MANGGARAIAN MYTHS, RITUALS, AND CHRISTIANITY: .
DOING CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY IN EASTERN INDONESIA
Dissertation
Presented as Partial Fulfillment for the Requirement
to obtain the Doctoral Degree
in Inter-religious Studies
Submitted by
FRANSISKUS BORGIAS
l 0/308916/SMU/00812
To
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF GADJAH MADA UNIVERSITY, YOGYAKARTA 2016 DISSERTATION MANGGARAIAN MYTHS, RITUALS, AND CHRISTIANITY: DOING CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY IN EASTERN INDONESIA FraSubmittednsiskus Borgias by 10/308916/SMU /00812 Was defendedOn before 31October the Boar2016d of Examiners
Board of Examiners
Prof.Dr.Bernard Adeney-Risakotta
Co-Superviso XJ f ill.,.,,,. _...... / A -·· _ (. !( �-- Dr.Ro��-;,;::>
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D . e C. Epafras
This dissertation was declared acceptable to obtain the doctoral degree 0 8 DEC 2016 STATEMENT
l, hereby, declare that this disse1iation is my own work based on a field research performed in Manggarai, West-Flores in September to December 2013. It is also based on the literature research both on Manggaraian religio-historico-cultural studies and studies on the phenomenology of religious conversion and contextual theology. I also declare that this dissertation has never been submitted to obtain an academic degree at any other university and to my knowledge does not contain the work or opinion ever written or published by others, except the writing which are clearly cited or referred to in this manuscript and mentioned in the bibliography.
Yogyakarta, December, 2016
Fransiskus Borgias
10/308916/SMU/00812
iii WORDS OF DEDICATION
For my Mother and Father, Felix and Catharina, My first model in faith, hope, and love in a simplicity of life.
iv ACKNOWLEDG EMENT
Finally, I accomplish my dissertation. It can only be accomplished through a long and exhausting endeavor. There are many joys and sorrows, ups and downs, laughter and tears. There are difficult times in which I was sick. But finally, thanks God, I can finish this dissertation with the helping hand of many great and good people sUirounding me. That is why, in the firstplace, I offermy thanksgiving to them.
First of all, I offer many thanks to my promoter Prof. Bernie (Dr. Bernard Adeney-Risakotta) and co-promoter Pak Robert (Dr. Robert Setio ). They have worked hard in accompanying me along the way of my struggle, in all my confusions, my joy and sorrow of my journey to accomplish this work. They have read and corrected the first, the second and third draft of my work. Their corrections, their critical notes and comments, their insightful considerations have contributed so much in the process of finishing and enriching my dissertation. I do not forget to offer many thanks to Prof. Dr. Peter C. Phan from the Faculty of Theology, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA. With his help I get access to the great, richly, and wonderful library of Georgetown University. Through his merit I got a great opportunity to make a deep study and research in the Library of Georgetown University. Thanks also for several personal meetings and discussions with Prof. Peter Phan in his office from September to December 2014. This meetings and discussions with him have helped me in understanding better the issue of missiology and contextual theology.
v Secondly, I offer many thanks to UGM Graduate School (Sekolah Pasca
Smjana UGM). Through the consortium of three universities, 1 The Graduate School has given me a precious opportunity to pursue my higher educational program and to accomplish this process of writing disse1iation. All of the leaders and the staff at ICRS-IRS should be mentioned their names: Ibu Syamsiyatun, lbu Jeanny Dewayani, Pak Bernie, Pak Dicky Sofjan, Mas Leo Epafras, mas Ipung (now moved to another working place), mas Erich, mas Ramang, mas Kuncoro (also has quitted and moved to another working place), Bu Ellis, mbak Cendy, mas Goldy. I have to mention also the names of the professors and the lecturers who have given us some lectures during the first two semesters in ICRS: Prof. Dr. Bernie (History of Religion), Prof. Dr. Reddy Shri Ahimsa-Putra (Anthropology of Religion), Prof. Dr. Banawiratma (Religion and the issue of Poverty), Prof. Dr. E. Gerrit Singgih (Biblical Hermeneutics/Studies from Christian Perspective), Ibu Dr. Siti Syamsiyatun (Religion and Politics), Ibu Dr. Jeanny Dhewayani (Religion and Anthropology), lbu Dr. Wening Udasmoro (Religion and the issue of Poverty), Pak Dr. Syahiron (Religion and Hermeneutics), Pak Dr. Robert Setio (Religion and Hermeneutics), Bu Dr. Farsijana Risakotta (Anthropology of Religion), Pak Dr. Erik Hiareij (Religion and Politi�s), Pak Dr. Sri Margana (History of Religion in Indonesia), Pak Dr. Al Makin (Biblical Hermeneutics from Islamic Perspective).
I also offer my thanks to all the Chairperson of Yayasan Universitas Katolik Parahyangan and the Rector of Universitas Katolik Parahyangan Bandung (the previous and the present Rector). I offer a special words of thanks to the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of UNPAR (the previous Dean Fr. Fabianus S.Heatubun PR, and the present Dean Fr. Chr.Harimanto Suryanugraha OSC) and all of the staff in Jalan Nias No.2, Bandung, West Java, who have given me a great opportunity to
1 ICRS: Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies. It consists of UGM (Universitas Gadj ah Mada), UKDW (Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana), UIN SUNAN KALIJAGA (Universitas Islam Negeri). vi pursue my higher educational program. For that purpose, UNP AR Foundation has given me permission forfive years of leaving for study in Yogyakai ia.
I also offer my words of thanks to UBICHEA (United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia). This body has given me a financial support (tuition fee ai1d living cost and health insurance, book allowances) so I can accomplish this study by writing this disse1iation. I also offer my words of thanks to the LUCE Institute who has given me an extra scholarship (financial support) so that I can conduct my Sandwich Program (visiting/associate/affiliate scholar-researcher) during one semester (four months) in the Faculty of Theology of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA.
Many thanks also were given to all of my classmates, ICRS-2010: Pak Andreas Jonathan (Magelang), Mas Nyong ETIS (UIN Sidoarj o), Mas Ayi Yunus (UIN Sunan Gunung Dj ati, Bandung), Mas Widiono Vij ayo (Buddhist Institute of Mendut), Naw Lily Kadeu (Myanmar Institute of Theology), Ibu Nia Widiastuti (UIN-SUKA Yogyakaiia), Ibu Elya (STAIN Purwokerto), Pak Yahya Tirta Perwita (Pastor of GKJ Purwantoro), mas Zikri Amrulah (UIN-SUKA Y ogyakarta), Pak Nazrudin Hamzah (UIN Sidoarjo), Brother Rooswell Duncan or Mr.RD (Ardi from USA), Brother Farid Ahmed (Bangladesh), and Pak Roni (Kebumen). Thanks for our togetherness during those five years of "struggling" together in Y ogyakaiia. Thanks a lot for our inspiring and insightful discussions, and for our mutual support to each other. Thanks forthe brotherhood and sisterhood we have gone through during those years of study; we have supported each other to move on in this difficult endeavor.
I also offer my words of thanks to the staff of some libraries in Yogyakarta and Bandung. First, to the staff of the library of UGM Graduate School, who has given me a great access to use the space and time in the library and also use all of the books available in it especially those related to my research. Also to the staffs of the central Library of UGM who have given me some facilities including the easy access to the online library and journals. I also offer my thanks to the chairperson and the vii staff of the Library of Kolese Santo Ignatius, Kotabaru, Y ogyakmta. The comfortable reading space has helped me in the process of this study. Thanks to the chairperson and the staff of the Library of Seminari Tinggi Santo Paulus Kentungan, Yogyakarta. They helped me by giving a permission to use the library and borrow some books.
Thanks also to the staffof the Library of Faculty of Philosophy of UNPAR, in Jalan Nias 2 Bandung, West Java. I also offer a words of thanks to Pak Silvester Goridus Sukur from ELTI Yogyakarta,2 who has given so much time and energy to read and correct the quality of my English. His hard work has transforms the quality of my dissertation. Al so a special words of thanks goes to Sr. Nance O'Neil RSCJ, who has also read and corrected the English "aspect" of my dissertation. 3
Thanks so much also for the all of the members of the Vocalfonsia Church Choir in Nandan Parish, Yogyakarta. They have become for us a second home and family with all their activities and services in the Church weekly liturgical celebrations. They help us to become at home in N andan and in Yogyakarta as well. And a very special thanks to Ibu Regina Ciptoningrum (the Chairperson of this Vocalfonsia Church Choir), and her husband (Bapa Y osef). Since our return to Bandung at the end of July 2015 we have stopped rent a house (!contra/can). Since then, every time we come back to Yogyakarta for a short visit in UGM,lbu Ningrum always opened their house in Dusun Sedan for us to stay for a night or two. Their cordial hospitality help us a lot in staying for some few days in Yogyakarta without any bustling to finda rent-room or a rent-house. God Bless you all.
I also offermy words of thanks to some people in Manggarai, Flores, where I have conducted my field research during more or less four months (September to
2 Branch Manager/National Academic Manager Lembaga Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris ELTI KOMP AS Gramedia Indonesia, Wijaya Grand Center F84 A-B. JI. Wijaya II Jakarta Selatan, JI. Sabirin 6, Kotabaru, Y ogyakarta.
3 She is a nun, from American native-speaker. A professional English teacher to teach English for non-native-speakers. viii December 2013). First of all to the Village Chief (Kepala Desa) of Ponto Ara, Bapak Hube1ius Luruk. He served as the head of the sub-parish of Perang (Rangga Parish). Also to Bapak Wilhelmus Seda, the Secretary of Desa Ponto Ara. Those two persons responsible for my meeting with some impo1iant resources person and the other people in Perang. They are Bapak Stanis Jomar, and Bapak Goris Garn. Bapak Stanis was a teacher for religion (Guru Agama) for a long time in Perang. He is also a Manggaraian professional ritual man, well-versed in ritual matters and ritual language. Bapak Goris is a retired elementary school teacher in Perang Catholic Elementary School (SDK: Sekolah Dasar Katolik). Those two persons are my main resources person during my field research in Perang. Surely I offer words of thanks to all of the people in Perang who welcome me to join together with them in some of their activities, including the Sunday Services in their simple Chapel and some other activities during my stay in their village.
