Paramita:Paramita: Historical Historical Studies Studies Journal, Journal, 29(2) 29(2) 2019: 2019 178 -189 ISSN: 0854-0039, E-ISSN: 2407-5825 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15294/paramita.v29i1.16716

MISSION AND DEVELOPMENT IN MANGGARAI, EASTERN IN 1920-1960s

Fransiska Widyawati, Yohanes S. Lon STKIP Santu Paulus Flores, NTT

ABSTRACT ABSTRAK

This paper explores the mission and develop- Paper ini mengeksplorasi misi dan pem- ment in Manggarai Flores, Indonesia in 1920- bangunan di Manggarai Flores, Indonesia ta- 1960s. These two activities were carried out by hun 1920-1960s. Dua aktivitas ini dilakukan from Europe. oleh misionaris Gereja Katolik yang berasal Before this religion came to Manggarai, this dari Eropa. Sebelum agama ini datang ke region was in an isolated and backward condi- Manggarai, wilayah ini berada dalam kondisi tion. People lived in primitive way of life. The terisolasi dan terkebelakang. Masyarakat tidak new development was carried out with the mengenal infrastruktur modern. Pem- arrival of the Dutch colonists who worked bangunan baru dilakukan dengan datangnya closely with the Catholic Church missionaries penjajah Belanda yang bekerja sama erat beginning in the early 20th century. The dengan misionaris Gereja Katolik mulai pada Church utilized the support of the Dutch colo- awal abad 20. Gereja memanfaatkan nialists while running various development dukungan Belanda sekaligus menjalankan ane- programs as important strategies to gain sym- ka program pembangunan sebagai strategi pathy from the . As a result, penting untuk mendapatkan simpati orang the Church was accepted and became the Manggarai. Hasilnya Gereja diterima dan dominant force in the community. This proves menjadi kekuatan dominan di dalam masyara- that missions that are in line with development kat. Hal ini membuktikan bahwa misi yang or religion which at the same time pay atten- sejalan dengan pembangunan atau agama tion to religious and secular aspects can win yang sekaligus memperhatikan aspek religius the hearts of the people. By using the historical dan kultural dapat memenangkan hati approach, this paper aims to present a history masyarakatnya. Dengan menggunakan pen- of mission and development relations in dekatan historis, artikel ini bertujuan untuk Manggarai, Eastern Indonesia while providing menyajikan sejarah hubungan misi dan pem- a critical analysis of how religion, government bangunan di Manggarai, Indonesia Timur and society are interwoven. sambil memberikan analisis kritis tentang bagaimana agama, pemerintah dan otoritas masyarakat terjalin erat.

Author correspondence Email: [email protected] 178 Available online at http://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/paramita Paramita: Historical Studies Journal, 29(2) 2019

INTRODUCTION of development in Eastern Indonesia. The Religious missions are usually not in ex- Catholic Church started its mission in clusively spiritual matter. Many religions Manggarai, the western part of Flores Is- carry out missions and development to- land, Province in the gether. Both are interventions aiming at early of 20th century. It was three centu- the transformation of people that comprise ries later than in the eastern part of Flores. them (Scheer, Fountain, & Feener, 2018, Manggarai was isolated and back- p. 1). The missionaries may offer develop- wardeness. This area began to be touched ment as a strategy to attract sympathetic by development with the arrival of Catho- of the people to adopt their religion. How- lic missionaries in the early 20th century. ever, it can also be the content of the reli- The missionaries came only a few years gious mission itself. The history of the after the presence of Dutch colonial in this spread of religion in Christianity in Indo- region in 1907. The role of the colonial nesia studied by Pedersen (Pedersen, government was not denied in presenting 1970) in , of Aragon (Aragon, 2000) the missionaries in this land (Widyawati, in Celebes and of Hefner (Hefner, 1990) in 2013). In collaboration with the Dutch, clearly shows how missionaries em- the Catholic Church created changes to ployed development strategies to acceler- regional development through an educa- ate conversions as well as to smoothly or- tional program, house construction and ganize society according to their own con- resettlement, health services, road infra- cept. structure, etc. With funding from the Eu- During the colonial period, Europe- ropean Church, missionaries built Mang- an missionaries worked with the colonial- garai to slowly get out of isolation in the ists to win their goals. Mission and devel- early and middle of 20th century. opment coincided. Christian agents during Through this paper, the role of Ca- the colonial era often have considered tholicism in developing and shaping their role to provide a range of services, Manggarai Flores, Eastern Indonesia in including education, healthcare, new tech- 1920-1960s is described and discussed. niques in agriculture and new culture in as This is a period in which Manggarai a complement to religious activities Church was still seen as part of mission (Scheer, Fountain, & Feener, 2018, pp. land, not yet an independent local 107-108). Meanwhile, before the 20th cen- Church. It was only in the middle of the tury, European colonials began justifying 20th century, to be exact in 1961, that the their transnational empires with the word Manggarai Church became an independ- "civilizing mission". By which colonial ent diocese, a local church (Boelaars, rule was considered a moral duty that had 2005). By using a historical approach, this to be maintained for the sake of the colo- paper aims to present a history of mission nialized (Grubb, 2009, p. 9) (Hirono, and development relations in Manggarai, 2008). In so, doing the colonial authorities Eastern Indonesia while providing a criti- drew heavily on Christian mission rhetoric cal analysis of how religion, government, and incipient humanitarian morality. and society are interwoven. Christian mission was used to buttress co- lonialism. It was included similar justifica- RESEACRH METHOD tions for the moral and political necessity This study is a social research which basi- of development projects (Jewsiewicki, cally develops historical approach. It is a 1989, p. 3) technique of finding, analzing and describ- This paper elaborates mission and ing information relating to certain histori- development in Manggarai, Flores East- cal periods. It elaborates both field and ern Indonesia in 1920-1960s. It brings how hitorical-literature survey. Writing re- the Christian missionaries have engaged sources about the coming of the Catholic modern program in a broad range way missionaries and its the development of and being transformed by diverse projects Catholic Church of Manggarai from early

