This Thesis deals with the cultural encounter between Islam and Javanese culture as represented by the slametan ritual. The major purposes of this thesis are threefold; (1) to give a brief account of the historical backdrop of the encounter between Islam and the Javanese tradition; (2) to discuss the ongoing dispute among scholars over whether the slametan is animistic, syncretistic or Islamic; and (3) to provide a new perspective on the slametan ritual based upon textual (religious) and contextual (socio-cultural) analysis. / The hypothesis underlying this work is that the slametan is a prototype of syncretistic ritual, the representative of Islamic elements---as its core---on the one hand, and local traditions---as its periphery---on the other. This work will argue against the theory of the slametan developed both by Geertz and Woodward. The first scholar sees the slametan from a socio-cultural perspective only, while the latter views it on an Islamic theological basis. The current writer argues that one should employ a holistic perspective to see the slametan comprehensively; both from "inside" (religious perspective) and "outside" (cultural perspective).

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