Many thanks also offered to Father Isak Servulus SVD, which at that time served as the Father Provinsial (Pater Propinsial) of the SVD Province in Ruteng. With the accompaniment of my brother Kanisius Teobalcl Deki, I came to his office to ask for the special pennission so that I can use the noble heritage of Pater Jilis Verheij en SVD, Manggarai Text. At that time, in front of my friend as an eyewitness, he has given his oral-verbal agreement to me to use them. Many thanks also are given to Kanis Deki who has helped me to copy those Manggarai Text (17 vol.). There are also some other resources books on some Manggaraian studies written by Manggaraian scholars and observers. Kanis also provide and open his own house in Ruteng so that I can use it to have a time for reflection in which I can write clown and develop all the data that I have collected in Perang.
Special thanks also goes to my brother, Maximus Hasiman and his wife Erna, who has provided for me their comfo1iable home in Ruteng, in which I can work in a quiet and calm situation. Special thank also goes to my brother Kanis, Ona (his wife) and Nessa their daughter in Dempol. They have welcome me to stay in Dempol. Also
ix to Hubertus MT and Mercy (his wife) and their kids (Nathan and Felis). They have welcome me to stay in Dempol. Special thanks also goes to the family of my late Brother Marius Saridin and his wife Mertin and their three (at that time) kids (Kevin, Michelle, Jose). They welcome me for a short-stay in their house in Labuan Bajo to have a moment of silence to work on and develop my findings from field research. Special thanks also to my brother Edi Jemaun and Ermi (his wife) and their two kids (at that time, Brili and Geo). They also open their house and welcome me to stay for some time in Labuan Bajo for the same purposes.
I also offer my special words of thanks to my own family in Bandung, my wife Celestina Maria Supriatin Pepe, and my two children, Johanni Baptista A. M., and Gregorius Agung K. D. They were ready to move to Y ogyakarta to accompany me during my study for four years. A special thanks was offered to Agung for he has abandoned his previous comfmi-zone in SMP Santa Angela in Bandung and has to move to a new SMP of Y ohanes Bosco, Baciro, in Yogyakarta. I realize that that was a difficulttime for him because he has to adapt again to new school environment. It is not an easy matter. Also to my daughter Y oan who has to enter the boarding Catholic School, Sedes Sapientiae (The Th rone of Wisdom), in Bedono, Ambarawa, Central Java. Together we have moved from Bandung to Yogyakarta and try to go through a new life situation and environment in our rent-house (kontrakan) in Y ogyakmia.
Finally, I fullyrealize that there are so many people who have, in one way or another, involved in the process to accomplish this disse1iation. But the responsibility for all of the defects in it is my own responsibility. This work is still far away from perfection. Therefore, I will accept wholeheartedly all the critical comments, insights, notes and considerations, whosoever gives it to me, in order to make this work better. This would, I hope, become one further contribution to the Manggaraian-Studies.
Thanks and Praise God the Lord. Amen!
x ABSTRACT
This dissertation deals with the dynamic encounter between Catholicism and the culture of Manggaraian people, which have brought the transformation upon the life of Manggaraian people. They have shifted from the traditional way of life to a semi modern way of life. Such a shift and transfonnation can be seen in the model and the size of their houses, the way they cultivate their garden or fields, the way they produce and put on the dress, and also the performance of their original-indigenous religious rituals. This dissertation, therefore, tries to answer those following questions: 1). what are the most important myths and rituals in the recorded tradition and are they still influential? 2). Have they been changed through interaction with Catholicism? 3). has Catholicism in Manggarai been affected by these myths and rituals? 4). How theology deals with this cultural encounter? The research project performed in this dissertation is a qualitative research to the life practices and the oral tradition of Manggaraian people in Perang. In order to perform this research I have used some teclmiques: the literature research and the fieldresearch. Though originally Manggaraian society is a society characterized by a strong oral-tradition, but since the thi1iies, some missionaries have succeeded in writing down some cultural heritages of the people. Since then Manggaraian people have written their own history/tradition. From the records made by those early missionaries we can detect some significant changes in the traditional life pattern of Manggaraian people. I have foundtwo impacts between Catholicism and the culture of Manggarian people. Firstly, the transformative effect of the Catholicism upon several old (traditional) practices of Manggaraian people, including myths and rituals. Secondly, the transfonnativeeffect of the old Manggaraian practices upon the living-faithof the Manggaraian Catholic people, especially in Perang. In the first part, I mention some cases of transformation such as the change in the concept of human-being, space, and time. Related to the idea of human being I talk about the kinship system, the marriage, the birth, and the dead ritual. Related to the idea of space I talk about the house, village, and field for garden, cemetery, and water spring. Related to the idea of time I talk about the experience and the division of time in days, weeks, and months, traditional calendar system compared with the modern calendar system. In the olden time, Manggaraian people have their own traditional Calendar system. But since the coming of modernity brought by missionary and government, those traditional calendar system have been replaced by the modern one. Since then Manggaraian people forget the names and the functions
xi of those traditional calendar system. Here also I talk about the agricultural-spatial rituals in the life of Manggaraian people, for example the Penti ritual. Related to the second part, such a transformativeimpact can be noticed in the Eucharistic celebration especially during the great feast of the Church. In this celebration people inserted some local-traditional elements. There is also a similar change in the liturgical book song of Manggaraian Catholic Church, Dere Serani, in which there are a lot of local-traditional elements (adat) that have been adopted into it. There are also some conscious efforts clone by some Manggaraian theologians (liturgists) who wrote some liturgical book prayers. In that book they adopted some traditional rituals of the old life of Manggaraian people. By taking one of the models that has been put forwarded by Stephen Bevans, the anthropological model, I can say that there has been an attempt to establish a contextual theology. This model is the most appropriate one to be applied in this study. It is an anthropological model that can establish a bridge between the two sides that meet each other in a dialectic encounter. By using this model I try to highlight the new existence of Catholicism that has been lived by Manggaraian people in Perang and the old-traditional Manggaraian life that has been influenced by Catholicism (or Christianity). Finally I put forward some considerations on the theological discourses, used by some scholars (theologians, anthropologists) to name the above religious or cultural phenomenon. Some people put forward the terms like half and half person, two ways person, and reconciled religion. Some people put forwardthe terms like the "multiple religious belonging," or dual religious system. Having given some short critical evaluation on those above terms, I put forward my own choice of tenn to name and describe it. Following the discourse of post-colonial studies, I tend to call it the "hybrid identity."
Keywords: Myths, ritual, Manggarai Texts, Dere Serani, Catholic Religion, time, space, place, self-identity, Christian institution, missionary, transformation, self name, maniage, bi1ih, death, hybrid-identity.
xii ABSTRAK
Disertasi ini berbieara tentang pe1jumpaan dinamis antara Agama Katolik dan kebudayaan orang Manggarai. Perjumpaan itu telah membawa efekpe rubahan dalam kehidupan mereka. Mereka telah beralih dari pola kehidupan traditional menuju kc pola hidup semi-modern. Peralihan seperti itu dapat dilihat dalam model dan ukuran rumah mereka, dalam earn mereka mengolah kebun, dalam earn mereka menghasilkan dan mengenakan pakaian, dan juga dalam earn mereka melaksanakan ritual-ritual keagamaan mereka yang asli. Karena itu, dise1iasi ini meneoba menjawab beberapa pertanyaan berikut ini. 1). Apa saja mitos dan ritual yang paling penting yang sudah dieatat dalam tradisi tertulis dan apakah mereka masih berpengaruh dewasa ini? 2). Apakah mereka mengalami perubahan karena interaksi dengan Agama Katolik? 3). Apakah agama Katolik di Manggaraijuga dipengaruhi oleh mitos dan ritual itu? 4). Bagaimana teologi membahas mengenai gejala perjumpaan kultural tersebut? Penelitian yang dilakukan dalam disertasi ini adalah penelitian kualitatif terhadap praktik hidup dan tradisi lisan orang Manggarai di Perang. Dalam rangka melaksanakan penelitian ini saya telah memakai beberapa teknik, yaitu penelitian literatur dan penelitian lapangan. Walaupun seeara tradisional masyarakat Manggarai adalah masyarakat yang dieirikan oleh tradisi-oral yang kuat, tetapi sejak tahun tigapuluhan, beberapa misionaris telah menuliskan beberapa warisan kultural dari orang Manggarai. Sejak itu orang Manggarai memiliki tradisi tertulis mereka sendiri. Dari eatatan para misionaris awal itulah kita bisa menelusuri beberapa perubahan penting di dalam pola kehidupan tradisional orang Manggarai. Saya menemukan dua dampak antara Agama Katolik dan kebudayaan orang Manggarai. Pertama, dampak transformatifdari Agama Katolik atas pelbagai praktek lama (traditional) orang Manggarai, tennasuk mitos dan ritual. Kedua, dampak transfonnatif dari praktek lama orang Manggarai atas kehidupan iman yang nyata dari orang Katolik Manggarai, khususnya di Perang. Dalam bagian pertama, saya menyebut beberapa kasus perubahan. Misalnya, perubahan dalam konsep mengenai pribadi manusia, ruang, dan waktu. Terkait dengan ide mengenai pribadi manusia saya berbieara tentang sistem kekerabatan, ritual perkawinan, kelahiran, dan kematian. Terkait dengan ide mengenai ruang saya berbieara tentang rumah, kampung, lahan kebun, kuburan, dan mata air. Terkait dengan ide mengenai waktu saya berbieara tentang pengalaman dan pembagian waktu dalam hari, minggu, dan bulan, kalender tradisional dibandingkan dengan kalender modem. Dulu orang Manggarai memiliki sistem kalender sendiri. Tetapi sejak kedatangan jaman modem yang dibawa para misionaris dan pemerintah, kalender tradisional itu diganti dengan kalender modem. Sejak itu orang Manggarai lupa akan nama dan fungsi sistem kalender tradisional. Di sini juga saya berbieara xiii tentang ritual-ritual pertanian dan ruang dalam kehidupan orang Manggarai, seperti Penti. Terkait dengan bagian kedua, dampak transfonnatif seperti itu dapat diamati dalam perayaan Ekaristi khususnya selama perayaan besar Gereja. Dalam perayaan seperti itu orang berusaha menyelipkan beberapa elemen lokal-tradisional ke dalamnya. Ada juga perubahan serupa dalam buku nyanyian liturgis Gereja Katolik Manggarai, Dere Serani. Di sana ada banyak elemen lokal-tradisional (adat) yang dimasukkan ke