179 Paramita: Historical Studies Journal, 29(2) 2019

20th century up to 1960s are limited. society). What the king meant by Freijss, Some of which were written by clergy and of course, referred to the King or Sultan of for the interest of the Church. Some were Bima who at the time of the arrival of from the side of the Ducth colonials writ- Freijss to Manggarai, was mastering this ers. Both had internal point of view. In region (Freijss, 1860). But Dami N. Toda addition, this study also uses the Ruteng (Toda, 1999, pp. 67-70) a researcher in Diocese’s archives and some parishes’ ar- Manggarai historiography stated that chives that record about their programs. Freijss made a misinterpretation because Some contemporary studies of the Mang- of his lack of understanding of the local garai Church have also become important language. In the , sources for this research. Though limited, "mangga" or "manga" means "there" and they are helpful to this study. "raja" contains several meanings namely To supplay more data, this study something, problem, or cause. It does not also conducted a field research. It focuses refer to king (raja). Therefore, the word " on evidence of involvement in manga raja" should not be translated development work in this region. Part of "there is a king" but "there is a cause" or the data was obtained from the interviews "there is a problem" or "there is some- of the related informants and partly from thing" (Verheijen, 1967). the physical evidence of the development Another version tells us that in an- carried out. cient times a group of people came to Manggarai via a sea route using a simple RESULTS AND DISCUSSION boat. Upon arriving at one of the beaches Manggarai: The Story Behind the Name in the area now called Manggarai, they Manggarai is a place, ethnicity and also anchored the anchor and went down this the name of a language. Manggarai is in land. After traversing the land, they re- the western part of Flores and occupies turned and found the anchor had been about one-third of the island's territory. washed away by the waves. They asked Originally, Flores was named Nusa Nipa, each other where is the anchor of their which means the island of a snake. This boat. Some people answered, "Manggar name is associated with the shape of this rai" which means "missing anchor". This island resembling a snake as well as the event inspired them to call this place habitat of various types of snakes Manggarai (Heerkens, 1930, pp. 30-31; (Orinbao, 1969). The name Flores origi- Erb, 1999). Besides this version, there are nally came from the , also other versions circulating in the com- Cabo de Flores, which means cape of flower munity. Until now, there is no agreement or Tanjung Bunga in the local language which version is considered the most cor- (Laan, 1962-1968). This name was given rect. by a Portuguese, S.M. Cabot when he set Before 2003, the Manggarai region foot on the eastern point of the island in was a single district. It is bordered by Nga- the 16th century. Since 1636, this name da Regency at the east and by Sape Strait was officially used by the Governor- near Bima, at the west. In 2003, General of the Dutch East Indies, Hendrik was divided into two, Brouwer (Petu, 1967). Tanjung Bunga namely Manggarai and West Manggarai. (Cape of Flower) has been a real name of In 2006, Manggarai was again divided by a place at the easternmost point of Flores giving birth to a new district, East Mang- Island. garai (Lon & Widyawati, 2017, p. 132). While the origin of the name Today people often refer to "Manggarai "Manggarai" has several versions. J.P. Raya" (Great Manggarai) to explain the Freijss, a Dutch envoy who visited Mang- whole Manggarai which covers all three garai in 1848 wrote that "Manggarai" districts at once (Erb & Widyawati, 2018, came from the word "manga raja", in p. 82). Dutch "rajamenschen" (meaning king of a Interestingly, these three districts are

