Religion and Anthropology: Identifying Koentjaraningrat’s Elements

of Culture in the Quran

Imam Subchi

, Rena Latifa

and Munir

UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia

UIN Sunan Gunung Djati, Bandung, Indonesia

Keywords: The Quran, Interpretation, Anthropology, Culture.

Abstract: The Qur’an, the Holy Book of Islamic religion, contains a lot of anthropological information as it has

information regarding the story of people before the era of Islam and of Muhammad and his Companions.

Those information can be traced on the Qur’anic narration on human activities. Humans are entities that

always associate with their culture and environment. Cultural behavior is an open land to be examined in the

perspective of humanities. The stories in al-Quran are important material in this article. The author classifies

the stories based on 7 elements of culture proposed by Koentjaraningrat, an Indonesian anthropologist. The

seven are; language system, technology, economy, knowledge, social organization, culture and religion.

Almost all of these elements can be found in al-Quran. In sorting out these stories, basic knowledge of the

Qur’anic interpretation is needed to synthesize these materials with the thoughts of Koentjaraningrat. This

paper presents a new anthropological perspective called anthropology of the Quran. This study wants to

prove that the principles of science, including anthropology, actually have proof in the Quran. This study is

similar to hermeneutical studies that establish the gospel as an open text, which is neutral in nature so that it

is possible to be proven, denied or criticized in an academic perspective, in this case through an

anthropological point of view.

1 INTRODUCTION

Anthropology is a branch of humanities that

discusses the activities of human. It pays attention to

almost every form of community life. Although the

attributes of religion, customs, traditions and values

of each community are different, anthropology

searches for general principles that make something

operational.

Besides the Quran has many other things, it also

has stories of human beings in the past. These stories

in anthropological perspective can be interesting

study materials. The authors are inspired by the truth

claim of the Qur’an. Some orientalists doubted it due

to various reasons. We actually find a number of

stories that confirm the principles of anthropology,

especially regarding the cultural elements of a

society.

This study focuses on identifying

Koentjaraningrat’s seven elements of culture,

namely: 1) Language system; 2) Technology; 3)

Knowledge system; 4) Economic system; 5) Social

organization system; 6) Cultural systems, and; 7)

Religious system. The Qur’an consists of stories in

which the seven elements are found. This

emphasizes that the Quran is an inspiration for

science, because its distinctive editorial, it gives an

overview to scholars. This book can also be used as

a reference for further anthropological studies.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Many scholars from all over the world are interested

in anthropological studies dealing with forms of

human activities in various areas including Qur’anic

studies. The Qur’an is an open text that is ready to

be explored, reviewed and criticized. The position of

this book as a religious corpus, increasingly adds to

its the attractiveness for experts to study further. A

similar thing had been also done by Western

scholars in the areas of Gospel studies. They applied

hermeneutics in so doing (Vessey, 2018). Robert

Morey in his book The Islamic Invasion presents a

new perspective on the making of Islam. He visited

and examined a series of sites left by Muhammad

2006

Subchi, I., Latifa, R. and Munir, .

Religion and Anthropology: Identifying Koentjaraningrat’s Elements of Culture in The-Quran.

DOI: 10.5220/0009938520062013

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Recent Innovations (ICRI 2018), pages 2006-2013

ISBN: 978-989-758-458-9

and his Companions. He carried out anthropological

investigations from a number of verses of the Quran

until it came to the discovery that the Muslim

patterns of thought was only circling and believing

that the Quran was a doctrine that came down from

heaven. Morey made a fundamental criticism of

Muslim reluctance to use worldly sources or

material (science) to examine the Quran. He also

believes that since the 19th century, there have been

many anthropological and linguistic studies which

state that the construction of Islamic teachings and

the Quran actually takes from the traditions of Arab

customs. In other words, Islam and the Quran are the

creation of Arabs (Morrey, 1991).

Morey's opinion is similar to as Noel J. Coulsen

who have an opinion about the continuity of the

Quran and Arabic culture. In his book about The

History of Islamic Law, Coulson mentions Islamic

laws adopting laws that existed earlier in Arab

society. When Islam developed, pre-Islamic Arab

traditions were modified and adapted to Islamic

teachings. This opinion was also found in a book

written by Joseph Schacht entitled An Introduction

to Islamic Law (Coulsen, 1994).