dalamnya. Ada juga beberapa upaya yang sadar yang dilakukan oleh beberapa teolog (liturgis, katekis) Manggarai untuk: menulis beberapa buku doa liturgis Manggarai. Dalam buku sepe1ii itu mereka menerima beberapa ritual tradisional dari kehidupan lama orang Manggarai. Dengan mengambil salah satu model yang dikemukakan Stephen Bevans, yaitu model antropologis, saya mengatakan bahwa sudah terjadi suatu upaya untuk membangun teologi kontekstual. Model ini 8 Kata Kunci: mitos, ritual, Manggarai Texts, Dere Serani, agama Katolik, waktu, ruang, diri, identitas, lembaga Kristiani, misionaris, transformasi, nama-diri, perkawinan, kelahiran, kematian, hybrid-identity. xiv NOTES ON MANGGARAIAN ORTHOGRAPHY Manggarai is an oral tradition. All of the discourses are expressed, communicated, and preserved in oral language. Manggarai has no alphabetical system of their own, like the other tribes in Indonesia (the Javanese, the Bataks, the Bugis, etc). As faras I know, the first effmi to write Manggaraian language was DS project at the 1920s. At that time there was an activity of the church to translate some western liturgical songs into Manggaraian language. That is the first attempt to write the Manggaraian language. At the beginning of the twenties there was a Dutch missionary, named Adolf Burger SYD. He started a linguistic research on Manggaraian language. At that time he studied the Manggaraian grammar. He was a professional linguist. He has made some studies and also some notes based on his research. Unfortunately he died too quickly before he made a significantcontribution to Manggarai. But from his limited studies we owned some heritage. Some of them can be found in the books of P. Yerheijen. In 1936 came a new and young missionary from the Netherlands. His name was Jilis Yerheijen SYD. Since the beginning he devoted his lifeto the study of the Mang&araian studies. He has made some research and published some publication on Manggarai. The complete information on his publications can be found in the bibliography of this study. In his book on Manggaraian Historiography, Dami N. Toda once proposed the hypothesis that it is possible that the Todo people may have their own literal tradition brought by them in their migration to Manggarai, Todo. They are supposed to have had their own written tradition, maybe fromMalay root. They are supposed to have brought some of those written heritages and texts in their journey to Todo. But, unfortunately, according to Toda, all of those heritages have been burnt down in the pillage (purak) that has been performed by the Cibals troops to Todo. But I think this hypothesis of Toda, cannot be defended based on the historical fact in Manggarai. If xv they previously have a written tradition, at least they have written agam those traditions after being destroyed by their enemies. But the fact is that, the light of literacy just brought by missionaries at the beginning of twentieth century. After made some sho1i study of Manggaraian vocabolaries, it is clear that in Manggaraian language there are no such letters like v or f, x, y, z, q. There are no words that started with those letters. If there are Manggaraian words use such letters that is the clear sign that those words are adopted from foreign language. For example: ziarah. There is also no combination letters like in Indonesian language. For example: Ny, in the word, nyonya or nyanyi, nyiur. Manggaraian people do not have such words in their language. All of the words that using such combination of consonants of Ny, are adopted words. That is why, in the seventies, it was difficult for the Manggaraian school children to pronounce the words containing such combination: nyanyi, nyonya. At that time, they tended to pronounced it using the combination of ng: ngangi, ngonga, etc. In Manggaraian language we find another consonant combinations. For example there are a lot of words that started with the combination of consonants nd (for example: ndodol, ndibol, ndotuk, ndeng, ndaeng, ndaek, etc), mb (for example: mbata, mbara, mbare, mboros, mbau, mbotek, mbongang, mbira, mber, etc), nt (for , example: ntileng, ntalung, ntieng, ntaung, ntangis, etc), ng (for example: ngkaer, ngkerok, ngkeros, ngkero, ngkor, ngkes, ngkak, ngkang, etc). There are also the c/s shift phenomenon. There are some words that started with letter c, but in the other places this letter c was changed into s. For example: ca/sa, cua/sua, poco/poso, co'o/so'o, cei/sei, cepisa/sepisa, ciok/siok, cio/sio, etc. There is also the s/h-shift phenomenon in Manggaraian language. Some words are stmied with letter s in one region. But in another region this letter s was changed with h. For example: leso/leho, salang/halang, sili/hili, sale/hale. Or the letter in the middle of a words. For example: kuse/kuhe, sepisa/sepiha, pisa/piha. Or the letter s in the end of the word was also changed with letter h. For example: rukus/rukuh, molas/molah, weras/werah. Even xvi some baptismal names were also changed and pronounced in that way. For example: Radus/Raduh, Tinus/Tinuh, Markus/Markuh, and Pius/Piuh. There are also some words in Manggaraian languge that consists of the combination of a different version of the pronunciation of letter E. The first is e, like the one we use in the following article: a table, a teacher, etc. The second is the e, like the one we use in the following words: liberation. l.Jsually its combination is started with a nonnal e and then continued with the 6. For example: Ende, hese, tese, mejeng, mbelc, kete, etc. In this study in general I just follow the system that has been established by pater Verheijen SYD. He has put forwarded his system in some of his books. For example, in his Kamus Manggarai-Indonesia (the Dictionary of Manggarai Indonesia), in his book of Manggaraian Highest God, and his collection of Manggarai Texts. I also follow the system that has been used by the Liturgical Book of Dere Serani. In that book, for example, we can findthe written version of the name of God: Mori Keraeng (instead of Mori Kraeng, or Mori Kreang, proposed by M. Erb). For the complete information on this Manggaraian orthography, I have provided also the list of Manggaraian vocabularies used in this study. xvii TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE...... i APPilOVAL STATEMENT ...... ii PERSONAL STATEMENT ...... iii DEDICATION PAGE...... iv ACI(NOWLEDGEMENT ...... v ABSTRACT ...... xi NOTES ON MANGGARAIAN ORTHOGRAPHY...... xv TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... xviii lJST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...... xxv LIST OF TABLES, PICTURES, AND PHOTOGRAPHS ...... xxix C HAPTERI INTRODUCTION...... 1.1 Background of the Study ...... 1.2 Formulation of the Proble1n ...... 5 1.3 Research Questions ...... 9 1.4 Research Methods ...... 9 1.5 The Objectives and the Significances of the Study...... 10 1.6 Theoretical Fra1neworks ...... 13 1. 7 The Interreligious Perspective...... 27 1.8 Outline of the Study...... 29 xviii C H A P T E R II MANGGARAIAN PEOPLE IN PERANG: WHO ARE 1'1-IEY? ...... 33 2.1. Introduction ...... 33 2.2. Perang: Some Basic Information...... 33 2.2.1. Geographical Information ...... 33 2.2.2. Educational Infonnation...... 36 2.2.3. Livelihood Infonnation...... 36 2.2.4. Infrastructure Development ...... 38 2.2.5. The Mentality of People ...... 40 2.3. Manggaraian Perang People: Where Do They Come From? ...... 41 2.3.1. The Origin of Manggaraian People ...... 42 2.3.2. History of Manggaraian Perang People ...... 46 2.3.2.1. Small Migrations to Perang ...... 47 2.3.2.2. Rangga Aur People ...... 47 2.3.2.3. Ndasa People...... 52 2.3.2.4. Perang Wase People ...... 56 2.3.2.5. Perang A111be People ...... 57 2.3.2.6. Original Perang People ...... 57 2.4. Manggaraian Perang People Became Catholic ...... 58 2.4.1. Perang as a Sub-Division of Rangga Parish ...... 62 xix 2.4.2. Chapel, School, and Graveyard in Perang ...... 63 2.4.3. The Head of the Village (Kepala Desa)...... 65 2.5. My Local Infonnants ...... 66 2.6. Conclusion ...... 70 CH APTER III MANGGARAIAN MYTHS AND RITUALS: THEN (MT) AND NOW (PERANG) ...... 72 3 .1. Introduction ...... 72 3.2. Manggaraian Texts (MT) ...... 73 3.3. Manggaraian Myths Documented By Verheij en ...... 79 3.3.1 Myths about God: Then and Now ...... 80 3.3.2 Myths on the Beginning of the Earth: Then and Now...... 85 3.3.3 Myths on the Creation of Human Beings: Then and Now ...... 89 3.3.4 Myths on the Beginning of Food: Then and Now...... 92 3.3.5 The Paradox of the Ritual Killing Myth...... 95 3.4. Rituals in Manggaraian People's Life: Then and Now ...... 97 3.5. The Ritual of Penti ...... 100 3.6. Assessing the Continuing Impact of Old Myths and Rituals ...... 103 3.7. Conclusion...... 109 xx CH APTER IV THE IMPACT Oli' CATHOLICISM ON MANGGARAIAN TRADITIONAL LIFE ...... 113 4.1. Introduction ...... 113 4.2. J-Iu1nanBe ing ...... 114 4.2.1.l(inship Systc111 ...... 114 4.2.2. The Birth Event and Its Rituals ...... 118 4.2.3. The Marriage Event and Its Rituals ...... 124 4.2.4. The Death Event and Its Rituals...... 132 4.3. The Concept of Space ...... 140 4.3.1. House ...... 141 4.3.2. Village ...... 145 4.3.3. Round Field for Garden (Lodok) ...... 148 4.3.4. Cernetery ...... 150 4.3.5. Wat�r Spring ...... 153 4.4. The Perception ofTi111e...... 155 4.4.1. Days...... 156 4.4.2 Weeks ...... 158 4.4.3. Months...... 161 4.5. The hnpacts on Myths ...... 169 4.6. Conclusion...... 173 xxi C H A P T E R V SEEING THE MANGGARAIAN IMPACT IN THE LITURGY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN MANGGARAI...... 176 5.1. Introduction ...... 176 5.2. Four Pillars of Catechis111 ...... 177 5.3. Fides Celebrandi: The First Gate to Enter ...... 179 5.3.1. In Eucharist ...... 180 5.3.2. ln Liturgical Songs inDS ...... 184 5.3.2.1. Changes in Christological Discourses...... 185 5.3.2.2. Church as New Adat-House ...... 191 5.3.2.2.1. Roko Mo las Poso Ritual...... 192 5.3.2.2.2. Why Adat-House? ...... 196 5.3.2.2.3. Adat-House inDS ...... 200 5.3.2.3. Changes in Mariological Discourses ...... ,...... 202 5.4. Fides Grandi: The Second Gate to Enter ...... 208 5.4. l. Indigenous Rituals and Prayers inDS ...... 211 5.4.2. Traditional Ritual Prayers Incorporated Into Catholic Prayer...... 214 5.5. Fides Vivendi: The Third Gate to Enter ...... 226 5.6. Conclusion...... 231 CHAP TERVI ESTABLISHING CONTEXTUAL-THEOLOGY: FROM "A FLYING BIG BIRD" TO "A FLYING HOLY SPIRIT" ...... 236 xxii 6.1. Introduction ...... 236 6.2. What Is Contextual Theology? ...... 237 6.3. Tracing the Contextual Effort in Manggarai ...... 241 6.4. The Traditional Pneumatology ...... 246 6.5. The Modem Pneumatology ...... 250 6.6. Manggaraian World of Spirit: Toward a Manggaraian Pneumatology ...... 254 6.6.1. The Adoption of Songka Lesong Ritual in Eucharist ...... 258 6.6.2. Fenti, Songka Lesong in the Tumerian Triadic Perspective ...... 264 6.6.3. The Bird Metaphor: A Flying Big Bird ...... 270 6.6.4. From "Hendeng Kaka Mese " to "Hendeng Mori Mese " ...... 273 6.7. On Naming and Evaluating the Phenomenon ...... 278 6.8. Conclusion ...... 285 C HAPTE R VII GENERAL CONCLUSION ...... 289 7.1. Tradition: Between Sustainability and Adaptability...... 290 7.2. Concluding Remarks: Summary...... 292 7.3. Some New Findings of this Study...... 299 7.4. New Theoretical Frainework ...... 305 7.5. Some Prospects and Recommendations ...... 305 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 311 xxiii APPENDIX...... 355 1. Manggaraian Glossaries Used in this Study...... 355 2. Latin Glossaries ...... 366 3. Ethical Aspects ...... 