Ibn ‘Arabī and the Metaphysical Meanings of the Shadow Play in Java

This article is about shadow play as a pedagogy in Indonesia and beyond, connecting it Ibn ‘Arabī’s teachings. Ibn ‘Arabī is known as one of the most important Islamic thinkers from the 13th century, and his teachings have expanded across the entire Islamic world. However, his two main works, al-Futūḥāt and al-Fuṣūṣ, have remained largely inaccessible over the last 800 years, transmitted not through translations or writings but through teachers to select students. A Mursyid from Bandung has been teaching ‘Ibn ‘Arabī since 2019 publically. I am interested in the teachings, elucidations and use of the pedagogy of the shadow play in communities which strive to make meaning and value in people’s lives. Theteacher of this community offers insights into the shadow play as a mystical tool for pedagogy. This article touches upon the often lost meaning of the shadow play central in Islamic teaching over the centuries. I will offer an ethnographic study of the role of shadow play in the seeker’s search for their self as it was told to me by the Mursyid. By doing so, we understand the interplay between the Divine and the Human within the shadow play, the search for the soul, and its metaphysical order of veil, light, and shadows.