Social relations among Arab society are the

source of the birth of Islamic laws. This point is

explained by Robert Roberts in his book The Social

Laws of the Quran. He examined several verses of

the law in the Quran and found a common thread

that the determination of law was juxtaposed with

social ties that had lived in Arab society before

Islam. He found this proof in various models of

social relations such as trade, marriage and

inheritance. Roberts believes that the birth of legal

verses in the Quran is the source of Islamic response

into the social system of the Arab population at that

time.

Not only from the orientalists, a number of

Islamic scholars are also interested in studying the

Quran critically, especially using the anthropological

point of view. Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd saw the Quran

from the sociolinguistic aspect. This book is a verbal

text in the form of the arrangement letters and the

form of language. He was said that the Quran will be

perfect when it becomes a sentence. Al-Quran is a

collection of Arabic languages. Knowledge about

linguistic science tools is important to know the

meaning of each word and sentence. In so doing, we

have to know Arab socio-cultural background. The

analysis on the dialectics of text and civilization

need to be done in order to get enlightenment about

the context that is formed from culture and text as a

form of culture (Scacht, 1983).

Khalil Abdul Karim examined the religious

expressions of pre-Islamic Arabs. Before the Prophet

Muhammad introduced Islam, a number of rites that

had been institutionalized and had become part of

their cultural identity so they built in the middle of

Arab society. These rites reviewed by the Prophet

Muhammad and some of them were designated as

Islamic rites (Roberts, 2003).

This explanation can

be found in the Nahw Fikr Islam al-Jadid (Zayd,

1996).

Indonesian researchers show also certain degree

of interest in anthropological studies in relation to

Quranic studies. Aksin Wijaya argues that the Quran

version of Ottoman Manuscripts shows the

marginalization of women's position. Instead,

nuances of masculinity are more pronounced in their

interpretations. Aksin tries to look for an attention

secretly about men's roles higher than women. He

used linguistic methods (Karim, 2004).

Difference with the view of Aksin, Baidhowi

was interested in seeing the correlation of the Quran

with Arab culture deploying Muhammad Arkoun’s

method of analysis. In Arkoun’s view, the model of

Quranic interpretation was already established as

well as the attitude of Muslims. He considered that

viewed from an anthropological point , the presence

of the Quran in the middle of Arab community

became a marker to decline of the ummi Arabic

culture (unable to read and write) into an Arab

society that had the ability to read and write. This

phenomenon also causes a shift in the sources of

law, namely verbal prophetic discourse into textual

discourse of the Quran. This condition was used as a

political tool for the caliphs to control his territory.

They do not hesitate to reduce, marginalize the

various of unpopular Arab religions and cultures

(Wijaya, 2004).

Ali Sodiqin investigated various models of

dialectic relations between the Quran and the Arab

tradition. Tahmil is a term that refers to the attitude

of accepting (from the provisions of the Quran) and

allowed to continue the old tradition. In addition, a

tradition may be rejected by Arabs who have

embraced Islam. This phenomenon is called tahrim.

The Quran does not accept or reject an Arab

tradition fully. In some ways, this book shows the

attitude namely taghyir, which is reviewing a

tradition and adjusting it to Islamic teachings. These

dialectical models indicate the process of

enculturation of the Quran to local culture.

Enculturation has a mean of anthropological process

that seeks to introduce, disseminate and instill new

values (derived from the Quran) in Arabic culture.

Ali believes that a enculturation runs in two forms,

Religion and Anthropology: Identifying Koentjaraningrat’s Elements of Culture in The-Quran

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namely the assimilation of the Quran into Arabic

culture and the assumption or acceptance of Arabic

culture towards the provisions of the Quran

(Baidhowi, 2009).

There is a wide range of understanding between

humans and the Quran. Muslim’s Holy Book has a

fixed position (qath'i), where the editorial is valid

throughout the ages and does not accept revisions in

any form. To understand the Quran, humans need to

make an interpretation of the Quran. Daniel Djuned

saw human interpretation of this scripture as an

anthropological phenomenon. Diverse human

understanding gives rise to theories and methods of

interpretation of the Quran. In the interpretation each

ulama has an own tendency, some emphasize the

aspect of language, others scholar more inclined to

the law, and others are more interested in explaining

the context of Kalam science. It is inevitable that not

all humans have the ability to interpret the Quran.