3 71 4. Other Resources Person ...... 373 5. Insider's Perspective ...... 376 6. Myth of the Beginning of Some Animals (Then and Now) ...... 378 7. Manggaraian Original Calendar fromMT ...... 384 8. Manggaraian Original Calendar from Wae Rebo...... 386 9. So1ne Texts of DS...... 388 xxiv LIST OF ABBREVIATONS Acts : The Acts of the Apostles (the book in the New Testament) Alb., : Albertus AG., : Ad Gentes (Towards the Nations) ATES EA : Association for Theological Education in South East Asia. BA., : Bachelor of Atis Bides : Bidan Desa BPK., : Badan Penerbit Kristen Ca., : Circa CCC., : Catechism of Catholic Church Cfr., : Confer CSsR., : Congregatio Sanctissima Redemptor (The Congregation of the Holy Redeemer) CUP., : Cambridge University Press D., : Diploma DC., : District of Columbia DS., : Dere Serani (Christian Liturgical Songs) DM., : Dives in Misericordia (Dive in the Love of God) DokPen., : Dokumentasi dan Penerangan (Documentation and Information) Eds., : Editors Ed., : Editor EN., : Evangelii Nuntiandi (The Gosple Proclamation). Esp., : Especially Et.,al., : Et Alii (and other friends) FR., : Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason) Gal., : Galatians (a Letter to the Galatians) Gen., : Genesis (the Book of Genesis of the Bible) xxv GIG., : Gereja Kristen Jawa (The Javanese Calvinist Church) Ibid., : Ibidem (refers to the same book cited above) ICRS., : Indonesian Consortium forReligious Studies IRS., : Inter-Religious Studies Jer., : Jeremiah (the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah) Jn., : John (The Gospel of John) JPIC., : Justice, Peace, and the Integ1ity of Creation KITLV., : Koninklijk In stituut voor Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde (The Institut of the Kingdom for Language, Land, and the Culture of the people) KWI., : Konferensi Wedi Gereja In donesia (The Conference of Indonesian Catholic Bishopos) LAI., : Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia (Indonesian Bible Society) (Protestants) LBI., : Lembaga Biblika In donesia (Indonesian Biblical Society) (Catholics) LIPI : Lembaga !!mu Pengetahuan Indonesia (Indonesian Foundation for Science and Knowledge) MAWI ., : Maje/is Wa li Gereja Indonesia (The Indonesian Conference of Catholic Bishops) Mgr., : Monsignour (Bishop) MT., : Manggarai Texts NCES., : New Catholic Encyclopedia+ Supplement NTB., : Nusa Tenggara Barat (West Nusa Tenggara) NTT., : Nusa Tenggara Timur (East Nusa Tenggara) NY., : New York OB., : Orbis Books OFM., : Ordo Fratrum Minorum (Ordo Saudara Dina) The Order of Minor Brothers Op.cit., : Op ere Citato (The work that has been referred to) osc., : Ordo Sanctae Crucis ( Ordo Salib Suci) The Order of the Holy Cross xxvi OUP., : Oxford University Press PCTA ., : Programme forCultures and Theology in Asia POLIN D ES : Poliklinik Desa (Village Health Centre Clinic) pp., : pages (paginas) p., : page (pagina) Pict., : Picture PKK., : Pendidikan Kesejahteraan Keluarga (The Education for the Family Welfare) PML : Pusat Musik Liturgi PR., : Presbyter Ps., : Psalm(s). RM., : Redemptoris Missio (The Mission of the Redeemer) Rom., : Romans (Letter to the Romans) Rp., : Rupiah (Rupee) RMP., : Roko Mo las Poso (Eloping the Mountain Bride) SC., : Sacrosanctum Concillium (The Sacred Council) SD., : Selwlah Dasar (Elementary School) SDK., : Sekolah Dasar Katolilc (Catholic Elementary School) SekDes., : Sekretaris Desa (Secretary for theVillage govermnent) SekPas., : Sekretariat Pastoral (Pastoral Secretary) SJ., : Societas Jesu (Seri/wt Yesus); the Society of Jesus SLTA., : Sekolah Lanjutan Ti ngkat Atas (School for the Further Level) SLTP., : Sekolah Lanjutan Tingkat Pertama (School for the First Level) SMP., : Sekolah Menengah Pertama (Junior High School) STFT., : Sekolah Tinggi Filsafa t dan Te ologi (High School for Philosophy and Theology). STAIN., : Sekolah Tinggi Agama Is lam Negeri (High School for State Islamic Religion) xxvii STKIP., : Sekolah Tinggi Keguruan dan llmu Pendidikan (High School for Teaching and the Science of Education) SVD., : Societas Verbi Divini (Serikat Sabda Allah), The Society of the Word of God. Sl : Strata 1 TeoR., : The Encyclopedia of Religion UBI CHEA : United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia UIN-SUKA : Universitas Islam Negeri (Sunan Kalijaga); State University oflslam UGM., : Universitas Gadjah Mada (Gadj ah Mada University) UKDW., : Universitas Kristen Duta Wa cana (Protestant University of Duta Wacana) UK., : United Kingdom UNPAR., : Universitas Katolik Parahyangan (Catholic University of Parahyangan) voe., : Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie. VS., : Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth) vu., : Vrij e Universiteit (Free University) YOI., : Yayasan Obar Indonesia (The Foundation of Obor oflndonesia) YUP., : Yale University Press xxviii LIST OF TABLES, PICTURES, AND PHOTOGRAPHS PICTURES: Picture 1 : The Map of Perang Village (p.34) Picture 2 : The Map of Java, Bali, West and East Nusa Tenggara (p.34) Picture 3 : The Map of Great Manggarai (United). (p.35) Picture 4 : Mengenal (Sejarah) Rumah Ada Wae Rebo (p.140) TABLES: Table 1 : Table of Educational Information in Perang (p.36) Table 2 : Content of MT (p.78-79) Table 3 : Comparative Food genesis (p.94) Table 4 : Comparative Myths in Manggarai (Then and Now) (p.97) Table 5 : Comparative Manggaraian Birth and Catholic ritual (p.123) Table 6 : Comparative Marital rituals (p.129-130) Table 7 : Comparative Death rituals (p.13 9) Table 8 : Comparative cemetery (p.153) Table 9 : Comparative Calendar Month's names (p.162) Table 10 : Comparative Penti and Eucharist (p.263-264) Table 11 : Comparative Jesus' sacrifice and Penti (p.267-268) PHOTOGRAPHS: Photo 1 : The hat made of Werek (p.37) Photo 2 : Displaying House in Perang (p.38) Photo 3 : Mbaru Niang in Todo (p.48) Photo 4 : Adat House from the twenties of the last century (p.49) Photo 5 : Bapak Stanislus Jomar (p.67) xx ix Photo 6 : Bapak Gregorius Garn (p.69) Photo 7 : Caci Dance in Manggarai (p.128) Photo 8 : Mbaru Adat Manggarai, Niang (p.142) Photo 9 : Sompang (p.146) Photo 10 : Lodok Wae Mata (Flores Bangkit.com) (p.149) Photo 11 : lltdak in Eucharist in front of Bishop Edu Sangsun (p.182) Photo 12 : Tudak in Eucharist in front of Bishop van Bekkum (p.183) Photo 13 : Photo of Church in Pagal (p.198) Photo 14 : New Photo of Pagal Church (p.199) xxx CHAPTER! INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the Study Foreign occupation in Manggarai has a long history. It sta1ied since time immemorial (Erb 1999:65; Reid 1988:6). Some referred to the occupation by Majapahit (Hemo 1988:37-39; Parimartha 2002:86-88). The clear sign was since the sixteenth century by Goa (Erb 1999:65; Verheijen 1991:23-24; Toda 1999:57-60; Allerton 2013:10-11; Steenbrink 2006:137-142). It was continued with the Dutch at the onset of twentieth century (Erb 1999:66-69; Verheijen 1991:23-24; Coolhaas 1942: 174; Toda 1999:222-245). Catholic Church entered Manggarai at the end of nineteenth century. Compared to East Flores, its coming to Manggarai is new (Steenbrink 2006:137-142; Aritonang & Steenbrink 2008:229-237; Erb 1999:84-100; Toda 1999:326-339; Bettray 1974:1255). East Flores had been Christianized since sixteenth century. West Flores was missionized at the beginning of the twentieth century (Steenbrink, 2006:137-142; Erb 1999:84-100; Aritonang & Steenbrink, 2008:73-78; Prior 2011 :66). 1 Though the coming of Christianity in South-East Asia preceded colonialism (Kim 2008 :3-21; Bakker 1970; Steenbrink 2006; England 1993: 145-147), 1 its coming to Manggarai was at the same time with colonialism (Erb 1999:84-100; Toda 1999:326-339; Verheijen 1991:23-24; Betray 1974:1255; Steenbrink 2006:137-142). One target of colonization was Nusantara, including Manggarai (Steenbrink 2006:137-142; Boelaars 1995:56-103; Toda 1999:326-339; Erb 1999:84-100; Molnar 1997:393-408). Missionary activities were part of the policy to "casting faiths" geographically in Nusantara (DuBois 2007:1-15; 175-189). Missionaries brought change to Manggaraian' s life. One agenda of missionaries and colonial government was cultural transformation because they viewed history as linear, developing from "savages" to modernityand Christianity was considered the religion of modernity. Missionaries came from countries that had been transformed by Christianity. One-and-a-half-millennia histo1y of western Christianity had changed their life. People talked of the "Christian character of Europe" (Phan 2003: 154). This is the Germanization of the Church, a cultural process in which the Church changed and was transformed by the Germanic world (M.R., Francis, 2000:34-37; J.C.Russel, 1994; A.F.Walls, 1996:16-25).2 People still find traces of the old religious practices.3 1 See Gillman and Klimkeit, 1999:312; Moffet 1998:265-269. 2 Those two last books are important forthe history of missionary effect on the development of Christian faith. J.C.Russcl's book talks about the Teutonic influence on Christianity. AF.Walls' book describes the transformation of faithin history due to missionary movement. 3 For example, the name of the days: Sunday is the day of Sun; Monday is derived from an Old English Monandaeg, Moonday, a day for Moon, or Wednesday is (old Anglo-Saxon 2 Missionaries who came to Manggarai also brought their Christianized "European" culture. The Christian faith they brought had undergone the process of contextualization. In Flores, missionaries coming from a patiicular culture (Dutch, German, and Polish), proclaimed the gospel which had been wrapped in their culture. They proclaimed it to people in a different culture. There were three cultures involved: Dutch culture, Gospel culture, and Manggaraian culture (Phan 2003:83; Amaladoss 1998:20-23; Shorter 200613-16). When missionaries performed their task they took two steps: decontextualization and recontcxtualization (Bevans 2006:46). Manggaraian people have their own culture, way of life, vision of life, world view, traditions, myths, "religious" practices and beliefs (Hoskins 1987: 136-138). Those systems were " ... fundamentally worthwhile aspects of.. .life " (Chua 2012:93). They upheld those systems since time immemorial. There must be something positive in those traditions. Should they not contain something good, they could not fum:tion as strategies forlife. Therefore, in mission, there appears an intercultural encounter. Since the coming of the Church, Manggaraian people's life changed from a traditional life to a new one based on the Christian faith. For example, weekly life culminated on Sunday. Then they lived in two world views, the Christian world view and their own. The first comprises church doctrines and practices. The second is the heritage of oral tradition and practices. The later exists in villages. The first exists in language) Wodnesdaeg, Woden's Day, the day of Wood. Behind these names there was a trace of old religious practices (worship of sun, moon, and wood). The old world continued to exist in the new world of Christianity. See Everyman 's Encyclopedia, vol.11, p.668; vol.8, p.633; vol. 12, p.535. The complete informationon this book, see bibliography. 