ASIA/INDONESIA - A cross in every village: Catholic Flores is not at all a foreign body in the vast and plural Indonesian archipelago

by Paolo Affatato

Ruteng (Agenzia Fides) - The Portuguese named it "flower island" in the 16th century. Flores - as it is still called in Indonesia - is one of the pearls of the Sunda Islands, in the eastern part of the archipelago, included in the civil province of East Nusa Tenggara. The virgin forests, the green valleys where rice fields stretch to the horizon, the breathtaking landscapes, from the hills to the coral sea, explain why the European colonizers (first the Portuguese, then the Dutch) were enchanted by the region, giving the island its floral name for the bright red-orange colors of the vegetation found especially on the eastern side of the island. The local population (at least six languages are spoken on the island, with their different tribes, cultures and traditions), mainly engaged in agriculture or fishing, demonstrates a willingness, hospitality and a simplicity that make the visitor - today as centuries ago - feel at ease.

In the rural villages on the eastern part of Flores - between the maritime city of Labuan Bajo and the hilly center of Ruteng - one element strikes you: there is a cross in every village, a chapel, a small or large church, made of bamboo wood or brick. It is the sign of a deeply rooted faith that characterizes and makes Flores unique in all of Indonesia. Unlike the other Indonesian islands - in the most populous Islamic country in the world - Flores is home to a population that is overwhelmingly Catholic, introduced by Christian missionaries from the beginning. The province of East Nusa Tenggara (which includes Flores and other islands in the eastern part of the archipelago) has, according to data from the Indonesian Episcopal Conference, about 3 million Catholics (out of a total of 10.5 million in the whole of Indonesia). Flores is considered the "Catholic heart of the nation" and in the western part of the island alone (today divided between the territory of the Diocese of Ruteng and that of the newly created Diocese of Labuan Bajo), the faithful number 800,000, out of a total population of one million inhabitants. As proof of the pastoral need to accompany the people of God, the territory of the island is today divided into five Catholic dioceses (Labuan Bajo, Ruteng, Ende, Maumere, Larantuka).
On the religious level, in some port cities such as Labuan Bajo, the Muslim population is larger (up to half of the resident population), while in the hinterland the population is almost entirely Catholic, in a rural context where animist rituals and traditional beliefs, such as ancestor worship, remain present.

The population in the western area of Flores is identified as "Manggarai", a social segment that has its own cultural traditions and is home to a number of tribes and subgroups. The traditional house, the "Mbaru niang", characterized by a circular base and a cone-shaped roof, up to 5 floors high, can house up to 8 families, including food reserves and harvested fruits. These houses, which emerge from the vegetation and enrich the urban landscape, are also small domestic churches. The element of local culture has been perfectly integrated - in a long and harmonious process of interpenetration and enculturation - into the Catholic faith, which today represents "the culmination of all traditional rites and practices", explains to Fides Father Lian Angkur, a 38-year-old diocesan priest from Ruteng. Thus, in every religious festival, the dances, gestures, rites of welcome and solidarity between families, celebrations of ordinary life such as the birth of a child, weddings or funeral, find their perfect synthesis in the words of Scripture or in a particular devotion to Jesus, to the Virgin, to the saints. In every village or district of a populous city, there is a "small base communities" (KBG), communities of 15 to 20 families who meet regularly for prayer, reading of the Gospel and sharing. These are the signs of a faith that is lived in small daily gestures and that nourishes the ordinary life of people, in the social fabric in which they find themselves. "There is no conflict between our traditional culture and faith: Christian values have been integrated into people's lives, the "old life", made up of cultural practices, has been replaced, with the proclamation of Christ, by a "new life" in which one can find the profound meaning of a story, imbued with a Christian spirituality that gives the profound meaning of a pilgrimage in this earthly life and that the community welcomed centuries ago with joy, transmitting the treasure of faith from generation to generation," notes the priest.

