Kyai

A Kyai (key-eye) is an expert in the religion of Islam. The word Kyai is of Javanese origin. Traditionally, students of Islam in Indonesia would study in a boarding school. The leader of the school was called Kyai, roughly meaning teacher in the Javanese language. This is similar in nature to western Christians addressing a Catholic Priest as Father, and would be followed up with the person’s name. (E.g. Kyai Abdul is used in the same way as Father Smith). However, kyai are not clerics in the same way as are Catholic Priests. There is no governing body that ordains or authorizes a kyai. Likewise, no organization can defrock a kyai or remove them from their position. A kyai has his position and authority because people will listen to what they say. A large component of having such symbolic captital is to have a Pesantren.^[1]

The traditional word for a teacher in Islam is ustadz (oos-dat) which is from the Arabic word. There are many ustadz in Indonesia who teach the religion, but do not have a boarding school.

Some Indonesians refer to a high-level or widely regarded Kyai as an Ulama. This word is actually the plural form of the Arabic word alim which means knowledgeable person. A group of alim are referred to as ulama. For example, there is one alim in the room, but there are three ulama outside. Through common usage in Indonesia, the word ulama grew to signify a high level Kyai, even though this is a grammatical misuse of the word in Arabic. A person who is referred to in this way would seldom introduce themselves as an ulama. Two possible reasons for this are 1. to avoid being arrogant, and 2. because the speaker, as a well-educated Islamic teacher, knows that the word ulama is a plural form of alim. ^[2]

Kyai combine the skills and roles of both the the 'alim or Islamic scholar and the Sufi master (syehk). Stories abound about kyai that can do astonding things like: 1)fly to Mecca for mid-day prayers and be back in their pesantren for their afternoon repast; 2) walk through the rain without getting wet; 3) meditate by the ocean until the waves stop moving; 4) healing the sick; 5) having secret knowledge about someone that can help that person solve personal problems. ^[3]

A Kyai would normally set up his own boarding school called a Pondok Pesantren literally meaning boarding house in Indonesian. A student in the school is called a santri. A child of a Kyai, or a main student, may take over the supervision of the school upon the death of the original founder, and would then be called Kyai. It is possible for one boarding school to have numerous Kyai living and teaching there, if the school is large. ^[4]

In general most schools have a modest size of a few hundred students and only one person who is called Kyai. The other teachers in the school would be called Ustdat. In fact, ustdat and kyai mean the same thing but in reality, many Indonesian Muslims consider a kyai to be higher ranked, in part because a kyai would run his own boarding school, and in part because his mystical abilities. ^[5]

Notes

^ Ronald Lukens-Bull 2005 A Peaceful Jihad: Negotiating Identity and Modernity in Muslim Java. New York: Palgrave McMillian. Pp. 96-97.
^ Zamakhsyari Dhofier The Pesantren Tradition: A Study of the Role of the Kyai in the Maintenance of the Traditional Ideology of Islam in Java Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University Program for Southeast Asian Studies Monograph Series.
^ Ronald Lukens-Bull 2005 A Peaceful Jihad: Negotiating Identity and Modernity in Muslim Java. New York: Palgrave McMillian. Pp. 97-99.
^ Zamakhsyari Dhofier The Pesantren Tradition: A Study of the Role of the Kyai in the Maintenance of the Traditional Ideology of Islam in Java Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University Program for Southeast Asian Studies Monograph Series.
^ Ronald Lukens-Bull 2005 A Peaceful Jihad: Negotiating Identity and Modernity in Muslim Java. New York: Palgrave McMillian. Pp. 97-99.