3 the mission center.4 This distinction is a result of the method of missionaries' work. When they came, they established mission centers separated from villages (Hefner 1993). They consist of mission facilities such as a parish church, 5 a house for a priest, a school building (Verheijen 1991, Steenbrink 2006; Toda 1999). In villages there were traditional-round-big houses inhabited by hundred people (Erb 1999:103; Verheijen 1991:23-27; Alle1ion 2013:44; Nooteboom 1939:221; Hefner 1993). The first mission stations in Manggarai were Ruteng, Lengko Aj ang, and Rekas (Steenbrink 2006:1 85-199; Bettray 1974: 1255; Kristiyanto 2009:241 -294; Regus & Deki 2011 :197-242). Later they came to Rejeng, Ranggu, Lengko Elar, Pagal (Betray 1974; Eddy Kristiyanto 2009). Missionaries established their missionary posts near to villages hoping that they would be able to influence and transform the life of the people (Barker 1993).6 It is believed that they should live near the villages but not in the village. They hope that by so doing they will be able to be independent of the village but at the same time, they hope they can transform the life of the villagers. 4 This distinction can also be found in some other places. See the study of some scholars in Hefner's book (1993) and Lingenfelter (1992). 5 The old and new Cathedral ofRuteng imitate the architecture of European Church; churches in Pagal and Lengko Aj ang imitate the architecture of the local adat-house. See Boelaars 2005:415-416; Sejarah Gereja, 1974, vol.4, p.188. 6 This method does not apply in Manggarai only, but also in other places: Sumba (Hoskins J., 1987; Steenbrink 2006:305-332), Timor (Hicks 1987; Steenbrink 2006:261-299), South Pacificand Australia (Yengoyan 1993; Barker J., 1993), Africa (Ranger T., 1993), and South America (Merril W.L., 1993; Pollock D.K., 1993). Articles of Yengoyan, Barker J., Ranger, Merril, Pollock, can be found in the book of Robert Hefner, 1993 (see bibliography). 4 1.2. Formulation of the Problem Missionary activities started in 1922 (Eddy Kristiyanto 2009:24 1 -294; Erb 1999:84-100; Bettray 1974:1255; Steenbrink 2006:185-199; Allerton 2013:10; 44- 45). This is the date of the corning of the SVDs. A decade before (Steenbrink 2006; Aritonang & Steenbrink 2008) a priest gave short-time service in No11h-West Manggaraian coastal areas. He was a Jesuit (P.Hendrikus Looijrnans, SJ) who had been expelled from Surnba in the "race" with Protestants (Steenbrink 2006:261-299; 300-332; Aritonang & Steenbrink 2008:229-342; Bettray in Muskens 1974: 1255).7 Manggaraian Church claims October 1912 as its stmting point. That is why the Catholic Church held its centennial celebration in October 2012.8 Its agendas of modernization have transformed Manggaraian's life. The transformation was achieved through education, infrastructure, roads, traditional houses, clothes, health services, literacy, and agricultural technology (D.Toda 1999:326-339; M.Erb 7 Realizing this bitter experience of Sumba failure, the missionary endorsed those new baptizants in Manggarai that they should not give up: Ja ngan kalah (don 't give up) . That is why the name of the shore is Jengkalang. The name perpetuated the expell of Catholic missionaries from Sumba. Y.Luckas CSsR, "Sejarah Gereja Katolik di Wilayah Keuskupan Weetabula," in Muskens (ed), 1974. Sejarah Gereja Katolik, vol.3b, pp. 1346-1393 (esp., 1356-58.60). 8 This moment has been commemorated and celebrated in Ruteng since October 2012 with so many cultural events and academic activities, etc. 5 1999:92-93; J.Verheijen 1991 :23-32; Ben Mboi 2011:341 -404; K.Steenbrink 2006: 185-199; C.Allerton 2013:1-16). Steenbrink (2006:698-703) seems to uphold the opinion of "total destruction" after such an encounter: traditional life of Manggarai disappeared. The coming of world-religions destroyed indigenous religions. They are forgotten (D 'Costa 2009: ix). A similar notion also put forward by Boelaars (2005:19-21). He took the illustration of the invasion of palm-oil plantations into Indonesia's ecological system, destroying humus of Sumatera, Borneo, and Celebes. The Dutch colonial government brought a plant from Africa here and cultivated it in the Botanical Garden in Bogor. Then they spread it throughout Nusantara. It destroyed the original ecological system. Some anthropological studies in Africa have put forward similar views. For example, H.J. Fisher (1973:27-40; 1985:153-173) compared the coming of world religions qslam, Christianity) with a juggernaut which destroys the surface of the land. Verheijen (1991:24; Boelaars 2005: ix) also held similar opinions. When the world religions came, local "religious" practices disappeared. 9 This happens because those indigenous systems cannot compete with the sway of modernity. People talk about the total rupture (discontinuity) with the past (Chua 2012:7- 1 8). There is no room forthe discourse on a continuity with the past. 9 General Editors of the book of among others, M.Erb (1999), also hold the similar view because their main project's title is: "The vanishing cultures of the world. " This title presupposes that there are some cultures in the world that are in the process disappearing from the stage of human history. 6 After a centennial celebration of the Catholic Church in Manggarai, the old tradition and ritual practices of Manggaraian people did not disappear. In 2011 a book was published in Jakarta at the initiative of tw o researchers from Ruteng. They proved that Manggaraians still remember and practice the old traditions which flourish in one form or another.10 As stated by Crystal & Yamashita (1982:48), indigenous religions in Indonesia still exist and flourish. They did not disappear due to the invasions of colonialism and missionary activities (Chamber-Lair & Reid 2002: xv-xviii; Molnar 1997:393-408; Archie C.C.Lee, 2008:179; Allerton 2013; Erb 1999). Tylor said that remains of the previous culture can survive and recur in the next development (Tylor 1958:16; referred to in Moore 2009:12). There is no total disappearance. It is true that global colonialism has brought significant change for the targeted community (Yasinto, SVD 2012:245-280). It has shaken the structure of traditional societies with modernization and development programs. But they did not disappear. The past spiritual and religious heritage persists in forms of adaptations (Kim 2008: 179-204; Elwood 1976:60-66; 67-80; Chua 2012; Aragon 2000). Manggaraian tradition is still alive in a modified fonn. Through a historical stmggle of negotiations and adaptations, Manggaraian traditions adjusted with Christianity. It is no wonder that in this modem era there is a revival of them (Erb 10 See Regus & Deki (eds), 201 1. Gereja Menyapa Ma nggarai, Jakarta: Parrhesia Institute. It consists of notes based on interview to elder people from many villages. There are rituals for birth, dead, marry, open a new field, build an adat house, etc. 7 1999; 2003; 2007). It appears in the form of Fenti (traditional New Year celebration) in Ruteng at the initiatives of Manggaraians in Java (Jakarta), and suppo1ied by the govermnent and the church. It means that still the remnants of the old world view remain. They still exist somewhere in the collective historical memory of the people. A renaissance movement strives to revive the past in the present. In this study, I investigate Manggaraian oral tradition documented by Pater Jilis A.Verheijen SVD in the thirties and forties. His books were published in simple books in Ruteng fromthe seventies to the eighties. These texts will be compared with the result of my field-research data from Perang village. Having collected Manggaraian oral traditions, Pater Verheij en published them in seventeen volumes, with the general title Manggarai Texts (hereafter: MI). In that collections, he has documented several Manggaraian oral traditions since the end of thirties. The themes for my research are myth of origin (god, world, human being, staple food) and rituals. In this study I also try to compare those materials (MI) with the memory of the Perang people. Oral traditions were the most important world view of Manggaraians before the coming of Christianity (Catholicism). They are the fundamentals of Manggaraian modes of existence related to the questions of the meaning of life, their destiny, what happen after they died. They are relevant to the question of the ultimate purpose of people's life such as where they come from, where they will go after life in this world has terminated, for what reason they exist in this life. 8 1.3. Research Questions In this study I answer the fo llowing research questions: 1). what are the most important myths and rituals in the recorded tradition and are they still influential? 2). Have they been changed through interaction with Catholicism? 3). has Catholicism in Manggarai been affected by these myths and ritual? 4). How theology deals with this cultural encounter? 1.4. Research Methods Thi� is a qualitative research on the tradition of Manggaraian people documented by Verheijen. I employ a number of techniques: literature and field research. First, I make a preparatory study of the practices in MT, on Manggaraian tradition. Secondly, I made a field research to answer the second, the third, and the fomih questions. I focus on the attempt to know whether those myths and rituals of the past still apply in the same way in the present. I searched for evidence of the myth's influence in the present. Here I used the interview method with adat leaders, ritual men, teachers, catechists, and ordinary people. For that purpose I conducted "in-depth interviews" and "focus-group-discussions" with some people in Perang. I 9 discussed the practices of their lives with elder people. I also opened my mind to the young generation who have an adequate knowledge of the praxis of traditional life. By staying among the people I became a participant observer. I consider myself an insider. I do not have difficulties in language. Manggarai is my mother tongue. The Indonesian language is my second language. 11 In that sense I did not have difficulties concerning language. The primary source and the main texts formy research were written in the Manggaraian language. 1.5. The Objectives and Significanceof the Study In this study I tried to achieve five objectives. 1 ). to explore the myths and rituals that have been recorded in the MT of Verheijen. 2). to investigate whether those old practices still influence the lifeof the people now. 3). to investigate whether those old practices of Manggaraian people have been changed by the interaction with Catholic Church 4). to explore whether the practices of the Catholic Church have been transformed by some aspects of the old "religion" 5) to establish a contextual theology based on the study between the influences of Catholic Church and the existence of the old religious beliefsand practices ofManggaraian people. 11 Kim Knott, "Insider/Outsider Perspectives," in John R.Hinnels (ed.), The Routledge Companion to the study �f Religion, London and NY:Rout ledge, 2005, pp.243-258. 10 The significance of this study should be viewed in a connection with other religious studies in Indonesia. First, the study of oral tradition, especially myths and rituals of Manggaraian people, is limited. There are some studies by missionaries: van Bekkum (1944; 1946; 1952), Verheijen (1967; 1991), and de Graaf (1960). Works by Manggaraians are still limited. Those works can be traced in the study of Bagul (1997), Daeng (1989), Nggoro (2006), Janggur (201 0), Robot (2010), Antar (201 0), and Deki (2011 a; 2011 b ). Here I explore Manggaraian oral tradition, especially myths and rituals. Secondly, there is a conviction that when people have lost their own tradition, then they lose everything. Hiebert and Hiebe1i (1987: 15-22) show that when people abandon their tradition and embrace Christianity, they often became perplexed because they have attached themselves to something that has been abandoned by those people who have offered it to them if Christianity has lost its attractiveness in the former countries of missionaries. People in the new world, who were the "objects" of missionary activities are perplexed. I analyze the components of oral traditions (myths, rituals) that still survive in the life of Manggaraian people which help Manggaraians overcome such perplexity. Because Christianity has been rooted in the life of Manggaraian people (Erb 2007; Molnar 1997), this study tries to answer the question on how oral traditions can survive the blow of modernization. I want to answer the question about how a model of contextual theology that can be developed and fitted to the real condition of Manggarai. 