180 Paramita: Historical Studies Journal, 29(2) 2019 still united in an ecclesiastical region traders encouraged people in the east such namely the Ruteng Diocese. Religion has as in Bugis, Bima, and Gowa to look for been the strongest bond that unites the commodities (Parimatha, 2002). When three districts. It is obvious that religion was captured, local traders were can unite the state/political area. Alt- urged and some sought new possibilities hough the nomenclature of the local in the eastern region. in Sulawe- church is officially named Ruteng diocese, si became a new trade center for the east- the name "Manggarai Church" has been ern region of the region now called Indo- more popular in hierarchical and commu- nesia (Schieke, 1955, p. 49). Fabrics from nity daily talks (Widyawati, 2013). India were sold in this market (Arasaratman, 1986). By becoming a new Manggarai Prior to Catholicism trade center, the people increas- Information about Manggarai before the ingly intensified their search for merchan- coming of Catholicism and Dutch coloni- dise around their island, including Mang- als into this region was actually very lim- garai. Some commodities from Manggarai ited. In the 1930s, Verhoven conducted an were horses, sandalwood, honey, yellow excavation in the village of Liang Racang wood, wax, and especially slaves. In re- and Poco, north to Ruteng, the capital of gards to slave trading, Reid explains that Manggarai. The result was found that this the slave created a market These slaves area had been a community settlement constitute the main capital and wealth of since ancient times (Verhoven, 1966). In the natives of these islands since they are 1960 the villagers in the western part of both very useful and necessary for the Warloka in West Manggarai discovered working of their farms. Thus, they are the tomb of a person wearing a necklace sold, exchanged, and traded just like any and a gold chain. Nearby were ceramic other articles of merchandise (Reid, 1983). plates which probably originated from the This was the beginning of Sulawesi's Sung Dynasty (960-1279) and Yuan (1260 influence in this area. The evidence of the -1386). There were also other items which presence of Gowa in Manggarai can be probably originated in the 14th and 15th seen from the form of houses on the coast centuries from Vietnam (Erb, 1999, p. 66) that are the same as the forms of houses in How did these items arrive here? Sulawesi. In addition, there are quite a One possible answer is that they were car- number of villages who claim their de- ried by people from the king- scent comes from Gowa. The super- dom (Lombard, 1996, p. 41). This is in government system and the gelarang (sub- line with the story developed in the local district) and the mention of kraeng (lord) community. They believed that the name are also evidence of the influence of Gowa Warloka derived from the word Wuruk (Parimatha, 2002). The terms are still pop- Loka, which means the place of Hayam ular and are used in various matters for Wuruk, the king of Majapahit. This word the Manggaraians today. Some old figures has been modified. Around this place also testified that this was closely related were also found objects which local peo- to the footsteps of Gowa in Manggarai. ple associated with Hayam Wuruk (Erb, Besides Gowa at Sulawesi, the Bima 1999, p. 66). However, this argumentation sultanate also claimed to have master was also challenged because the name Manggarai from the 16th century to the Warloka might be more suitable with the early 20th century. In 1667, the Dutch name of one village in Sulawesi, which defeated Gowa in the battle at the Alaka shows traces of the influence of Gowa Palaka Bone. In the Bongaya agreement (Sulawesi) that had existed in this region signed on November 18, 1667, it was stat- since the 16th century. ed that Gowa had to give a portion of its In the 16th century, when Portu- territory to the Sultan of Bima. One of guese set foot in Malacca in 1551, trade in them was Manggarai land. This agree- Asia intensified. The European and Asian ment further gave the legitimacy of Bima's