Most of them are followers of scholars who were

assigned to interpret the Quran.

Previous works do not not discuss the

anthropology of Quran by applying

Koentjaraningrat’s seven points ethnographic

subjects. So, by examining the references mentioned

above, the author gets a glimpse of how to formulate

a method and theoretical foundation of this working

paper.

3 METHODOLOGY

The anthropology of Quran is learn to combine the

concept of anthropology and the study of the Qur'an.

Thus, to strengthen the theoretical building, a

correlation is needed between an explanation of the

Qur'an, and the concepts of anthropology. Al-Qur'an

is a Sacred Book in which every Muslim believes

and becomes a daily reading of Muslims. Generally,

the Quran is reviewed as a life guide for Muslims.

The content about good and bad teachings becomes

an authoritative source raised to provide awareness

for humanity to always be faithful and obedient to

the teachings of their Lord.

One of the characteristics of the Quran is mujmal

or global. We will not find a particular theoretical

unit that shows a specific field of science in it.

Interpretation is a scientific branch that has a role to

unravel and describe a thematic explanation of the

Quran with certain adjustments. Every mufassir

(expert in the interpretation of the Quran) has public

methods or special characteristics to provide an

explanation of a verse. An interpretation product is

sometimes overshadowed by the scientific mastery

and interest of the exegete (Sodiqin, 2008).

From the time of the Prophet Muhammad into

the time of his Companions (until the 9th century),

the explanation of the Quran was very dependent on

the Hadith sources. Since Tabiin period, the

explanation in the interpretation began to be

streamlined, one of them by cutting the sanad an

explanation (simplifying academic references). In

this era, the authentic explanation has been mixed

with weak Hadiths (Djohan, 2011). Then, Islamic

explanations (stories set in the Israelites or previous

prophetic periods) began to be included in a

commentary. The portion of explanation from

mufassir himself is also more outlined in his work

than in the previous period (Shaikh, 2017). The

model of Quranic interpretation becomes more

dynamic and thematic. Some hold the Quran which

focuses on Islamic law such as the interpretation of

the works of Muhammad Ali ash-Shabuni, some are

inclined to the problem of Sufism such as the

interpretation of mafatih al-ghaib by Fakhruddin ar-

Razi and others etc (Pakeeza & Chisti, 2012).

Usually, a Muslim scholar examines various

branches of the Quran (Ulum al-Quran) before

reviewing interpretations. One of the main methods

of the Qur'anic knowledge is the analysis of stories

in the Quran. In the term Ulum al-Quran, this

method is called qasas-alQuran. The word qasas is

a plural form of the word qissah (singular) which

means story. In Arabic grammar, the word qasas

comes from the root of the word al-qass (











)

which means searching for or following a trail.

qasas al-quran presents an overview of the events of

the previous and prophetic or prophetic people.

Qashash includes three things (Abidu, 2007), there

are:

1. The Story of the Prophets. Among the contents

of this section are about the invitation (da'wah)

of the prophet to his people to worship Allah,

the miracles of the prophet, the attitude or

temperament of the people who are the object of

da'wah, the process of da'wah and the

consequences received by a society that accepts

or rejects the mission of the Prophet,

2. Stories of people in the past who were not

classified as prophets but devoted to the Quran,

3. Stories that occurred during the lifetime of the

Prophet Muhammad, He stayed in Mecca and

Medina.

The stories in the Quran are a source of analysis

for the commentators and reviewers of the Quran.

Sayyid Qutub explained that the purpose of holding

a story in the Quran was motivated (Al-Qattaan,

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2015). So, Muslims could make it an inspiration and

guide in religion. In addition, the stories also contain

the nuances of art, that has the potential to influence

the emotions of humans who read it.