11 Third, there are a lot of religious studies on Indonesia, but they are conducted by western scholars. For example, the studies of Aragon (2000) and Waterson in Sulawesi (2009), Kipp in Batak (1993), Geertz in Java and Bali (1960, 1973), Connoly in Borneo (1976; 2003), Kuipers (1998) and Hoskins (1987) in Sumba, Burger (1930), De Graaf (1960), Verheijen (1991) and van Bekkum (1939) in Manggarai, and some SVDs. Indonesian scholars have conducted some limited studies.12 This study, hopefully, adds to the studies and the research on religious communities in Indonesia conducted by Indonesians, from the perspective of an .Indonesian,a Manggaraian. Fourth, the study of oral tradition in Indonesia is still limited. The same can also be said of the study of myths and rituals. If thouse kinds of studies are available, then surely most of them are conducted by foreign scholars. This study is one way to appreciate the local traditions which is very important forthe development of human being and their culture. In a sense those local traditions become like a popular religion and, Peter C. Phan said that (2003: xii), popular religions play an important role in the construction of contextual theology. 12 Some examples are Budi Susanto 1989 (on Batak), Benny Giayi 1995, Albertus Bagus Laksana 2011, Lambert Lame Uran 1997, Anicetus Bongsu Sinaga 1981, Philipus Tule 2004, N.H.Radam 2001. Some examples related to Manggaraian studies are Robert Lawang (1987), Dami N. Toda (1999), Hans Daeng (1989), Marsel Robot (2008), Fransiska Widiawati (2013), Kanisius Teobald Deki (2011), Max Regus & Kanisius Teobald Deki (201 1), Petrus Dj anggur (2010), Dorotheus Hemo (1988), Adrianus Nggoro (1996), Anthony Bagul Dagur (2006), Karolus Jande (1987), Bonefatius Jehandut (2012), Bernardus Jebabun (1974). 12 1.6. Theoretical Frameworks Due to the complexity of the object, this study uses multiple approaches. Four theoretical frameworks are used in this study. First is the theory of conversion. I talk about the conversion of Manggaraian people to Catholicism. When they converted to Catholicism what happens to their myths and rituals? Secondly I employ the theory of myth, and thirdly I employ the theory of ritual. Finally, I employ the theory of contextual-theology. Manggaraian people have converted to the Catholic Church. They shifted from their indigenous life to a life as Catholics. That is why I used some theories on conversion. In this connection some. articles in Hefner's book (1993) are helpful. I.Barker's inspiring article, compared the theory of Fisher and Horton. Fisher, in describing conversion in Africa, uses two metaphors. First, he used the metaphor of Juggernaut to describe the conversion from the perspective of two great religions. Juggernaut is a tractor that destroys the surface of the soil in order to establish something new (airport, palm-oil plantation, housing, etc.). The huge instrument flattens the surface of the earth so that people can build something new. Fisher said that the coming of great religions to Africa is similar to the coming of those Juggernauts. Second, he used the bird-metaphor of a Phoenix to describe the conversion of local people (in Africa). In order to understand this metaphor, we have to understand the ancient mythology of the Phoenix. In ancient Greek mythology, the 13 Phoenix is a bird with a long life. At the end of its life, it dies by burning itself in a flame. It dies in fire and its ashes remain. From those ashes emerges a new Phoenix and its new life starts. 13 Fisher used this bird-metaphor to describe the resurgent movement of local- indigenous religions which fora while seemed dead because of being crushed by the great world-religions. But they did not die. They still live in their ruins and ashes. After a few moments, from those ruins and ashes new life appears, a new birth of the old religion, in its new adapted and reconstructed fonn. This bird-metaphor used by Fisher is very impo11ant for my study because later on (in chapter VI) I talk about the bird-metaphor used in Manggaraian traditional ritual-discourses. In that chapter I talk about the religious imagination of the Manggaraian people of the .flying big-bird, 14 which was later on used to expressed their own belief and understanding of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit proclaimed by the Church missioaries. Barker used Fisher's study describes the conversion in one community in Papua New Guinea. He changed the metaphor of Juggernaut. He used the term of external-conversion, a conversion that took place because of the factors coming from 13 This is the short information from The Oxford English Reference Dictionary: Phoenix is "a mythical bird, the only one of its kind, that after living for five or six centuries in the Arabian Desert, burnt itself on a funeral pyre and rose from the ashes with renewed youth to live through another cycle." See Judy Pearsall and Bill Trumble, editors, 1996. Th e Oxford English Reference Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.1091. 14 This topic of the flying-big bird will be extensively elaborated and explained in chapter VI of this present study. 14 outside. For the metaphor of Phoenix, he used the internal-conversion, a conversion that took place because of factors coming from inside the person or community. According to Fisher, the more sophisticated world-views of world-great religions (Islam, Christianity) push local people to conversion to those religions. It seems that this movement cannot be stopped. A strong pull of those two great-world religions is their world view which is greater than the world-view of the local society. Many local people conve1t to those religions. Fisher made a distinction between three stages in such conversion: the quarantine stage, the stage of mixture, and the stage of n.:mewal. In the quarantine stage, missionaries tried to attract only people who seem to be "uprooted" from their community. They are people who were taken from their village and live together in a mission boarding school. At the beginning this small group maybe only accepts and retains the new religion in its genuine form that has not yet influenced the smrounding community (from which they come). They form a new community. But slowly, more local people wanted to become members. Maybe at first they are interested because of economic or socio-political reasons. By becoming a member they get some relatively easy access to the external resources, economic (wealth) and socio-political resources (power). Fisher called it mixture or amalgamation. Here the new converts do not leave behind their indigenous notions and their old way of life. They still hold those ideas and ways of life while trying to 15 make their heritages compatible with the new religion. In the course of time, people feelthat they have a good initial "comprehension" of the doctrines and orientations of those new religions. At the same time, however, they feel that there are some possible contradictions with their present life. After this process of adaptation then move to the third stage, the conscious renewal in the heart of people. Fisher acknowledged that Islam and Christianity in Africa have been reshaped and reformulated by the conditions of local culture, economy, and politics. He also insisted that the way of life ofthe converted African people has been reshaped by the main doctrines, the dynamics, and the practice of the great-world religions. So there is a mutual influence. Viewed from the view point of those newly converted Africanpeople, this is an external-conversion (Fisher 1973:21; cfr.Berkhofer 1965; Burridge 1978; Laitin 1986:23-38; Nock 1933; Conn 1981). Ho1ion developed a theory of internal-conversion. He said that the important factor in the conversion is not the external influences (Islam, Christianity). The strong influences came from the pattern of thought and values presented in the society (Horton 1975:221). Horton based his approach upon two assumptions. First, where people undergo a confusing new situation, they tend to adapt to this new situation by taking ideas and attitudes that exist in that new situation, though in the whole process they also have to make a lot of adaptations. Secondly, where people try to assimilate new ideas, they do it because those ideas seem rational and sensible compared to the ideas that they have held before (Horton and Peel 1976:482). In a sense, they accept 16 those external things with the help of tools and measurements they have already possessed and lived. H01ion said that the traditional African people have two-tiered world-views. On the one hand, there are local spirits which have supported the microcosms of a living co1mnunity. On the other, there is also the highest being which is the basis of the overwhelming "macrocosm". The development of microcosm or macrocosm depends on whether people involved in the web of local intercommunity relationships (as happens in a broad commercial network). The colonization has dragged the rural African people to enter into the life of a much bigger community in which the previous familiar and local spirits do not have much power. At this moment of confusionthey stmied to develop a concept that has existed in the idea of the highest being. Horton ( 1971) said that this foundational transformation in the original traditional African cosmology could have occurred previously in some forms that can be recognized even before or without the presence of the world religions (Horton and Peel 1976:482). According to Horton, the change in African life is a matter of the dynamic of local-tradition of society independent of external factors coming from Islam or Christianity. There is a dynamic of change and adaptation among the local people toward the new external influences. Ho1ion said that Africans are so selective in their attitude. With this mental disposition, they only took from Islam or Christianity those ideas which are compatible with their previous cosmology. The world-great religions 17 only function as a "catalyst" which stimulates and quickens the process of change which will surely take place and also helps in the reactions which cannot always be foreseen (Horton 1971: 104). 