Masjid (mosque of) Kampung Gombang, Muar...

Assalamualaikum semua. Di sini saya ingin memaparkan sebuah masjid dengan bentuk yang agak unik, ditemui ketika dalam perjalanan daripada Segamat ke Muar. Sila!

Peace be upon you all. Here I want to show a mosque with quite unique designs, found while on the way from Segamat to Muar. Come!

Lihat sendiri bangunan ini. Menarik bukan!

Look for yourself. Interesting isn't it!

Seperti biasa, apabila terjumpa masjid yang menarik dan jika ada masa, saya akan melihat ke dalam... Kalau banyak masa, saya akan bersolat, kalau tidak, setakat melihat apa yang ada di dalam pun cukuplah...

As usual, upon coming across interesting mosques and if there's time, I would have a peek inside. If there's plenty of time, I would do my prayers, if not, just having a look at what's inside should be enough...

Sayangnya, kamera digital murah saya tidak begitu elok apabila menangkap gambar di bawah cahaya kurang terang... Untuk pengetahuan, ketika itu langit mendung dan hampir jam 6 petang.

Too bad, my cheap digital camera is not so good at capturing pictures under dim lights... For information, the sky was cloudy then and it was almost 6 pm.

Apapun, keadaan sudah cukup untuk menyerlahkan rekabentuk bumbung masjid ini yang amat unik.

Whatever, the conditions was enough to bring out the very unique features of the mosque's roof.

Oh... Masjid ini terletak di tepian Sungai Muar...

Oh... This mosque is located beside the Muar river...

Pemandangan sungai daripada jeti di hadapan masjid...

The river seen from the jetty in front of the mosque...

Daripada sisi kanan, baru kelihatan papantanda yang menyebut Masjid Kampung Gombang... Kampung Gombang terletak di antara Lenga dan Pagoh...

From the right-side only could be seen the signboards saying Masjid (mosque of) Kampung Gombang... Kampung Gombang is situated between Lenga and Pagoh...

Ada sesuatu yang menarik tentang nama Gombang. Walaupun ketika itu tidak ada mana-mana orang tua yang menerangkan, gerak hati saya mengatakan ia ada kena mengena dengan cerita legenda seorang raja dahulukala yang dikenali dengan nama Malim Dewa yang dikatakan pernah memerintah Muar lama dahulu. Untuk pengetahuan, nama penuhnya adalah Tuanku Gombang Malim Dewa!

There's something interesting about the name Gombang. Although then there were no elders to explain, my hearts says it has something to do with the legend of an olden king known as Malim Dewa said to have ruled Muar long ago. For information, his full name is Tuanku Gombang Malim Dewa!

Nama Gombang itu juga bunyinya seakan-akan sama dengan Gambang atau Balai Gambang, iaitu sejenis rakit besar berupa kapal membawa rombongan diraja. Dalam legenda, rakit ini dikatakan pernah digunakan oleh Malim Dewa juga anaknya Malim Deman ketika menyusuri Sungai Muar. Perhatikan gambar di atas... Ia seolah-olah ada rupa seperti binaan di atas sebuah rakit atau kapal diraja pula!

The name Gombang also sound similar to the word Gambang or Balai Gambang, that is a kind of huge raft like a ship to carry the royal entourage. In the legends, the raft was said to have been used by Malim Dewa and his son Malim Deman when boating up and down the river Muar. Study the picture above... It looks almost like the buildings upon some sort of royal raft!

Tiang-tiangnya pun agak berseni tetapi ringkas. Berbalik pada cerita Gambang tadi... Adapun Balai Gambang sebagai rakit diraja masih digunakan oleh kerajaan Perak ketika berlaku pertabalan raja-raja... Untuk menyusuri Sungai Perak dan menziarahi makam-makam diraja terpilih sepanjang perjalanan. Kali terakhir seorang Raja di Perak ditabalkan adalah ketika naiknya Sultan Azlan Shah, Sultan Perak ke 34 dalam tahun 80an begitu...

The pillars also look rather arty but simple. Back to the story of Gambang... As it is the Balai Gambang as the royal raft is still used by the government of Perak when installing rulers... For going down the Perak river and visiting selected royal tombs along the way. The last time a ruler of Perak was installed was when Sultan Azlan Shah, the 34th Perak Sultan came up the throne in the 80s or so.

Apa yang menarik tentang semua ini, cerita Malim Dewa juga Malim Deman diperkenalkan kembali di Malaysia oleh seseorang yang dikenali sebagai Pawang Ana di Perak. Cerita-cerita ini menarik kerana Malim Dewa dan Malim Deman menjadi watak legenda di Muar tetapi diperkenalkan ceritanya di negara ini oleh seorang daripada Perak sedangkan ceritanya sudah terkenal di Aceh di Indonesia... Lebih menarik lagi kerana dalam Hikayat Malim Dewa dan Hikayat Malim Deman memang menyebut bahawa Malim Dewa berasal daripada Aceh lalu membawa diri ke Muar!

What is more interesting about all these, the story of Malim Dewa also Malim Dewan was reintroduced in Malaysia by someone known as Pawang Ana in Perak. These stories are also interesting because Malim Dewa and Malim Deman are legendary figures of Muar but the story was made famous in this country by someone from Perak while the stories are already famous in Aceh, Indonesia... More interesting because in the Hikayat Malim Dewa and Hikayat Malim Deman (the old Malay texts mentioning them) do say that Malim Dewa came from Aceh where he left for Muar!

Satu pandangan dekat pada ukiran-ukiran di bumbung masjid... Kelihatan seperti bentuk kepala burung. Gerak hati saya mengatakan ia adalah burung Jentayu, sejenis burung ajaib yang dikatakan pernah berlawan dengan burung Garuda di dalam cerita Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa. Ada apa-apa kaitan ke? Sekian! :]

A closer look at the carvings on the mosque's roof... Looks like the shape of a bird's head. My heart says it is the Jentayu, a magical bird said to have fought the Garuda (I think in the Western legends, it is equivalent to the giant bird orc) in the story of Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (another old Malay text). Is there any connection? That's all! :]