Imam Ghazali classified the stories of the Quran

in Ulumul Lubab or the main sciences. He placed the

story of the Q uran as ulumul lubab al-sufla or the

main low level sciences. The main science of this

type is divided into three types, there are (Quthb,

1945):

1. The science of qasas, the contents contain

stories of prophets, followers and their enemies;

2. Knowledge of relationships with unbelievers

and how to deal with them;

3. Knowledge of rules and muamalah (human

relations).

The background of the decline of the Quran, in

the sense of Islam or associated as a guide for

humans as well as giving good news and warnings

(Muhammad, et al., 2013). Humans are the main

actors in the Quran. On the other hand, humans

cannot escape the social and cultural spheres that

surround them. Anthropology is a scientific field

that places people and culture as the subject of

study. Wherever there are human traces, it is almost

certain to be studied and analyzed anthropologically,

including in religious corps such as the Quran.

In this work, the author choose the ethnographic

approach as a tool for anthropological analysis of

stories in the Quran. Ethnography comes from two

words, namely ethnos which means a group of

people, and means writing. Ethnography is a writing

report of an anthropologist who has been researching

a group of people for many months or years. In its

development, ethnography became a research

method that examined the views of an ethnicity from

the side of the object of research.

In a review of anthropology, ethnography has

two understandings, ethnography as a product and

ethnography as a process. As a product, ethnography

is the result of research on a group of people who

live in a certain place and time with a specific

explanation model. The results of reports about the

community, as done by Herododtus, Ibn Khaldun’s

and Ibn Batutta’s could be included to the work of

ethnography (Marcus, et al., 2014).

As a process, ethnography will provide answers

to ethnographic questions that have not been

previously answered. An ethnographer will try to

find answers by bringing together an ethnographic

study with other research. Then, he will formulate a

conclusion as an answer to the problem that has not

been answered. To answer a question, an

ethnographer usually uses two points of view. First,

he/she usually refers to the conditions of society in

the global scope, then links to similarities and

differences with the conditions of certain communal

societies. Second, he/she pays attention to trends and

transitions in a society by usually making

comparison over different phenomena (socialist -

liberal, colonial - neo colonial and others) which

triggers discussion, then concludes what ideas are

accepted in the daily life of a tribe (Spradley, 1997).

Every form of study looks up at materials that

contain historical-anthropological ethnic

information, such as the Quran is an ethnographic

form as a product (Bernard & Spencer, 1996).

Nevertheless, to study the material as an

ethnography in the process perspective, it must pass

through ethnographic research methods. The

approach used is a cross-culture perspective (cross-

cultural) by comparing the texts of the Quran with

ethnographic content with the texts of ethnographic

and anthropological research, then the similarities

and differences are determined and described.

Koentjaraningrat’s seven elements of culture -

language, technological systems, economic systems,

social organizations, knowledge systems, arts and

religious systems (Bernard& Spencer, 1996), can be

searched in the Quran. This study also wants to

emphasize that the corpus of the Muslim community

contains a number of anthropological material that

has not been much broken down. By using a

description from Koentjaraningrat, it hoped that the

presentation of the nuances of the anthropology of

the Quran can be narrated in a sequential, structured

and analytical manner (Koentjaraningrat, 1998).

The steps of research carried out are to unravel

the anthropological elements, adjusted to the 7

elements of ethnography in the Quran. First, stories

of the Quran relating to the seven elements of

culture are collected. Second, the stories are then

classified into seven categories. Third, verification

of material with the theory in accordance. Fourth,

writing the article itself.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Ethnographic traces are widely found in the

stories of the Quran. Generally, the Quran does not

explain the profile of each ethnic group that is

addressed in detail. The general pattern found is a

collection of people who receive teachings from God

or reject them. Those who accept will be rewarded

with kindness and those who refuse will get a deadly

disaster. From such a general pattern, the author

finds a number of things that correspond to the seven

Religion and Anthropology: Identifying Koentjaraningrat’s Elements of Culture in The-Quran

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ethnographic elements expressed by

Koentjaraningrat (Wikipedia, 2018). The author

makes the story of the Quran as an open text which

contains an anthropological study source, there are:

4.1 Language

Language is a tool for communicating between

humans. The emergence of language almost

simultaneously with the emergence of the first

human being, Adam. Al-Quran has a number of

verses relating to the knowledge of language and

communication carried out when Adam was still

alive. This is summarized in Surah al-Baqarah verse

31, namely: "And He (Allah) taught Adam about

names (things ) all, then express it to the Angels then

say: "Name Me the names of these things if you are

indeed the righteous!"