15 Horton's theory was an "intellectualistic" theory, one of the influential theory of conversion in the 1970s (Horton 1971, 1975a, 1975b; Horton and Peel 1976). His main thesis is that a human being is the active agent who tries to understand, predict, and control events in space and time. Various cognitive and intellectual activities of human beings are suppo11ed by the socio-cultural world in which they live. Horton noted that the fundamental world-view of the small-scope of African people consists of various realms. A microcosm is one of the daily world which dominated most of the community's energy. Their religious concerns rotate around the eff011 to explain, predicate, and control their living world. Every group has their own macrocosms, a greater world-view, which only developed in a minimal way because their daily life was concentrated on the microcosms. With mobility and interaction with people coming from a more wider social world, those Africanpeople then try to extend their original myths, rituals, and symbols so that they can cover also their macrocosm. Finally the African people came into contact with Christianity and Islam. To give meaning to the new situation and also the wider socio-cultural world, they expand 15 Horton's theory of internal-conversion (p. 16-17 of this study) is rather controversial in anthropology. Not every people agree with him or accept his notions. They say that the conversion phenomenon in Africa, took place because of the influence of the world religions. But there are also people who give a sympathy to Horton's emphasis on the original cultural structures that play an important role in the conversion (Hefner 1987, Hughes 1984; Khan 1983; Morrison 1981; Schwimmer 1973; Schieffelin 1981). 18 their cosmologies. Ho1ion said that the conversion took place in a different way according to how far a group focused on a microcosm and macrocosm. 16 The question "what is myth?" is not a simple one. M.Eliade (1963:5-8), E.Csapo (2005:1-9) acknowledged its complexity. Eliade said that "Myth is an extremely complex cultural reality, which can be approached and interpreted from various and complementary viewpoints" (1963 :5). Myth was derived from the Greek word, muthos, meaning story, legend, or discourse.17 Some say that myth is the old stories. Historians of religions definemyth as a verbal expression of the sacred rituals and beliefs. Anthropologists define it as a story to justify a conduct, or life practice, or social institution. A fact is explained with a mythical explanation. In other contexts, myth was defined as stories to explain a natural phenomenon or the beginning of the world. Other people suggest that myths are stories about gods and goddess, or heroes and heroines from the past. Myths are stories used to instruct by sharing knowledge or communal experiences. To quote E.D.Lewis, myth is "a quest forthe source" (Fox, 1988:246). There is a mystery of the beginning of life; a human being tries to understand it by creating stories of origin. It is said that myths try to emphasize this world as it existed long ago, and try to explain the beginning and creation so that this world seems like it is here and now. 16 For a critique of Horton's theory, see Fisher 1973, 1985, and Ifeka-Moller 1974. 17 See M.Eliade, My th and Reality, pp. l-2. K.Armstrong: Wh at is My th? pp. 1-5. G.Forth, Beneath the Volcano, pp.217-242. E.D.Lewis, "A Quest for the Source: The Ontogenesis of a Creation Myth of the Ata Tana Ai," in Fox, James J., To Sp eak in Pairs, 1988, pp.246-281. 19 According to Mircea Eliade (1987:95), myth recounts the sacred history, the serial of events in the beginning of time, the primordial time, the time of the creation of everything (ab initio, ab origine, in illo tempore). Myth also recounts the story of the act of the supernatural being in the beginning of time which explains why the world came to be and why certain events took place in the beginning of time. Myths not only told about the emergence of the universe especially this world (earth). Myth also told about the genesis of a place (island, river, and mountain) and a peculiar thing (a tree, or an animal). The main agents in myth are supernatural beings. Also some special events and deeds of human beings have been told in myths. In this sense myth is a sacred history (Dhavamony, 1995:153). According to Armstrong (2005), myth is a story that narrates something to explain how the traditions, the main doctrine, even religions and the similar core concepts appear in history. The main and prominent figures in myths are gods or goddess. Myth is the attempt of human beings to explain natural phenomenon. The sun, the universe, the sky, and the life after death are the prolificsources for myth. It is said that myths are the verbal expressions about the sacred things. Myths express reality, the events from the beginning of the world, which are still considered to be valid as the foundation and the purpose of all existing beings. Myth, therefore, is the story about the origin, the beginning, the happening that took place at the beginning of time. It is a time which is different from our daily time here and now. It is a primordial time. 20 Rituals are the sacred religious rites which have several purposes. For example, in ritual people want to celebrate a great original experience. In ritual people want to express the initiation process for the members of the society. In ritual people want to memorialize important events which have taken place in the past. In this connection ritual was meant to represent now the significance of past impo1iant events.18 There are many ritual theorists. Here I take the standpoint of V. Turner. His triadic approach to ritual is in line with van Gennep, B. Lincoln. They use the triadic approach to ritual by using different expressions. According to V. Turner, there arc three stages in ritual. First, the structure; second, the anti:..structure; finally back to the structure. The most impo1iant thing from Turner was his analysis of communitas and liminalitas. For Turner communitas (different from community) was a community characterized by a binding of solidarity which is not structured in the strict sense of the word, and also characterized by the egalitarian character between a group of human beings under the same situation of "crisis". In this moment of crisis every people are stripped offtheir social mask and become a "naked" human being, a human being without any social-prestigious connotations. In this condition there is also a liminalitas condition, in which all of social regulation disappeared. Turner's triadic approach is a variation of his mentor's tenninologies. Van Gem1ep focuses on the rites of passages that characterize the shifts in people's life in 18 Catherine Bell 2009/1997. Rituals: Perspectives and Dimensions. Oxford: OUP. 21 a society. For example, the shift from childhood to adolescence, and then to the adult stage. According to van Gennep these rites of passage consists of three stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. In the first step a person is separated from the community. She/he is transferred into an isolated place. In this place the person undergoes a moment of transition. Being isolated, he or she is confronted with the whole mystery of life.Then in the culmination of the process the person will be given an opportunity to return to the community from which he/she has come. The separation is also called the pre-liminal stage; the transition is also called the liminal stage; the incorporationis called post-liminal stage.19 In his book, Constructing Local Th eology, Robe1i Schreiter said that in the effort to construct contextual theology, three pillars should be taken into account. They are the gospel, the church, and the culture (Schreiter 1985 :22). Throughout history those three pillars interact in a dynamic and dialectical way. Schreiter believes that contextual theology is not only an issue of the present time, but also was an issue throughout history, because all theology at the beginning is contextual theology. They are a theology constructed to give a response to the need and actual-contextual challenges. No theologies were constructed without a local-real context. Therefore, 19 The similar triadic approach can also be found in B.Lincoln. She focused on the ritual for woman's rites of passage. According to her people also underwent three steps. First, the enclosure stage. In this stage a woman was isolated and transferred into a special place known only by a special group. Second, the metamorphosis. Lincoln also called this stage, magnification. In moments of reflection and meditation the person gradually underwent a change in their life. The third stage is emergence. Here the person will return to the society from which they came. Now they will return as a new person, a new human being, because they have been transformed in the moment of magnification (second stage). 22 all theology that have been labeled as the great tradition of the church also started as contextual theology. The effort to construct contextual-theology demands two fundamental activities: to open the culture and to open church tradition. In this effo11 we should realize that there are various types of local theologies in the church history. This is the first step. People should realize that all of the previous theologies are local theology to respond to nee because our present effort to establish a local-contextual theology is not a totally new effort. There is continuity with the past, with previous theologies. We always construct something upon the giants because we receive faith from other people, from the proclamation brought by others. Or to use Paul's expression,fides ex auditu (Rom 10: 17), we get the faith fromli stening to the proclamation of the other. Based on such historical awareness, then the next step is people should try to analyze and explore critically their own contexts. It means that people should open and analyze their own culture. In this effort people use various approaches. Robert Schreiter specifically mentions the materialistic approaches (if the most determining and striking issue in a context is economic, p.28), or the functionalistic approach (if the most striking issue in a context is the interaction in various social functions), or finally the semiotic approach (if the most striking issue in a context is symbolic development within a community). 23 After the effo1i to open and analyze the culture, then it is hoped that there will appear relevant and contextual theological themes. Schreiter calls them cultural texts (p.29). They are the elements to establish the local theology. Those cultural texts can become the cultural nucleus, the main axis for local theology. Cultural texts that have been gained are determined by the methods or approaches used in the process of cultural analysis. Schreiter mentions two fundamental factors that play a role in the effort to find those cultural texts (p.30). First is the real need in the culture itself. Second is determining patternsof how something is done in a culture.20 The next step is to open and analyze church tradition. The chosen model depends on local situation and needs. In some cases, a translation model is needed because of a pastoral considerations (p.31) or because some great events that have taken places in the greater church.21 After opening the church tradition, people will get some traditional texts parallel to the cultural texts. Through this process people will become aware that the tradition of Christianity (two millennia) consists of a collections of a series of 20 One example that has been put forward by Schreiter to illustrate those two factors is the theology of Tissa Balasuriya (1979) from Sri Lanka. Balasuriya emphasizes the theme of self-surrender and self-emptying of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Then Balasuriya used it as a symbol giving form(sha pe) to the social struggles of his people in Sri Lanka. 21 For example, there is a possibility that a traditional ritual of the church delivered a wrong message, then steps to correct it needs adaptation. For example the pouring of the baptismal water on the forehead of a woman. In East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) traditionally the ritual of pouring water on the forehead of a women is a curse to that woman so that she will become sterile. 