Soenan Goenoeng Djati was a Muslim missionary and one of the nine saints (Wali Songo) credited with the spread of Islam on Java. The Nederlandsch Indië Platen Atlas (1926) describes him as a Mohammedan, presumably from Pasé (North Sumatra) by origin, who achieved much success with his religious teaching on Java.
Account from Nederlandsch Indië Platen Atlas (1926) — Soenan Goenoeng Djati
The atlas provides the following account: “Soenan Goenoeng Djati was een Mohammedaan, vermoedelijk uit Pasei (Noord-Sumatra) afkomstig, die met zijn godsdienst-onderwijs op Java veel opgang maakte. Hij stierf 1570 te Cheribon, waar op een heuvel, de ‘Goenoeng Diati’, werd begraven. Vandaar de hem, na zijn dood gegeven naam: Soenan Goenoeng Djati.” (Soenan Goenoeng Djati was a Mohammedan, presumably from Pasai [North Sumatra] by origin, who with his religious teaching achieved much success on Java. He died in 1570 at Cheribon, where he was buried on a hill, the ‘Goenoeng Diati’. Hence the name given to him after his death: Soenan Goenoeng Djati.)
Connection to Acheh
Soenan Goenoeng Djati’s presumed origin in Pasé, one of the earliest Muslim sultanates on North Sumatra and a neighbour of Acheh, illustrates the role that North Sumatran Islam played in the Islamisation of the entire Archipelago. His career demonstrates that the Islamic tradition of North Sumatra — which produced both scholars and missionaries — was a source of religious influence extending far beyond the shores of Sumatra itself.
See Also
Sources
Nederlandsch Indië Platen Atlas met korte beschrijvingen, uitgegeven door Volkslectuur, Weltevreden, Java. Weltevreden: G. Kolff & Co., January 1926. Chapter IV (Godsdienst), p. 86.