In the verse above, it is said that Allah is the one

who teaches Adam about various things in this

world. The word "names" in the verse is another

mention of language. There is no other information

about how the model of God's teaching to Adam,

and what becomes clear is that Adam learned

language through the teaching-learning process, not

created or able to speak automatically. God has

created a number of language tools for humans such

as mind, hearing, sight, mouth, throat and others.

These tools are then used by humans to learn

language.

Among the commentators, a debate arose

regarding the meaning of the word . Some

commentators understand this word with the opinion

that God teaches all names of things (such as animal,

human, land, sea, mountain and other names) and

languages in the world. Others believe that God does

not teach all languages, but only a small part. The

rest, Adam knows it himself, because he learn

device has been embedded as is common in humans.

Imam al-Mawardi stated that there were three

possibilities regarding the holistic teaching of God to

Adam (Al-Mawardiy, 1997), there are:

1. God taught Adam all names and languages;

2. Adam taught what he knew to his children,

3. When Adam's children spread, they spoke in

easy-to-pronounce language, and forgot the

original language.

As for the second group, God only teaches

certain names and languages, the Companions of the

Prophet Muhammad have their own views. First,

God only teaches the names of humans, angels, jinns

and animals. Said Ikrimah. Second, God teaches

things created on earth. This information was

conveyed by al-Kalbiy, Muqatil and Ibn Qutaibah

(Al-Jauziy). Third, God only teaches the names of

angels and descendants of Adam, not the names of

all beings (Al-Tobary).

Although transcendental, the Qur’an shows that

Adam was a learning creature. It has similarities

with the narration that is commonly heard about

early generation humans who recognize the natural

surroundings with a series of trials or what is known

as trial and error. They will use language that is

understood by their own groups, such as using

certain gestures or signals. The presence of God as a

teacher is a form of affirmation that early humans

were closely related to God as the creator (Barnard,

2016).

4.2 Technology and Knowledge

Koentjaraningrat places technology and knowledge

systems in different definitions. If examined further,

the existence of technology reflects the advancement

of human knowledge. Without knowledge

ownership, humans cannot create a technology.

Koentjaraningrat interpreted technology as proof of

the progress of a society. Sometimes, technology

becomes a differentiator between one community

and another. He divided technology into eight forms;

1) production equipment; 2) weapons; 3) container;

4) Tools for making fire; 5) food; 6) clothing and

jewelry; 7) shelter or home, and; 8) transportation

equipment.

Since prehistoric times, humans have known

technology. Technology develops along with the

development of human thinking patterns. Human

technology originating from the Stone Age is

described in Surat al-Fajr verse 6 -8. In that verse it

is stated that the people of ‘Ad are residents who

have tall buildings made of stone. Also mentioned

about the Thamud people who are good at

sculpturing hills and valleys. During the time of

Prophet Ibrahim, there was a belief in respect for the

statue. It can be said that in the time of Abraham, the

period of human history was still in the Megalithic

era.

The story of great floods and the making of

Noah's ark became something whose proof was

found later. Around 1960, a group of scientists

discovered what they believed to be the giant boat

frame of Noah from a pool of mud in Dogubayazid,

Eastern Turkey. Lorence G. Collins doubted the

frame of the Noah ship and he believed that the large

boat frame was only natural stones. Not at all a boat

or man-made. The denial departs from previous

findings, which means that the Qur'an has been

mentioned at once discovered in 1960. The Turkish

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government also believed that the findings were the

remains of Noah's ark. In the Quran, the story of the

command that Noah made a big ship is in the letter

al-Mukminun verse 28 and al-Qamar verse 13.

While the news of the coming of the great flood that

befell the people of the prophet Nuh is in al-Ankabut

verse 14, al-Anbiya verse 76 and al-Qamar verses 11

and 12.