24 contextual theologies. They are theologies that grew out of the real needs and challenges of local churches (p.32-33). Analyzing the relationship between local culture and church tradition provides an opportunity for a dynamic and dialectic theology. Schreiter believes that constructing theology is determined by the encounter between those two realities. Theologies that have been found in history and church tradition could become as a comer stone and model for developing the present contextual theology. Contemporary theologians can find a parallel model in church tradition (for their own theological projects). Such a parallel can be foundin the content, contexts, and forms of theology separately or even together (p.33).22 Having compared those two realms, then the next step is to find the impact of church tradition on present local-contextual theology. This step is necessary because such theology should be Christian theology. In order that the new theological endeavor become Christian theology, the new theological endeavor should have a genuine encounter with Christian tradition. This is necessary because every theological formulation can contain mistakes, because the theologian who formulates them is a human being with his or her personal defects as a human (even though they worked under the inspiration of Holy Spirit, as church tradition believed). It could be 22 For example, J.S.Croato (1979), a biblical scholar and liberation theologian from South America, said that in the effort to develop liberation theology, theologians in South America found a model and fundamental structure of the liberation in Exodus theology. So the role of the book of Exodus, including its main protagonist, Moses, is really imp01tant for them. 25 that such formulation does not show a full fidelity to the core message and the proclamation of Jesus Christ. For this reason, every formulation of new theology should be tested by confronting and challenging it with the experiences and the doctrinal formulation of other Christian communities, both from the present time and the past (p.34). The encounter and comparison can result in affirmation. It can also result in the emergence of the recurring and repeated experiences of the reality of Christ in a local community. The next step is that as the result of such dynamic and dialectical encounter, contextual theology can impact church tradition (p.34). Schreiter formulates it in the following words: "Just as the tradition is necessary fo r the development of a local theology, so too local theologies are vital fo r the development of the tradition" (p.34). According to Schreiter, it can happen in the process of putting forward historical and critical questions. By putting forward his or her critical questions, contextual theologians remind us of the parts of tradition that could have been forgotten or that have been consciously and deliberately neglected. An example is the issue of the struggle of the rich and the poor in contemporary liberation theology. This struggle reminds us of the same issue which became a main theme in reflection of New Testament which tends to be forgotten because the world is so feudalistic and capitalistic. Another example is the ideals and the sensitivity of Africans and Asians to the divine and God's grace. All of these can contribute to the struggle of western 26 people against theism (p.35). In short, the reflections of local theology can contribute to the development of tradition. A final step is to show the impact of contextual theology to the cultural situation. Various reflections of contextual theology have their own impact upon the cultural situation. It is hue that the reflections of contextual theology were meant to respond to the need and the challenge of a real community. A theology has an impact upon the culture and the issues raised by such culture. It can only take place with the awareness that there is no strict and clear separation and distinction between the church and the culture, a distinction and separation which cannot be bridged. 1. 7. The Interreligious Perspective Though this study mainly focus on the encounter between Manggaraian " culture and the Catholic Church, but it does not mean that there is no awareness of the interreligious and intercultural perspectives. I have made this study in the full awareness of those perspectives. For example I aware that the history of Manggarai is full with the influences coming from outside. D.Hemo mentioned the influences from Majapahit, Gowa, and Bima. It is said that Majapahit had a political and economic relationship with Southern Manggarai (Hemo 1988:37-39; Parimartha 2002). 27 The Islamic influences are fully realized when I talk about the Gowa temporary occupation in Manggarai. There are several Makassar words that have been adopted into Manggaraian language. We can call them the linguistic traces of Gowa in Manggarai. Some examples are: Keraeng (Karaeng), Kreba (Kareba), Bruga (Baruga), Empo Gorak (Pagora). Dalu system is considered to be adopted from Bima connection to Manggarai (Hemo 1988:39-40). There are some words that sounds like the influences of Muslim or Arabic background. For example, ngaji (prayer, Verheijen 1967:409). This word has a close connection with the word Hajj in Islamic vocabulary. Another example is the word do 'ang (Verheijen 1967:86). It is from Arabic-Islamic word do'a (prayer). Another example is the word sengaji (Verheijen 1967:395, noble person). It is believed to be derived fromthe Arabic background. At the beginning of this Chapter, I have mentioned about the dynamic contact between the Catholics and the Protestants in East Nusa Tenggara. Though I do not clearly mentioned the presence of the Protestant Church, but their presence is clear in East Nusa Tenggara. Some political and ecclesial decisions are made based on the dynamic relationship between those two churches. The first Jesuit who baptize the first Manggaraian has been expelled from Sumba because Sumba and Timor are considered to be the islands of Protestants, while Flores was considered to be the island of Catholics (Muskens 1974; Steenbrink 2006). So the whole history of Manggarai was characterized by a multiple religious perspectives and political 28 influences. All of them have, in one way or another, their own portion of impact in the process of the formation of the present Manggarai. 1.8. Outline of the Study First of all I want to explain the title of my work. The title is "Manggaraian Myths, Rituals, and Christianity: Doing Contextual Theology in Eastern Indonesia ". In this whole study there will be a vast explanation and exploration on myths, rituals of Manggaraian people and their mutual interaction with Catholicism (Christianity). So here I will not explain too much on those things like myths and rituals and the Church life. Here I mainly focus on the term "Easten Indonesia" appears in the end of the above title. In this case I follow the anthropological discourse of scholars who try to form a separate "field of investigation" and "field of study". The first terminology was coined by Locher (1968:ix) and the second was coined by van Wouden (1935/1968). Van Wouden specifically coined the "eastern Indonesia" as an independent "field of study" of its own because he saw some general characteristics of its social structure. C. Allerton (who also used this expression of "Eastern Indonesia" in the title of her recent book) said that " ....van Wouden argued forthe importance to eastern Indonesian societies of 'connubium ' (forms of cross-cousin marriage), associated cosmological classifications based on "oppositions," and 29 systems of dual sovereignty combining secular power and mystical power" (Allerton 2013:7).23 In other words, there are three characteristics of the eastern Indonesia as a specific "field of study" of its own: 1) the impo1iance of 'connubium', 2) the idea of oppositions that characterize the cosmological classifications of the society, 3) and the system of dual sovereignty. Having realized the importance of those characteristics of the "easternIndonesia," then I decide to take this category of "field study" to be used in the title of my work. I have made my field research for this dissertation in Perang, a relatively small village (kampung) located in west Manggarai (Manggarai Barnt), Flores. Flores is an island located in the province of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT: Nusa Tenggara Timur). And Nusa Tenggara Timur is a pa1i of Eastern Indonesia. This is the rationale of my using this category of "Eastern Indonesia" in the title of my work.24 Having described the rationale for the title of my study, then here I want to give the outline of my work. The study of mine consists of seven chapters. They are arranged in the following logical schema. Chapter One consists of background of the research, research questions, objectives and significance of the study, theoretical 23 See C.Allerton. 2013. Potent Landscapes. Place and Mobility in Eastern Indonesia. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. In this book Allerton refers to Locher, G.W. 1968. "Preface" to F.A.E.van Wouden, 1968. Typ es of Social Structure in Eastern Indonesia (original in Dutch, 1935, trans.,R.Needham). The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. 24 Catherine Allerton, who have made a field research in Wae Rcbo village back in the nineties, also use the phrase of "eastern Indonesia" in her book on Wae Rebo. The complete title of the book, see the previous footnote and also the information in the bibliography. 30 framework, methodology, literature review, and outline of the disse1tation. Chapter Two is a general overview of Perang people: who they are, historical explanation about their origin and the story of their migration, basic information on their kampong, their way of life,their religious life, their economic life.Chapter Three is a general overview of the myths of Manggaraian people documented by Verheijen SYD and remembered by people in Perang. So I focus on MT I-XVII and the data I have collected from my fieldwork in Perang. This chapter is meant to answer the first question of my research questiuu�;, The purpose of Chapter Four is to answer the second question. The coming of Christianity transfonned Manggaraian's life due to the modernization brought by missionaries and the government. I describe some of Manggaraian rituals concerning life cycles rituals (birth, death, marriage) to show the continuing impact of old traditions of Manggaraian people. Chapter Five tries to answer the third question. There is the transformation of Catholic life due to the influences of Manggaraian traditional life. Here I deal with the influences from traditional Manggaraian life to Catholic life. One example in which we witness this influence is the product of liturgical commission, Dere Serani. Then Chapter Six is meant to answer the fourth question. It focuses on an attempt to establish contextual theology. It tries to give a theological consideration on the phenomenon of mutual-transformation between Manggaraian traditional life and Catholicism. Finally Chapter Seven is a conclusion in which I put forward the summary, affirmations of the new findings of research, the 31 new theoretical framework, and some reconunendations for the people who have concernson Manggaraian studies in the future. 32