SECULAR, RELIGIOUS AND SUPERNATURAL – AN EASTERN INDONESIAN CATHOLIC EXPERIENCE OF FEAR (Autoethnographic Reflections on the Reading of a New Order-Era Propaganda Text) Justin Laba Wejak Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2017 Faculty of Arts The University of Melbourne Abstract This thesis examines an Eastern Indonesian Catholic experience of fear by analysing how a New Order-era propaganda text dealing with the political upheavals of 1965- 66 triggers and maintains fear in one Eastern Indonesian Catholic reader – myself. It uses the methodology of autoethnography to examine the fears that I myself experienced in 2004 when encountering a 1967 Catholic propaganda text entitled, ‘Dari Madiun ke Lubang Buaya, dari Lubang Buaya ke…?’ [From Madiun to the Crocodile Hole, from the Crocodile Hole to...?]). By analysing my own experience of fear in reading the text, I argue that the Eastern Indonesian Catholic experience of fear involves three interlocking dimensions – secular, religious and supernatural. These three forms of fear are experienced simultaneously by the reader (myself). The From Madiun text is primarily a secular narrative of the 1965-66 events, but the reader brings his culturally-conditioned religious and supernatural fears when reading it. I argue that supernatural fear is the most unspoken but most powerful form of fear that I experienced when reading the text, and this reflects my membership of the Lamaholot community in which supernatural fear is pervasive. The thesis contends that in relation to 1965, the Catholic Church’s propaganda created an explicit secular fear of communists, an implicit religious fear of Muslims, and a hidden supernatural fear of ghosts. While secular fear represented the nemesis of secularization and a danger to the Indonesian nation-state and to the Catholic Church was the most overt form of fear that the Catholic Church directed against communists, the most profound fears which the Church was able to instill in its members were religious and supernatural forms of fear. These three forms of fear are experienced simultaneously, and the fear of 1965 is not therefore simply a matter of the past, but also of the present. Eliminating the secular threat of communism in 1966 increased the religious threat of Islam and multiplied the supernatural threat from ghosts, which remain very strong in contemporary Lamaholot society. The thesis thus relates the fear of 1965 to the cultural belief systems of my Lamaholot community, belief systems that maintain the fear of 1965 to the present day. ii DECLARATION This is to certify that: • the thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD, • due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used, • the thesis is fewer than 100,000 words in length, exclusive of bibliographies as approved by the Research Higher Degrees Committee. Signature Justin Laba Wejak iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It has been a long journey to the completion of the thesis. In the face of personal circumstances such as death in the family and other important life commitments such as working to support a young family, there were times when I questioned my ability to complete the work. Sometimes I lost confidence and motivation in the process. Yet one thing that remained consistent throughout the journey is my passion for the research project. The thesis is about fear and my experience of reading a New Order propaganda text concerning the political upheavals of 1965-66 in Indonesia. I would like to thank my supervisors: Dr Lewis Mayo, Prof. Richard Chauvel and Dr Muhammad Kamal for their guidance during the process. I found the numerous discussions with each of them very illuminating and thought-provoking. As a philosopher, Kamal provided significant comments and suggestions to improve the theoretical context of the thesis particularly with reference to Martin Heidegger’s philosophy of fear of the present. As a political scientist, Richard ensured that relevant details concerning Indonesia’s political history are included and accurate. As a historian and Asian Studies expert, Lewis enlightened me to explore the connections between the three dimensions of fear – secular, religious and supernatural. Lewis’ sharpness in identifying the connections was very helpful in the process of structuring the thesis to be an integrated and logical piece. Moreover, as my principal supervisor, Lewis showed unreserved belief in me that I would be able to complete the journey that I had started. Such belief was crucial in casting aside my sense of self-doubt. It was truly a rewarding experience of working with Lewis, Richard and Kamal. I am very appreciative and grateful of their willingness and time to journey with me in this challenging project. Thank you also