ABSTRACT
This chapter explores Muslim and Catholic pilgrimage practices in south central Java is the more fundamental framework of communion between the two communities. Against this background, the more Islam-friendly culture of the contemporary Catholic pilgrimage tradition in south central Java presents itself as an antidote: it is a creative and timely response on the part of the contemporary Javanese Catholic community Vis--Vis the tensions and ambiguities embedded in the earlier interpretation of the hybrid Javano-Catholic identity. In terms of sacramental vision, one sees an overwhelming similarity between Javanese Muslim and Catholic pilgrimage practices. Under the tutelage of the Dutch Jesuit missionaries who in turn were influenced by Orientalism under late colonial conditions, a large part of these Javanese Catholic intellectuals' religio-cultural vision was to revivify the past glory and goodness of the Javanese cultureidentified rather exclusively in terms of the Hindu-Buddhist legacy through Christian values, based on the openness and universalism of both religio-cultural systems.
