CARRYING CULTURE AND RE(CREA TING) NATION THROUGH CHRISTIANITY: MINAHASAN CULTURE AND IDENTITY IN TRANSNATIONAL INDONESIAN CHURCHES IN NEW ENGLAND A THESIS SUBMITIED TO THE GRADUATE DMSION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HA WAI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN ANTHROPOLOGY MAY 2008 By Kelli A. Swazey Thesis Committee Geoffrey White, Chairperson Alex Golub JonGoss © Kelli A. Swazey iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The word for "thank you" in Indonesian is literally translated as "to receive love," and in accepting the love and assistance of many over the course of this project lowe many debts. To the masyara/wt Indonesia in New Hampshire, I will be forever grateful that you welcomed me into your homes and lives, endured my constant questions, and have been so supportive of my project in general. I feel privileged to have eaten, worshipped, celebrated and mourned as a member of your community. Saya sungguh percaya selalu ada alasan lretilra Tuhan yang Maha Esa membawa orang Ire lrehidupan kita. Saya betul­ betul diberkati oleh Tuhan dengan lresempatan untuk bertemu banyak orang yang hebat dan penuh dengan iman yang kuat. Saya mendapat inspirasi dart kalian semua. lowe a special debt of gratitude to Pastor Robert Waworuntu, and Pastor Michael Lapian for including me in the activities of their churches and encouraging me to contribute to the story of the Indonesian community in NH, and the Jives of Minahasans Jiving far from home. I would also like to thank Pastor Lynn Opderbeeke and the members of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Newington for allowing me to share in their relationship with their sister congregation. To Pastor Sandra Pontoh and Debbie Lapian, lowe a debt of the heart. You both have been not only excellent teachers but welcomed me in a bond of sisterhood that is a blessing far more valuable than the results of any research. Terima Kasih banyak atas persahabatan dan lrebijakan Ando. I'm not sure I will ever repay Keluarga Monareh for all they have done for me. As the very first family that ever sat for an interview, their help has been indispensable in locating interview subjects, and keeping me connected to the community no matter where I was located. Antonious and Ade, Saya sungguh mengarhai bantuan Ando. Thank you for welcoming me into your family. Many thanks also to Ibu Paula, Bapak Vicki and the whole Lumentut household in Manado, who went out of their way to facilitate my research in Minahasa and were extremely generous with their home and their time. My time in Manado was also enriched by the staff of the COTIM program who worked so hard to teach me the ins and outs of Bahasa Indonesia (and Bahasa Manado!). Research projects are not lone ventures; any academic work bears the traces of a community of colleagues and mentors who help to develop an idea into a polished work. I truly appreciate the advice and assistance of my committee members Dr. Alex Golub and Dr. Jon Goss, as well as my chair Dr. Geoff White, without whose help and encouragement this project would not have come to fruition. And as she is probably already aware, I never would have arrived at this destination if Dr. Deb Winslow hadn't started me on the journey. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the fmancial support of the National Science Foundation in making this project possible. To Mom, Jess and Osvaldo for believing in me no matter what. iv ABSTRACf This thesis investigates how individuals from Minahasa, a predominantly Christian region in North Sulawesi, use a Christian ideology to transpose the compartmentalization of national, ethnic and religious identities used in Indonesia to manage diversity, making religious identity the transcendent principle of national and ethnic identification in transnational, multi-ethnic Indonesian churches in New England. Minahasans experience their ethnic identity as based in a Christian ontology, a model that exists in tension with the Indonesian national construction of the relationship between ethnicity, national identity and religious affiliation. This work considers how Minahasan identity construction has historically been located in relationships of Christianity that connected the region with the world beyond the Indonesian archipelago. This history enables Minahasans to realize a dream of religious nationalism in the United States, converging the Christian practices and beliefs that transmit pre-colonial forms Minahasan cultural identity with national identity in ways difficult to achieve within Indonesian borders. v Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................iv ABSTRACT .........................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ..............................................................................vii LIST OF TRANSCRIPTION AND TRANSLATION SYMBOLS .......................viii CHAPTER I: Introduction ........................................................................... 1 CHAPfER 2: Minahasa Through History ...................................................... 11 Pre-colonial Configurations ............................................................. 16 Interference in Land and Leadership: Cultuurestelsel, Coffee and Cultural Change ............................................................22 Reaching out for the Gospel: Christianity in Minahasa ..............................26 Becoming Colonial Elites and the ''Light of Day" ....................................31 One of Many: Minahasa Through the Japanese Occupation and Independence .........................................................................36 Post-Independence influences: PERMESTA, Christianity under the New Order, and Decentralization ............................43 CHAPTER 3: Ethnicity, (Trans)nationalism and Community in Southern New Hampshire Indonesian Churches ...............................................51 Ethnic Identities ...........................................................................64 Socioeconomics and Class Concerns .................................................... 69 The Broader Social Field .................................................................73 Issues of Legality and Citizenship ......................................................80 CHAPfER 4: Minahasa and America: Concepts of the Foreign ..................................................................................... '" ....... 85 Concepts of the Foreign ..................................................................88 Foreign Roots and Racial Implications ................................................. 91 Narratives of Safety: America and Americans in Minahasa ........................ 94 Seeking Status in a New Land ..........................................................! 02 CHAPTER 5: Minahasan Histories Retold: History, Memory and Christian Meanings ................................................................. 11 0 Missing Conversions ..................................................................... 114 Narratives of Continuity in the Transnational Church: The Lumimuut Legend .................................................................. 122 CHAPTER 6: Conclusion: Christianity, Ethnic Cultures and Minahasan Long-Distance Nationalism ........................................................ 142 APPENDIX A: Versions of Beginning Verses of Lumimuut and Toar Myth ........................................................................ 159 APPENDIX B: Church Service Documents ................................................... 164 REFERENCES ................................................................................... 169 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Map of general location oflanguage groups in Minahasa, 1853 .................. I 5 2. Map of Dutch Administrative units in Minahasa, 192 I .. " ....•.. '" ..•...........2 I 3. Map of North and Central Sulawesi administrative units post 2003 ...........•.43 4. Responses to Survey 2004 length of residence in New Hampshire ............••.55 5. Map of Seacoast New Hampshire Region Indonesian Churches .....••..•.....••. 59 6. Responses to Survey 2004 region of origin in Indonesia ...••.......•............•.66 7. Lumimuut and Toar tower over Bukit Kasih ...................................... .129 8. The ''Nice Warriors" welcome the Bishop ...........................................152 9. Presenting Vlos textiles to Holy Trinity .................••••....... '" .........•.•.. 153 10. A sign of religion and nationalism in NH ..•.•••......•.••.......................... .I54 11. Minahasa in a new incarnation .••••.......•......•.•........••.•......••..•........••.158 vii TRANSCRIPTION AND TRANSLATION SYMBOLS Transcriptions in both Indonesian and English are rendered with limited application of the Jefferson Method (Jefferson 2004) with additions of emotive symbols from Hepburn (2004). These symbols indicate intonation and other meta-communicative aspects of transcribed speech such as speed, emphasis, and pauses. Standard punctuation marks are used to represent these features in lieu of serving as grammatical symbols. The transcription of original speech is represented in bold text, with accompanying translation in normal text Original speech recorded in English appears in bold text with no accompanying translation. Modem Standard Indonesian orthography was used in translating Indonesian speech. All translations, as well as any translation errors, are solely the responsibility of the author. SYMBOL ( ] Indicates