181 Paramita: Historical Studies Journal, 29(2) 2019 power over Manggarai which had actually people of Manggarai), to settle near the existed in Manggarai earlier. This is writ- Manggaraian, “because Manggarain can ten in the Encyclopaedia van Nederland- destroy their religion () and custom. sch-Indie, volume I page 307 that there The Bimanese must stay on the coast”. was an oral agreement between de Oost- Until the middle of the 20th century, Islam Indische Verenigde company (VOC) and spread mainly in coastal areas among Bima in 1660 (Coolhaas, 1942, pp. 162- their own families (Coolhaas, 1942, pp. 164). Some villages in Manggarai such as 328-360). Todo, Warloka, Pongkor call their ances- tors Bima people. (Erb, 1999, pp. 66-69). Colonialization and the Coming of Bima's power weakened with the eruption Catholic Religion in Manggarai of Mount Tambora in 1815, many of their The power of Bima and Gowa weakened important figures died (Parimatha, 2002, in the late 19th century and was increas- p. 163). ingly marginalized by the presence of What changes have occurred to the Dutch colonials and European Catholic Manggaraian community with the pres- missionaries who spread Catholicism. His- ence of these two sultanates? Basically, the torically, in 1907 the Dutch did a military presence of both was mainly oriented to invasion in Flores known as “Inland Flores profit and power. They came to this area Operation” (Operasi Flores Pedalaman) or mainly because they were interested in Pacification Operation (Pax Neerlandica) local natural resources to be sold in the commanded by H. Christoffel. Dietrich market at that time. In addition, every (Dietrich, 1986) wrote that this is one of year, they obligated dalu and gelarang (the "the bloodiest events in the history of the local leaders) to provide slaves for the Dutch" that killed at least a thousand Flo- Gowanese as their tax and obligation. Un- res people. On August 9th, 1907 Christof- til the end of abab 19, slaves were one of fel’s troops arrived in Ende and started to the best-selling commodities in trade be- attack people they met. They slowly tween countries. Even the name Mang- moved to the west and arrived in the land garai in Batavia (Jakarta today) was given of Manggarai on October 13th. Before go- because many slaves came from Mang- ing to Manggarai, Dutch officials in Bata- garai quarantined at that location in Bata- via already had the knowledge that Mang- via/Jakarta before they were sold abroad. garai, which was under the control of the Thus, physical or infrastructure develop- , was vulnerable to the ment in order to change this region was spread of Islam. This fear forced them to not in the ideals of the two sultanates. urge the Catholic Church in Batavia to They themselves preferred to live in immediately send missionaries to convert groups in coastal areas and not join com- the Manggarai people. munities that remained isolated. Social Initially, European Jesuit missionar- change was mainly related to the naming ies, who had begun the Catholic mission and structure of the village such as ked- in the eastern region of Flores since the aluan and gelarang as mentioned earlier. In 16th century, were encouraged to expand addition, in some circumstances, the lan- the mission from east Flores to the west in guage used by both influenced some of the order to reach Manggarai. However, they Manggarai regional language and vocabu- were quite pessimistic about that. In addi- laries (Boxer, 1965). tion, the limited number of missionary In terms of religion, these two Is- workers made them unable to fulfill this lamic based sultanates did not seem to desire. Therefore, until the end of the 19th have the intention to spread Islam in this century, although the eastern region of region. In fact, in a letter stamped on Flores had been dominated by Catholi- April 17, 1784, the Sultan of Bima, Abdul cism, Manggarai in the western part of the Hamid, issued a ban for the Bugis, Makas- island had not been touched by Catholic ar or Bima, (also if they have married to missionary activity.

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Shortly after the Dutch occupied Catholic Church still had to face another Manggarai, the Flores region controller challenge, Bima's power over Todo. Todo named A. Couvreur wrote a letter to the was a village that had more power over head of the mission in Larantuka. He said other villages in Manggarai at the time that Manggarai and Ngada (east to Mang- when the Dutch entered Manggarai. The garai) were very fertile and had a large negotiations between the Dutch colonials population so they should have been tar- and the Catholic Church were taken to geted by the spread of Catholicism. He benefit both. The Dutch approached the was worried that Islam would develop in Bima Sultan, Muhammad Salahuddin, to this region. Because he did not get a posi- be willing to release Manggarai and ap- tive response, he wrote on behalf of Cap- pointed Kraeng Bagung, the Todo outra- tain Christoffel with the threat of giving geous figure, as "the first king of the Manggarai to the Protestant Church if Zelfsbestuur (swapraja) government" over Catholic missionaries did not immediately the entire Manggarai region (Toda, 1999, take a stand (Steenbrink, 2007, p. 85). pp. 313-315). As a result, on May 24, Bishop of Batavia responded to this 1924, Bima was officially no longer "in threat. He encouraged the Jesuit mission- power" over the new status of Manggarai aries to reach the Manggarai area in West namely swapradja or "waarnemende Flores. As the result, in around 1910-1912, bestuurder van landschap Manggarai". several Jesuit missionaries came to the The release of Manggarai from Bima is Manggarai area. They visited Catholics celebrated with the slaughter of buffalo from Larantuka and other eastern Flores and other animals a sign of happiness who worked as pearl divers in Labuan Ba- (Toda, 1999, p. 327). jo in West Manggarai. During a trip, a The Dutch then appointed Kraeng missionary baptized the first Manggarai Bagung, the local leader of Todo, as a people in Reo, at south coastal, on May king of Manggarai. Since he was a not 17, 1912. This event marked the beginning Catholic (still a native religion), both the of the Catholic era in Manggarai. Alt- Dutch and the Catholic missionaries hough some people have been baptized, found a way how to have a leader that still until the end of their tenure in Flores, could support the Catholic mission. In an actual Catholic mission was not carried 1931 the Dutch appointed Alexander out systematically by Jesuit missionaries Baroek, a very young man, as king and (Widyawati, 2013, p. 126). Bagung as "king of speech". This decision Because of the insufficient number was very strategic because Alexander and resources, the Jesuit missionaries left Baroek was a graduate of a Catholic their mission in Flores slowly. The Societa school in Lela at eastern part Flores. Thus Verbum Divini (SVD) missionaries the Dutch strategy and missionaries to changed their assignments. This congrega- tame Manggarai were achieved. tion was based in Netherland, the same Stenbreenk (Steenbrink, 2007, p. 81) said, country as the colonials. In 1920 the Ap- “he could not yet show strong authority in ostolic Prefecture in Ndona Ende decided front of other local rulers and even less to make Ruteng, in Manggarai as the cen- against the Catholic clergy, who took ter of a new mission at the west part of charge for him during his education”. Flores. This was obvious that the Church With this, in fact, the Catholic planned to create Flores as a "Catholic Church easily won and smoothed out all Island". The Catholic mission office was the cloaking efforts in this region. With located right next to the Dutch govern- the help of the local and colonial govern- ment office in Puni, Ruteng (Aritonang & ment, all efforts to introduce Catholicism Steebrink, 2012). With this, colonial and went smoothly. Kraeng Baruk and Ba- religious cooperation became clearer and gung provided land and various facilities stronger in Manggarai. for the religious mission. They also forced At that time both the Dutch and the people to support the Catholic mission

