gratitude for the gifts given by Allah. Usually it is synonymous with distributing food to relatives, neighbors or the local community. And then it was continued with a program of dhikr and prayer together.

            Visitors who come to Makam Agung usually carry out the pilgrimage tradition, in Islam, where someone seeking for intercession or help from Allah through intermediaries who are considered to be able to get closer to Allah, such as asking prayers to the Prophet Muhammad SAW or Allah's saints who are considered holy. Usually, visitors often bring flowers and incense as a sign of respect for the people they visit, such as tombs or other holy places. Flowers are often considered a symbol of beauty and purity, while incense can provide a fragrant aroma that is considered capable of purifying the environment or as a sign of presence. The source said, sually people start their pilgrimage from the tomb of Bujuk Lestanah, then go straight to the tomb of Kyai Pragalbo (Prince Ongguk), then to the tomb of Raden Pratanu, after that they go to the tomb of Raden Koro.

            The Makam Agung Arosbaya has historical values related to figures who played an important role in the process of spreading Islam in Madura. This tomb was an important burial place for kingdoms that once ruled Madura, such as the Arosbaya kingdom. This tomb is a pilgrimage center or historical place because there are many important figures buried there. Several important figures are buried in the Great Tomb complex, there are 3 people, namely Kyai Pragalbo (Islam ongguk 1531) known as Prince Plakaran, who died in 1531 AD, then Kyai R. Pratanu (Panembahan Kyai Lemah Duwur 1531-1592) or we known as Prince Lemah Duwur, and Raden Koro we known as Prince Tengah (1592-1621).

            The Makam Agung Complex tells the story of several figures from the Majapahit era, starting with Brawijaya V who ruled between 1468-1478 AD. His descendants then settled in Plakaran, forming a lineage that produced figures such as Kyai Pragalbo, Raden Pratanu and Raden Koro. Kyai Pragalbo, after converting to Islam under the guidance of Sunan Kudus, died in 1450 Saka (1531 AD), also known as Prince Ongguk. Once upon a time, Kyai Pragalbo was seriously ill and was asked to read the declaration of faith (syahadat), but he could not read but only nodded his head. Because Prince Pragalbo converted to Islam just by nodding his head, he was called Prince Ongguk. Kyai Pragalbo married Nyai Ageng Rondrowulan or the wife of Sunan Giri in Arosbaya. His son is Raden Pratanu, and then took over the royal throne, died in 1592 AD with the title Prince Lemah Duwur. Raden Pratanu is the grandson of Sunan Giri in Arosbaya and he is Guardian of Allah (Waliyullah). Raden Pratanu used to build the mosque located at the Makam Agung, in fact the one who made the foundation for the prayer room at the Makam Agung was Raden Pratanu. The bricks are still original and sturdy. Then continued by RKH Fuad Amin Imron. People in the location said that the foundation for the original prayer room was made by Raden Pratanu who wanted to build a mosque.

            Raden  Pratanu had a son. His name is Raden Koro (Prince Tengah) who continued his reign until 1621 AD. Prince Tengah left behind a wife and a son, who were then entrusted to his uncle in Madegan, while the government in Arosbaya was taken over by his younger brother, Prince Mas. So, the Makam Agung Arosbaya complex not only tells the history of the Majapahit kingdom who converted to Islam, but also the journey of their descendants in forming  Plakaran new city and their leadership in the Sampang and Blega regions.