Wali Sogo

I have been reading up on some backgrounds about Indonesia especially places that I intend to visit like the Bukit Tinggi and Padang Areas. From what I gather while surfing the Net, these areas looks very inviting and there is one or two University in the area that is worth looking into.Medan, the city does not seem like a place I would spend too much time at even though my grandmother and my mother were born there. According to my Uncle and Aunties and my relatives here in Penang my grandmother was a relative of the Sultan of Dilli and when the late President Soekarnoe of Indonesia decided to put an end to all the Sultanates in Indonesia my grandmother and grandfather left Medan for Penang. I have been told by my sister that she still remembers the days when someone fron Medan would arrive with gifts of sarongs and sometimes small jeweleries for my grand mother. I doubt that I would be able to trace my grandmother's lineage in Medan but I will poke around and see what kind of worms I can stir up if and when I find the time. It would make an intresting study to trace my ancestral roots both on my grandmother and grandfather's sides. My Grandfather was a Singhalese from Sri Lanka and he was an artist, now how would the two end up becoming my grandma and grandpa?

I got my airline tickets and will be leaving Penang on Tuesday for Medan, Sumatra. Incidently I just learned that I would gain one hour flying to Medan from Penang. Friends advice that I purchase a round trip ticket to avoid any hassle from the Immigrartion officers at the airport. The duration of my stay would be for one month but I will try to talk my way into being allowed to stay longer as my trip would take me into remote areas. It has come to my realization that I can set up a business of becoming a tourist guide for my friends and realtives here once I have set up a good program with my Indonesian counterparts and scope around for all the attractive places for my clients to visit. If this can be achieved it will be an ideal project for me to be able to do everything else that I have in mind to do. Well it all remains to be seen.

One of the books I am reading is called Wali Sogo and it is about the early Muslim missionaries who spread the religion throughout the Indonesian Archipelago. These propagators of Islam were considered to be men of great spiritual powers and skilfull means and some were considered as saints by the Indonesians who later became Muslims after encountering these exceptional beings. Their exploits in the land that was predominantly influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism alot of Animism and even proponents the black arts of which I have been warned to be careful of. The stories told of how they converted the people of Indonesia and its surrounding countries are often very chellenging and filled with mysticism. How they overcome their adversaries makes a good study for the spread of islam in the Nusantatra as the Malay Archipelago in known in Indonesian.