to the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute where I undertook my PhD project, particularly for the financial support to attend international conferences in Sweden (2017) and Singapore (2014). The conference at Lund University in Sweden on ‘Media and Fear’, in particular, has helped me realize even more about the importance of my study on ‘fear’. The contemporary world today has been filled with series of frightening events, and failure in managing one’s sense of fear – individually or collectively – can result in the destruction of our shared humanity. I also sincerely thank Bradley Holland for proof-reading some of my earlier drafts, and Melinda who proof-read all the drafts, and who checked the accuracy of English translations of numerous Indonesian citations in the thesis. I greatly appreciated their time and energy to improve the linguistic credential of the thesis, without of course compromising the authenticity of my own work. To my colleagues and friends, wherever they may be, who have supported me in their own ways and forms throughout the journey, I would also like to say thank you. Just to mention some among many: Prof. Ariel Heryanto, Dr. Balthasar Kehi, Dr. Bruce Duncan and Dr. Val Noone. I would also like to thank the two examiners of my thesis, Dr Philip Fountain and Prof. Pam Allen, for their willingness and time to assess my thesis. I greatly appreciate their attention to the details of the thesis, and their very positive feedback iv on my work was encouraging. I have made minor amendments to some parts of the thesis in response to their comments and suggestions for the final submission of the thesis. Last but not least, I thank my family: Melinda, Amadeus and Konstantyn, for their unconditional support, especially in keeping me motivated, creative and inspired throughout the challenging process of writing. Most of the thesis was written at home in our shared room when I learnt to become accustomed to the unavoidable background noises. There were many times when I chose not to play with them due to my priority focus on the thesis. I very much appreciated their patience and understanding in this regard. As an expression of appreciation I would thus like to dedicate this thesis to my family. They were my motivation for completing what I had started. As this thesis is about fear, one thing that I learned from this process of writing is to not lose hope and courage, as implied in the theological viewpoint of Paul Tillich. With hope and courage one is able to confront whatever fear one may have, and not get entangled in fear that could, in turn, destroy self-confidence and passion. Where there is fear there is also hope and courage. J L Wejak v TABLE OF CONTENTS Title i Abstract ii Declaration iii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents vi INTRODUCTION 1 Prologue: Two experiences of fear 1 Fear experience one: Buang Duran, Adonara – fear and silence Fear experience two: A forgotten text , Yogyakarta – fear and propaganda 5 Political fear, existential fear, cultural fear 8 Proposition 10 Key definitions 13 The text and the reader 13 The forms of fear 14 Secular fear 14 Religious fear 14 Supernatural fear 15 Triggering and maintaining 16 Explicit, implicit and hidden 16 Beings and rivalry 16 Methodology: Autoethnography and reading experience 17 Outline 25 PART ONE: CONTEXTS OF STUDY 27 Chapter 1: THEORETICAL CONTEXT: FEAR, BEING, TIME (PHILOSOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL APPROACHES) 28 Introductory Notes 28 Fear is universally human, and it is specifically religious 29 Fear has a time structure 31 Fear as a state of being 34 Fear always has an object 35 Fear is different from angst 38 Fear has three dimensions 44 Concluding Notes 46 Chapter 2: NATIONAL AND LOCAL CONTEXTS OF 1965-66: REVIEW OF SELECTED LITERATURE 47 Introductory Notes 47 NATIONAL CONTEXT OF 1965-66 50 Responsibility for the October 1, 1965 Coup: Five different narratives 50 The PKI was responsible (Nugroho Notosusanto) 51 The Indonesian Army was responsible (The Cornell Paper) 52 Progressive generals and the PKI were responsible (Harold Crouch), vi Suharto was responsible (W.F. Wertheim) 53 Progressive Army officers and a section of the PKI leadership were responsible (John Roosa) 54 Narratives of locality and violence: Robert Cribb’s edited volume 1990 and the PhD theses of Sudjatmiko (1992) and Sulistyo (1997) 55 Theorizing violence in Indonesia – Robinson, Colombijn, Lindblad and Heryanto 61 Imagining and personalising the events of 1965-66: Joshua Oppenheimer’s documentaries 66 LOCAL CONTEXT OF 1965-66 (FLORES AND WEST TIMOR) 68 Local victims and perpetrators of violence of 1965-66 68 Flores: Victims, perpetrators and the stance of the Church 69 West Timor: Victims, perpetrators and the Church 75