183 Paramita: Historical Studies Journal, 29(2) 2019 and to convert to this new religion. in Jakarta was very small in eastern Indo- As the result, the growth of the nesia, including Flores. In December Manggarai Catholic Church was extreme- 1945, the Dutch again occupied Nusa ly fast. Between 1920-1927, the SVD mis- Tenggara and established the State of East sionaries succeeded in making three reli- Indonesia (Negara Indonesia Timur, NIT) gious centers, in Ruteng (1920), Rekas so practically, what was called the Indone- (1924) and Lengko Ajang (1926). Every sian state which was proclaimed by Soe- year approximately 2000 people were bap- karno insignificant for the people in the tized. In 1930 there were 9706 Catholics. NIT region. With the return of missionar- In 1930 Manggarai Catholics numbered ies and even the Dutch government to 49,169. Because the church's growth was Flores, they returned to power. This great- very fast, Ruteng received a higher ecclesi- ly benefited the growth of the Catholic astical status, namely from the station Church. This lasted until December 1951 (stasi) to the diaconate on September 29, (Aritonang & Steebrink, 2012, pp. 250- 1929. At that time a big church building 252). For this reason, the work of the was established at Ruteng. It was the larg- Church remained the most dominant even est church in the Dutch East Indies until the end of the 20th century. (Borgias, 2015, p. 278). The church then has been known as the cathedral of Development of the Manggarai Commu- Ruteng. nity Until 1940, missionaries continued Before the coming of Catholic European creating several new religious centers such missionaries to Manggarai, this region had in Nunang (1926), Ranggu (1936), Pagal been isolated, primitive and without mod- (1939), and Todo, Benteng Jawa, Denge ern infrastructure such as school, health and Ka Redong in 1940. It was estimated clinic, road, water installations, electricity, that there were 190,000 Manggarai people etc. Since the 16th century, Bima and became Catholic including 72,980 chil- Gowa, the Islamic based sultanates, had dren under 6 years of age in 1942 claimed to have power over this land. (Widyawati, 2013, p. 138). All of them These people came just for trading, ex- were fully supported by the Dutch govern- ploiting the local resources and strength- ment. ening their own power. There was no evi- When the Dutch and their allies lost dence that they wanted to develop this during the Second World War, Dutch area. Therefore, until in the early of 20th missionaries in Flores were forced out, century, Manggarai had still isolated and and some were imprisoned in Ende and neglected. The isolation was also because taken to Makassar. Church activities were of its geographical obstacles. Manggarai carried out by lay teachers who remained has been formed by a series of mountains loyal to the Catholic Church (Betrray, and hills that made communication and 1974, pp. 1254-1258). When the Japanese connection difficult from one to another troops arrived, at first the Japanese in- place. People lived in a primitive way. vaders did not support the Catholic mis- Once the missionaries started their sion at all. However, when a Japanese mission in Manggarai, they decided both Colonel, Tasuko Sato, who was a Shinto to convert people to Catholicism and to fell in love with Flores and was amazed at develop the society. Both were done hand the Catholic Church mission (Sato, 1959), in hand. By running development pro- he quietly supported the Church's mission grams, the church organized the commu- in Flores, including Manggarai. This nity according to their plan while attract- made the Church continue to grow again. ing the people to embrace Catholicism. When Indonesia proclaimed its in- Here are the works of the Catholic Church dependence in 1945, Dutch missionaries in early and the mid-20th century. returned to Flores. Even more than that, Educational Programs. Since the Eu- the lively independence that was echoed ropean missionaries step foot in Flores in