The story of the split of sea water by the Prophet

Musa when crossing the Red Sea was an inspiration

for the growth of related studies in the latest era. In

contrast to what the Quran and the Gospels reveal,

observers are beginning to examine this information

seriously armed with scientific methodologies in

accordance with the expertise they have. The

amazing story that was only understood as this

miracle originally, slowly began to find scientific

justifications. One scientific interpretation of the

possibility of the separation of two seawater currents

due to eruptions of underwater mountains. This kind

of eruption was allegedly the cause of the end of the

Minoan civilization in Crete around 1450 BC. This

proof was published by archaeologists and

anthropologists around the 1970s. This eruption is

called the Thera Eruption. Some scientists believe

that this kind of eruption caused the Red Sea of the

Moses era to split (Koetjaraningrat, 1998).

In above opinion, Immanuel Velikovsky believes

that the splitting of the sea is due to large-scale

cosmic disasters. Cosmic disasters are meant such as

large earthquakes, the movement of ocean currents

in the depths of the ocean, changes in mountain

position, slowing Earth's rotation and others. events

like this can lead to natural anomalies as illustrated

in the miracle of the Prophet Moses above. The

Qur'anic verse which explains the opening of the

road in the middle of the Red Sea is found in Sura

al-Baqarah verse 50 and Sura Yunus verse 90. These

verses prove that the Quran also talks about the

development of oceanographic, geological,

geographic and other sciences - others with literary

language and rich in symbols.

4.3 Economic System

Economy is the motor that drives human life to meet

the needs of life. Koentjaraningrat calls the economy

in the spectrum of traditional society. Economic

activities are defined as a livelihood system. In

general, the livelihood system is divided into three

forms; hunting, fishing and farming (Yahya, 2001).

There are a number of stories in Quran that explain

the livelihood of a nation. Meeting the needs of life

such as hunting, fishing, and farming are some of the

livelihoods of ethnic groups in the Near East.

In Surat al-Araf verses 163 - 166, it is told about

the story of the people of Elat or ashabus sabt who

inhabited the coastal area. It is said that they depend

on life for fishing. Coastal life opens wide

possibilities for them to open businesses in the

fisheries sector. It is said that on Saturday, ashabus

sabt was prohibited from carrying out any

commercial activities including fishing, because on

that day the Jews were worshiping. They violated

the ban. Allah also inflicts punishment on them as a

reward for his insubordination. Livestock is the

livelihood of Arab communities in rural areas. The

Koran enshrines this profession in the story of

Moses who herds livestock belonging to the people

of Madyan. This story can be listened to in Surat al-

Qashash verses 23-28 (Collind, et al., 1996).

Planting is one of the professions found in the

Quran. In this book it is alluded to about the

prophecy of the Prophet Joseph that the Egyptians

will face a famine in the future. This prediction is

the interpretation of Prophet Joseph on the dream of

the reigning King of Egypt at that time. To

overcome the disaster, the Prophet Joseph suggested

that the Egyptian population save their crops for

seven years to face a period of famine which also

lasted for seven years. This story can be followed in

full in the letter of Yusuf verses 20, 62 and 88

(Collind, et al., 1996).

4.4 Social Organization

In formulating a system of social organization,

Koentjaraningrat started from the point of view of

kinship ties and local unity of life. The kinship

system can be grouped into families, clans, customs

and kingdoms. this system then experiences

development, in accordance with the political

context of a period, into a system governed by the

ruling leader.

Koentjaraningrat divides leadership into four

types, there are: 1) leadership sometimes; 2) limited

leadership; 3) leadership includes, and; 4) top

leadership. Leadership sometimes refers to a leader

who has a temporary power. Limited leadership and

leadership include usually found in traditional

leadership. As for general leadership, it can be seen

in the position of king or sultan (Harris, 2007).

The social organization model formulated by

Koentjaraningrat can be found in the Koran. From

the lowest level, namely the family, can be found an

example in this book. Imran's family and the story of

the Luqman family are two of the narratives of the

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Quran regarding an image of social organization in

the past. In fact, the names of the two were named

after the letters in the Quran, namely the letters Ali-

Imran and Luqman.