To illustrate this dynamic, it is enough to go to the rural areas, where the authenticity of a simple and unstructured faith emerges clearly and forcefully: here, the Catholic community of Flores finds a fruitful point of reference in Pope Francis' encyclical "Laudato Sì", rediscovering accents and themes dear to life ordinarily immersed in a prosperous and flourishing nature, sometimes truly luxuriant. Thus, in full harmony, in the diocesan community of Ruteng, the pastoral theme of the current year is that of "integral ecology", which reaffirms the importance of personal contribution and individual lifestyle for the "care of the common home". The rural parish of the Sacred Heart, located in the village of Ojibway, is a precious source of sustenance for the inhabitants of the villages, thanks to its donations such as mangoes and papayas, crystal clear waters and fruit trees. The rural parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in the Ruteng region, has a particular conformation that makes it a Laudato Si' style church: in its perimeter walls, the small openings along the aisles, which serve as air inlets for the building, have become a natural and privileged nesting space for sparrows. These colorful and singing birds have made the church their permanent home and the liturgical celebrations, as well as the children's choirs, are truly animated by their melodious chirping.

"Integral ecology is not a purely environmentalist theme," emphasizes Father Martin Chen, priest in charge of the Ruteng Pastoral Center, a place of reflection and development, where the themes of pastoral life are thought out, chosen and submitted to the diocesan assembly. "It is a theme that has biblical roots, from the Holy Scriptures, and that goes all the way to Laudato Si'.
Ecological spirituality touches the mind and heart of every believer and leads to action, to the protection of Creation. The ecology we are talking about is fully and strongly linked to faith: in the Manggarai culture, this aspect, already present, is enriched by the awareness that God, humanity and nature are intimately linked," he notes.

But Flores is not just nature: the island has played an important role in Indonesian history because, about ten years before the declaration of independence (August 17, 1945), the founding father of the current Republic, Sukarno, was exiled by the Dutch colonizers and spent a forced stay of four years on Flores. In the Bung Karno Reflection Park, the future first president of Indonesia meditates on the future of the nation and, according to historians, it was in Flores that Sukarno began to elaborate the "Pancasila", the Charter of the five principles that would form the basis of the Indonesian Constitution and whose function was to merge the different souls of the independence movements: nationalist, Islamic and communist, into a single common philosophy. In Ende, a monument in the park represents the father of the country sitting in meditation, and it is still possible to visit Sukarno's house, which has become a museum with photos and objects of the first president, inspired by the tranquility and beauty of the island.

Today, by virtue of this historical passage - which describes Flores as the "birthplace of Pancasila" - the people of Flores do not experience being Catholic as something alien to the life of Indonesia and its history, to its current political, social and cultural conformation, which has also seen, in memory, the contribution of Christians. Catholic citizens feel "totally Indonesian" and "totally Catholic", part of a nation in which "religious difference is perceived as a wealth, a component linked to historical events that, today, in no way constitute a barrier, with Muslim citizens or citizens of other religions", observes Father Lian Angkur. This is clearly seen in families that often integrate, always with extreme naturalness, people of Christian and Muslim faith without any problem, in the deep and physiological acceptance of spirituality and personal faith," he emphasizes. Flores, 80% Catholic, is therefore in no way a foreign body in the vast and plural Indonesian archipelago. This is seen in everyday life, in the customs and practices of daily life, in the way in which the entire population - from interreligious forums to relations between ordinary people - cares about protecting a dialogue that has lasted for centuries and that creates a religious social harmony - perceived as something fundamental, inherent to ordinary life - and which is not supposed to be disturbed by external elements or forces. The encounter, the dialogue, the shared vision between civil and religious authorities, the important family ties, the common prayer, all these factors that create a way of life and human relationships in the social fabric, keep Flores firmly rooted in the Gospel as well as in the history and the specific culture of Indonesia. (Agenzia Fides, 30/7/2024)

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