184 Paramita: Historical Studies Journal, 29(2) 2019 the 16th century, they had opened schools agricultural culture and therefore mission- as the main strategy to convert people. It aries seemed to be less concerned with the has worked very well in the eastern part of problem of starvation. Webb's opinions Flores since the 17th century. They bene- have been not always accepted by quite a fited from regulations made by the Dutch number of Manggarai people. Some peo- government which gave dominant respon- ple said that the school actually has made sibility and right to the Catholic Churches very significant changes in the lives of the to run and to control all schools in Flores Manggarai people. and Sumba (Jebarus, 2008). The regula- Houses Construction and Resettlement. tion was known as “Flores-Sumba Rege- When the missionaries starting their mis- ling”. It helped both for acceleration the sion in Manggarai, people still lived in number of conversions and the transfor- traditional and backwardness way. They mation of the society. The church targeted lived in groups in one village and run a children and young generation to be first communal way of life as a big family (Lon converted. The missionaries then used the and Widyawati, 2017). Their villages were same strategy in Manggarai, western part. usually in the highlands. In the local lan- The missionaries opened the first guage, a village was called golo which school in Reo in 1911. Reo is in north means hill or plateau. Manggaraian tradi- coastal where Bima and Gowa's descend- tional houses were very big and could be ant Muslims lived. In 1912, two schools occupied by hundreds of people. It had no were reopened in Labuan Bajo and windows. People usually raised animals Ruteng. Labuan Bajo is at the west coastal and threw dirty things on the ground area. At this place, Muslim families from floor/under the main floor. Since the Bima dan Gowa were many. It was very kitchen was not separated, the houses clear that Catholicization was deployed in were smoky too. In the early 20th century, order to counter the development of Mus- both rounded shape and square-shaped lims in this areas. The school had become houses, the traditional style of local house, the main entry point for the Catholic could be populated up to 400 people (Lon Church to attract people. & Widyawati, 2018). Then since 1919, almost every year The type of houses was unhealthy. a community school was built. Until 1946, In 1923-1924, M. Ave Lallement, a doctor there were 59 schools built in various re- from the , conducted research gions in Manggarai. This number was on public health. The result was 100% of very fantastic and continued to grow. In people suffered from diseases ankylostomia- 1950, a junior high school was also found- sis (roundworms) and Ascaris Lumbricoides. ed by Catholic missionaries at Ruteng. Therefore, he recommended that the Likewise, the first high school and the first Manggaraians should not dwell in their tertiary institution (1959) in Manggarai big house because the sunlight could not were the works of the Catholic Church reach the spaces underneath the house, (Widyawati, 2015, pp. 14-15). In terms of the place to live worms (Steenbrink, 2007, education, the presence of the state pp. 98-99). (Indonesia) was very late. The state- Accordingly, the Dutch and in col- owned school just opened in the 1970s. laboration with the missionaries forced Even some Catholic schools were "forced" people to move from their unhealthy and to be transferred to state-owned schools. unhygienic villages and houses to new Regarding the many schools opened areas and houses. The Dutch and mission- by missionaries and local churches in the aries helped people constructing a smaller past have been criticized by Webb (Webb, house that was called as mbaru meters. The 1990). He stated "educated" people be- sun could reach underneath such kind of came very abundant and unbalanced with houses. It was not easy for the Manggara- the jobs available to them. Webb also ob- ians to adopt the resettlement and housing served that schools made people abandon program. The house and village were

