Wali Sanga

The Wali Sanga (also transcribed as Wali Songo) are revered saints of Islam in Indonesia, especially on the island of Java, because of their historic role in the Spread of Islam in Indonesia. The word wali is Arabic for "trusted one" ("guardian" in other contexts in Indonesia) or "friend of God" ("saint" in this context), while the word songo is Javanese for the number nine. Thus, the term is often translated as "nine saints".

Although referred to as a group, there is good evidence that fewer than nine were alive at any given time. Also, there are sources that use the term "Wali Sanga" to refer to saintly mystic(s) other than the most well-known nine individuals.

Each man is often attributed the title sunan in Javanese, which may derive from suhun, in this context meaning "honoured".

Most of the wali were also called raden during their lifetimes, because they were members of royal houses. (See "Style and Title" section of Yogyakarta Sultanate for an explanation of Javanese nobility terms.)

The graves of Wali Sanga are venerated as locations of ziarah (ziyarat) or local pilgrimage in Java. The graves are also known as pundhen in Javanese.

Some Muslim Sufis came to Java from Gujarat, India via Samudera Pasai (part of what is now Aceh). The earliest wali songo was Maulana Malik Ibrahim (originally from Samarkand) who arrived on Java in 1419 CE.

Tracing the lineage back further than Maulana Malik Ibrahim is problematic, but most scholars agree all of them are of Arab descent. Although silsila are listed in various Javanese royal chronicles (such as Sejarah Banten) to denote ancestral lineage, the term in Sufism refers to a lineage of teachers. Some of these spiritual lineages are cited by van Bruinessen in his study of the Banten Sultanate, particularly in regard to Sunan Gunung Jati who was an initiate of various Sufi orders.

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