TRADITION OF PILGRIMAGE TO ASTA JURUAN BATUPUTIH SUMENEP: FROM MYSTICISM, SPIRITUALISM TO ITS CONTESTATION

This paper describes the discourse of the religious pilgrimage ritual to Asta Juruan Batuputih Sumenep which still exists among the Madurese and outside Madurese. There is an assumption from the mainstream of the religious community that this group does not practice religion deeply so that it has social implications, namely spreading bid'ah and deviance to the people closest to them. In short, this group practices an "impure" religion. This paper provides a different perspective that these “impure” religious groups practice the pilgrimage ritual for the sake of their survival in the existential level of religious puritanism and discourse urbanization of capitalism. The problem is, this group legitimizes that the practice of pilgrimage to Asta Juruan to get closer to God and want to grant wealth (wealth) is precisely what it constructs. In fact, in Islam, practicing asceticism is precisely through the way of suluk, remembrance, meditation, contemplation in search of the truth of Allah which manifests in the practice of social spiritualism. Here there is a synergy (main point) and contestation between ritualism, spiritualism and mysticism, the ukhrawi and the mundane (secular), transcendental, and immanent. Therefore, the important thing is that the process of religious appreciation must always be intended in the frame of religious expression in a precise, not extreme, and moderate manner with all kinds of contestation. This type of research method is descriptive qualitative, and use a phenomenological approach. By looking at the lines in the pilgrimage ritual laskap of Asta Juruan's grave, it can be seen that various expressions can be identified and theorized. The result of this research is that the tradition of pilgrimage to Asta Juruan Batuputih Sumenep is one of the ritual traditions carried out in enhancing religious spirituality and becoming one of them. one way to increase faith in Allah, because the ritual is conceptualized in accordance with the teachings of Islam, in order to avoid polytheism, so that the tradition of the grave pilgrimage ritual is still ongoing today.