185 Paramita: Historical Studies Journal, 29(2) 2019 more than as places for dwell. They con- Health Services. Since its arrival in nected to the spirits and Gods they be- the early 20th century, the Church has lieved too. been very concerned about public health Once, Willem Coolhaas, a Dutch matters. The priests' often functioned as controller working between the years 1926- "doctors" or "medical personnel". They 1927 in Ruteng, saw something else. provided several types of medicines to When he started working, the resettlement give to the community. It was very com- programs from a big house to a smaller monly told among the people that if their one was running. He concluded that it people were sick, the priests gave the med- seemed that people started to feel weird icines. Some missionaries even opened a with the power of the spirit who submitted kind of clinic in the presbytery. Some of to the Dutch and missionaries’ authorities. them could also help the mother giving Thus, this was good for the work of Cath- birth. olic missionaries who were actively In addition to individual help, the spreading the new religion for local resi- church opened public clinics and simple dents. He wrote this: hospital in some areas. The first hospital This was, according to Manggarai peo- was established in 1918 in Ruteng by the ple, something extraordinary. Appar- Dutch, but the role of missionaries in ently, the spirit had no power. At least providing the medical personnel and in they had to bow to the authority of the encouraging people to take care of their Europeans. This was the right moment health was very strong. In order to support for the missionaries to continue their the hospital, Church opened nursery work with more success than before. schools in some places in Flores, such as They were able to fill in the empty place caused by the proof of the spirit's weak- in Lela, Maumere and in Ende. ness. This happened just one year be- When some nun congregations fore my arrival. Since then the victory started working in Manggarai, many of of Christianity has become absolute them dedicated their mission in health (Steenbrink, 2007, pp. 98-99). program: providing health services, edu- cating women to the sanitary program, In fact, neglecting of ancestral houses in introducing the family plan, taking care of many cases was very often reducing the disabilities and orphanage people, etc. role of the village leaders. It also impacted Road Infrastructure, Improvement of in disappearing some traditional rituals Agriculture and Economic. The first road which should be done only in a big tradi- construction in Manggarai was started in tional house. This also happened in Kai, 1926 and ended in 1929. It continued Flo- Sumba, Batak, and Kalimantan res “highway” from Larantuka to Ngada (Steenbrink, 2007, pp. 98-99). Even if that had been constructed since 1915. This viewed from a health standpoint, the de- new road then connected Aimere (Ngada) velopment in the housing sector promoted and Reo via Ruteng. “Small roads” then by the church in the early 20th century were opened to connect villages to this was very good, but on the other hand, it Flores “highway”. Nowadays people en- also affected the shifting and changing joy this effort. However, it was not the cultural identity (Allerton, 2003). same for the people in the past. During the However, gradually the Manggarai Dutch colonial era, road construction people have preferred to build healthier mainly became the program of the govern- and smaller houses. In addition, the ment but in support by the church. Local Church has also set up a wood workshop, men were forced to work for the program, where people could use it. Even the bor those who wanted to work for the Church trained local people to be a good Catholic mission, they were free from this carpenter to build healthier models of forced labor. houses. There were also special carpentry In addition to the impact of "forced schools established for the local people. labor" that caused many people died, the

186 Paramita: Historical Studies Journal, 29(2) 2019 road construction program, in particular, made by J. Verheijen. During his work in had caused culture shock to the Mang- Manggarai, he traveled from one village to garaians. Once the road had been con- another to record as many languages, structed, many people were forced to myths and traditional rites as possible. He move from their villages and settled their succeeded in making a Manggarai lan- houses near the roads. Besides causing guage dictionary in 1942-1945. They were culture shock, this also started deforesta- published by a well-known publisher in tion and desacralization as well. It also Netherland. He also wrote the concept of changed the social structure. the Manggarai people about God. Until the early 20th century, many Willem van Bekkum, the first Bish- Manggaraian lived as food hunters. They op of Manggarai was quite eager to try to had very little knowledge of agriculture. "Christianize" traditional religious cere- They depended on their life from hunting monies. Before the Second Vatican Coun- and collecting forest products as food. The cil echoed the importance of the approach church began to help promote agriculture in the culture in which the gospel was pro- by providing seeds and socializing garden- claimed, he actively spoke of the im- ing methods. The seeds of coffee, choco- portance of including "pagan" elements in late, candlenut, etc. were brought in by the church liturgy. In a conference held in missionaries from Buitenzorg / Bogor. Asisi, he also made this point. From the Rice fields were introduced since the very beginning, he investigated people's 1930s. The Church also opened one farm- ceremonies and parties. From there he ing school in the mid of 20th century. All combines eucharistic celebrations with of these gave the opportunity to the local traditional parties. Penti, a thanksgiving people to increase their economic income. party for the Manggarai people, for exam- Anthropological Works. Some mis- ple, was tried to be "Christianized". He sionaries who worked in Manggarai in the also sought to bring traditional songs and 1930s had social, language and anthropol- dances to the Church liturgy. This effort ogy based knowledge. They respected peo- became even more intense when he be- ple’s local beliefs as well as their culture came a bishop. He was known for his and language. Adolf Burger, a Dutch mis- "buffalo mass", an example of including sionary, started collecting the words of the traditional ceremonies in the celebration Manggarai language into a simple diction- of the Eucharist held in the middle of the ary for the sake of his dissertation. In addi- village. During mass, buffaloes were tion, he also collected myths, oral narra- slaughtered as is the ceremony carried out tives and recorded traditional rites. His by traditional communities (Erb, 2006). work was published in 1946 by his pro- In addition to those sectors, the moter, Prof. G. J Gonda because Burger presence of the Catholic Church in Mang- had died during World War II at that garai certainly have brought other changes time. His dictionary helps missionaries in terms of beliefs, social and morality in- who study the Manggarai language (Toda, cluding, for example, the way people have 1999, pp. 30-32). Another missionary, perceived local culture, marriage, the posi- Franz Dorn, who arrived in Ruteng April tion of women and men (Lon & Widya- 14, 1922, paid attention to the use of the wati, 2018, p. 272), children (Lon & Manggarai language to preach and to Widyawati, 2017) and some other practi- translate several prayers in the Manggarai cal morals. language. Thomas Koning also tried to preach in Manggarai language first by CONCLUSION reading then freely. Some prayers and The history obviously depicts how Catho- songs from Latin and other European lan- lic Church has played important role in guages were also translated in the local development over the early and mid of language (Betrray, 1974). twentieth centuries in Manggarai, Eastern Another anthropological work was Indonesia. The presence of European mis-

