Mobilization of the mass movement in the Java War by Diponegoro’s spiritual majesty: study of the Babad Kedung Kebo (BKK) manuscript

The Java War (1825–1830) is often explained by economic grievances, colonial exploitation, and elite political struggles, but the spiritual foundations of leadership that enabled sustained mass mobilization have been insufficiently theorized. This article addresses that gap by examining the spiritual leadership of Prince Diponegoro as represented in the Javanese chronicle Babad Kedung Kebo (BKK). Using Louis W. Fry's Spiritual Leadership Theory, the study identifies three dimensions—vision, hope/faith, and altruistic love—that generated collective spiritual well-being and reinforced commitment to resistance.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The Java War (1825–1830) is commonly interpreted through economic grievances, colonial exploitation, and elite political contestation, while the spiritual foundations of leadership that enabled sustained mass mobilization remain insufficiently theorized. This article addresses that gap by examining the spiritual leadership of Prince Diponegoro as represented in Babad Kedung Kebo (BKK) and analyzing how religious authority functioned as a mobilizing force in nineteenth-century Java. Employing Louis W. Fry’s Spiritual Leadership Theory, the study identifies three interrelated dimensions – vision, hope/faith, and altruistic love – that generated collective spiritual well-being and reinforced commitment to resistance. Through qualitative textual analysis, it demonstrates how ascetic discipline, prophetic symbolism, and moral exemplarity transformed religious devotion into organized struggle. At the same time, the article critically interrogates the historiographical character of BKK as a performative chronicle embedded in post-war political legitimation, situating Diponegoro’s charisma at the intersection of religious experience, narrative construction, and structural crisis, including economic hardship and colonial intervention. By extending Spiritual Leadership Theory beyond contemporary organizational settings into a pre-modern Islamic anti-colonial context, this study offers a new interpretive framework for understanding the relationship between Islam, charismatic authority, and socio-political resistance in Southeast Asian history.