The affirmation of the social organization system

in the form of clans is also explained by the Koran

through a number of stories of people who were

destroyed by God (Koentjaraningrat, 1998). The

Madyans were one of the clans who were exposed to

the wrath of God as a result of turning to worship

God as mentioned in Sura al-Hijir verses 78-79 (Al-

Maghluts, 2007). The Qurran also alluded to the

royal system when discussing the story of the

Prophet Joseph and Pharaoh. The royal system

mentioned is not only patrilineal, but also matrilineal

as the story of Queen Bilqis and Prophet Sulaiman

contained in the letter an-Naml verses 29-44 (Al-

Maghluts, 2007).

4.5 Arts and Culture

Koentjaraningrat saw culture in the sense of art,

namely a creation of thinking and human behavior

that is functional, aesthetic and beautiful. Art can be

enjoyed by all five senses of man including vision,

smell, taste, taste and hearing. Based on these

senses, Koentjaraningrat classified art into fine art,

dance, music, drama. Art is an important pillar of

culture.

The Quran does not explain in detail about art.

Muslims do not get clear limits on what art means in

Islam. Nevertheless, a number of Islamic scholars

comment on the existence of art in Islam. Sayyed

Hossein Nasr for example, explained that Islamic art

is a human response to the greatness of God. Art is

often associated with the existence of the cosmos

and positive qualities as found in its elements in the

Quran.

4.6 Religious System

Human life cannot be separated from the rites of a

religion. Koentjaraningrat believes that religion has

become the identity of a community group. He

formulated religion into eight forms, namely; 1)

monotheism, its belief in one God as in Islam; 2)

polytheism, belief in many Gods (or often called

gods); 3) animism, namely belief in spirit (spirit); 4)

animatism, which is the belief in plants that are

believed to have souls like humans; 5) fetishism, that

is the belief in the devilish soul inhabiting certain

objects; 6) Prae-animism, which is a religion that

believes in great power (sakti) in all things; 7)

totemism, namely trust in animals, plants, natural

phenomena or objects containing the ancestral image

of the group. This belief can also be interpreted as

trust in individuals or groups who have kinship

relations with God; 8) mysticism, which is a form of

religion that believes in the union of human entities

with God (Koentjaraningrat, 1998).

There are various forms of religion embraced by

humans in Quran, namely monotheism and

polytheism. Monotheistic beliefs, mostly embraced

by divine religious groups, namely Islam,

Christianity and Judaism. Both of three religions, the

one and only Islam said to be blessed by Allah, as

mentioned in Ali-Imran verse 19. Traces of

totemism can be listened to the process of searching

for God done by Abraham as written in Sura al-

An'am verse 74-83. Ibrahim mentions several

celestial bodies as his Lord, like a star and the sun,

before getting enlightened that his God is Allah.

Although the religion that is widely highlighted

in the Koran is Islam, this book also alludes to the

existence of other religious systems. This shows that

for a long time humans have relied on a belief in

great power that is often called God, God, god or

anything else. Keep in mind, Koentjaraningrat saw

the religion in a naturalist-positivistic perspective.

Religion is a human response to his appreciation of

his physical and mental world. He can recognize the

existence of a great power (macrocosm) outside

himself, when dealing with the surrounding

environment (Nasr, 1933).

5 CONCLUSIONS

Al-Quran is a religious corpus which holds various

anthropological traces of humanity in the past.

Beyond the sacredness, this book is an open text for

every scientific family in order to get a proof or even

denial regarding something. Many orientalists and

Islamic scholars themselves are interested in

exploring the contents of the Quran because they

find some information in it seems to "precede the

times" such as the black hole theory that has been

mentioned in the Koran in at-Takwir verses 15-16.

Koentjaraningrat seeks to formulate the pillars of

community life through its 7 elements of

ethnography. Almost all, except art, can be found in

past stories in the Quran. This emphasizes that this

corpus has the potential to be an open text of

anthropological and ethnographic studies. This

cannot be denied because of the similarity of the

focus of the conversation between anthropology and

the Quran, which is the same as discussing the

ICRI 2018 - International Conference Recent Innovation

2012

dynamics of society in the cultural context that

surrounds it.

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Religion and Anthropology: Identifying Koentjaraningrat’s Elements of Culture in The-Quran

2013