History and Definition of Pondok Pesantren Main Components Existed

2.2.8.1. History and Definition of Pondok Pesantren

Based on etimology, Dhofier regarded the word ‘pesantren’ as derivation of the word ‘santri or shastri’, the word ‘santri’ was from Hindi Language cf Muthohar, 2007:11. Besides Mas’ud explained that the word ‘santri’ is that a person who seeks Islamic knowledge cf Muthohar, 2007:12. According to Muthohar 2007:11, the formulation of the word ‘pesantren’ can be described as follows. pe + santri + an = pesantrian = pesantren Based on the word classification of Javanese language, the word pesantren was categorized as the new formed word namely tembung daya wacaka See Setyanto, 2007:76 . In Javanese, tembung means word. The word santri got the prefix pe- and suffix –an. The prefix and the sufix indicate the meaning of the word. The meaning refers to a place. It means that the place where the santri lives. The pesantren was adapted from a model of Hindus school. According to General Chief of Islamic Institutional Affairs 2003, the early pesantren has existed since the Walisongo 3 period. Historically, some communities in Java in that time were Hindus because the trades-people from Hindustani had spread their religion in these communities. Later on, Walisongo constructed model on a school similar to that of Hindus called pesantren. Later, it became the center of ancient Islamic educational institution. 3 the spreaders of Islam religion in Java Island Similar to the other educational institutions, the pesantren also had two main components: i the teacher, and ii the students. In the term of pesantren, usually the teacher is called ustadzkyai and the students called santris.

2.2.8.2. Main Components Existed

Based on General Chief of Islamic Institutional Affairs 2003:8, there are some main components in the pesantren: i pondok boarding house, ii mosque, iii kyai the public figure, iv santri the students, v teaching activities of kitab kuning classical Islamic books. These components are regarded as the identities of the pesantren. The first component is pondok boarding house. This building is that the place where the santris and the teacher kyai live. The female rooms are usually separated from the male rooms. The management of the pesantren usually release strict rules in order to limit the santris’ activities. The second component is mosque. In the pesantren, mosque has double functions: i the place where the people pray, and ii the place where the people digest Islamic knowledge. The santris, their teachers and kyai regarded it as the place where they do a lot of praying schedules such as five times praying, tarawih praying, Fridays praying,etc. Besides they also regarded it as the place where they do activities in digesting Islamic knowledge such as reciting holly Qur’an, and teaching activities of kitab kuning. However, some pesantrens also conduct the teaching activities in the classrooms. The third one is kyai the teacher. In the pesantren, kyai is regarded as the owner or the founder of the pesantren. Besides Sulaiman explained that some people differenciate between kyai and ustadz 2010:7. According to him, kyai has more knowledge and more powerful than ustadz. However, both of them are considered as the teacher in the pesantren. The next component is the santristhe students. Based on General Chief of Islamic Institutional Affair 2003, there are two kinds of santri student: i santri mukim living student, and ii santri kalong nonliving student. Santri mukim is that santristudent who lives permanently in boarding house in the pesantren; shehe joins all activities in the pesantren. Besides santri kalong is that santri who does not live permanently in the pesantren. However, santri kalong only join the teaching activities of kitab kuning. They will go home if the teaching activities have finished. The last one is teaching activities of kitab kuning classical books of Islamic. All of the students in the pesantren have to join these activities. Generally, based on classifications of kitab, there are three levels of students: i beginner, ii intermediate, and iii advanced. These activities are usually conducted in the mosque and classrooms.

2.2.9. Islamic priests as public figure