187 Paramita: Historical Studies Journal, 29(2) 2019 sionaries in Manggarai since the early Asad (Asad, 1933) who argues that mod- 20th century has succeeded in making the ern conceptual categories of religion and people of Manggarai out of backwardness the secular are inextricably inter- and introducing them to “a more modern” dependent and mutually constitute be- way of life. For much of the 20th century, come clear in the context of mission and the Catholic Church in Flores held a posi- development in Manggarai. tion similar to other agencies interested in program and development culture as an REFERENCES impediment to development that would continue to mire local communities in Allerton, C. (2003). Authentic Housing, poverty and backwardness if it were radi- Authentic Culture? Transforming a cally changed or eradicated (Erb & Village into a "tourist site" in Widyawati, 2018, p. 85). Manggarai, Eastern Indonesia. Indonesia and the Malay World , 31 (89), Furthermore, it is not surprising if 119-128. people got in love with Catholicism, Aragon, J. (2000). Fields of the Lord. Animism, adopted this new religion and way of life. Christian Minorities and State Development It also answered the questioned why Flo- in Indonesia. Honolulu: University of res has become the only “Catholic Island” Hawai'i Press. in this biggest Muslim country. People Arasaratman, S. (1986). The Chulia Muslim have received Catholicism as a new reli- Merchants in Souteast Asia 1650-1800. gion and committed to be a new Catholic Conference of the International Association society as well. Webb (1990) describes of Historians of Asia 27-31 October. that “the Florenese live on an island Singapore. where ‘even the trees, rocks and birds are Aritonang, J., & Steebrink, K. (2012). Christi- anity in Indonesia. Netherlands and Bos- Catholic.” For the Flores people, includ- ton: Brill. ing the Manggaraians, the meaning of Asad, T. (1933). Genealogies of Religion: Church has been primarily experienced Discipline and Reasons of Power in through the presence of numerous Catho- Christianity and Islam. London: The lic schools, good health centers, water in- John Hopkin University Press. stallation, road constructions, etc. Betrray, Y. (1974). Sejarah Gereja Katolik di As the compliment, the Catholic Wilayah Keuskupan Ruteng in Muskesn, Church has become the most influential M.P.M. Sejarah Gereja Katolik Indonesia and prominent institution in Manggarai. Jilid 3. Jakarta-Ende: DOKPEN- The Church’s ritual and celebrations have MAWi, Nusa Indah. been very essential for people’s daily life. Boelaars, H. (2005). Indonesianisasi, Dari Gereja Katolik Indonesia menjadi Gereja The Church also often has determined Indonesia. Yogyakarta: Kanisius. many ‘secular’ activities in society. It has Borgias, F. (2015). The Quick Grwoth of the been very common for schools, govern- Catholic Church in Manggarai: A Phe- ment offices, and other institutions to rear- nomenology of Conversion and Some range their schedules in order to accom- Explanations. Melintas , 31/3, 276-302. modate the celebrations of the Church or Boxer, C. (1965). The Dutch Seaborn Empire a parish. Priests or members of the hierar- 1600-1800. London: Hutchinson & Co. chy and religious orders have been had Coolhaas, W. P. (1942). “Bijdrage tot de Ken- prestigious and high status in society. nis van het Manggaraische Volk (West Many people have respected them more Flores)”. Tijdschift van het Nederlandsch they have done to the local and govern- Aardrijkskundig Genootschap 59 , 148-177, 328-357. ment leaders. Dietrich, S. (1986). Kolonialismus un Mission auf It is obvious, a mission that goes Flores. Tubingen. hand in hand with development, would be Erb, M. (2006). Between Empowerment and appreciated and greatly received than if Power: The Rise of the Self-Supporting the mission would be exclusively merely Church in Western Flores, Eastern in religious matters. Here the idea of Talal Indonesia. Sojourn: Journl of Social Issues

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