Kristus Raja Church in Cigugur, West Java, is celebrating Sundanese thanksgiving mass. (JP/Nunu Nugraha)

Many believe that being a Christian means embracing a Western worldview, "Jadi Belanda" (becoming Dutch), as some elderly people cynically comment, referring to the Dutch missionaries who introduced Christianity to Indonesia. But that is not the case for the Catholics of Cigugur parish on the slopes of Mt. Ciremai in West Java.

With the exception of taking on Western names when christened, the congregations of Kristus Raja Church in Cigugur and Maria Putri Murni Sejati Church in Cisantana (2 kilometers up the hill from Cigugur) were not uprooted from their own agricultural Sundanese culture after embracing Christianity.

For the elderly farming couple Tarsiana Tarpi'ah, 65, and Amidius Amir, 75, their friend Wilbertus Warsono, 50, young farmer Carolus Ruskandar, 36, and other fellow Christians, Catholicism is "easy" to follow, not only because the liturgy is celebrated in their own language with a Sundanese gamelan orchestra and choir, but also because the religion is expressed through their own worldview.

"Before planting season, we ask permission from the owner of the earth (God) so that Rama (God, the Father) has mercy on us," Tarpi'ah said. Warsono added that before cultivation, they said the Lord's Prayer (the "Our Father" prayer) and the Hail Mary Prayer in Sundanese. "But the rest are prayers from our hearts, with our own words," Tarpi'ah said.

In 1962, the Second Vatican Council (the meeting of Roman Catholic bishops to decide, among things, doctrinal issues) reiterated the concept of Inculturation, abandoning the outdated model of "Transplanting Western Christianity".

"It meant a recognition of other cultures in their own right," wrote scholar Frans Wijsen from the Catholic University of Nijmegen in The Netherlands. "It included dialog with people of other faiths (as was stressed in Asia) and liberation of all forms of oppression (as was emphasized in Latin America)," as Wijsen elaborated in his paper, "Intercultural Theology and the Mission of the Church".

Parish priest Sundanese Abu Kasman said the "dialog" between the church and the Sundanese culture was a work in process.

"The church serves the congregation to understand Christianity in terms of their own frame of reference. The church is for the people, not the people for the church," Abu said, after celebrating mass for the Sundanese Thanksgiving day (Seren Taun) on Dec. 21.

"Seren Taun is not a Catholic tradition, but a thanksgiving celebration in an agricultural society and is not against Church dogma," he said, adding that the 22 Rayagung, 1941 Saka year celebration had been adapted as a purely liturgical celebration, not a customary one.

Church of former Madrais followers

The Catholic farmers of Cigugur parish "translate" Inculturation as a parallelism between Catholicism and the Agama Djawa Sunda (ADS, the "Javanese Sundanese Religion" which is based in Cigugur). Tarpi'ah's viewpoint is an example of this: "There's not much difference between Catholicism and the ADS."

Tarpi'ah was a former adherent of the ADS or Madraisism, named after its founder Prince Sadewa Madrais Alibasa (believed to have lived between 1835-1940), which has now become a cultural movement dubbed Paguyuban Adat Cara Karuhun Urang (PACKU, Organization for the Restoration of Customary Tradition).

Karel Steenbrink, an intercultural studies scholar, says that the major identity markers of Madraisism -- such as strict monogamous marriages and a ban of circumcision -- are in line with Catholicism. Another important element of ADS is the black burial color and the use of coffins made from the highest quality of teak wood.

Warsono, the son of former Madrais followers, believes that the Catholic theology of Holy Communion (when the congregation celebrates the Body of Christ by partaking of sanctified bread) is parallel to the Madrais teaching of the unity of God with humanity. "Janten teu sesah ngartosna," (so, it's not difficult to understand Christianity).

Catholics have existed in Cigugur since Prince Tedjabuana converted in 1964. The prince's father, Madrais, was a member of the nobility of the Sultanate of Cirebon but grew up in Cigugur (about 40 km southwest of Cirebon). He received a standard Islamic education, "but as a young man developed his own blend of spirituality, with new rituals, doctrines and spiritual education and associations," wrote Steenbrink, professor at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, in his paper "A Catholic Sadrach: The contested conversion of Madrais adherents in West Java between 1960-2000".

Madraisism propagates love for local traditions. A harmonious life in conjunction with self-knowledge should be conducted by following the Sundanese cultural traditions -- music, rituals and ceremonies -- and the basic doctrine is summarized in the practice of ngaji badan (reading the body), Steenbrink said. In 1925 Madraisism was officially recognized by the Dutch colonial government as Agama Djawa Sunda, as the movement was known for a long time.

However, since its inception, the followers of this peaceful religion have faced hardships, especially because of resistance from the majority, forcing Tedjabuana to dissolve and revive the movement several times. A victim of the political fight between nationalism, communism and religious parties, Tedjabuana dissolved the group in 1964, declaring himself a Catholic. The same year, 1,827 people followed suit.

Now there are about 3,500 Catholics out of a population of 7,260 in Cigugur (as of April 2006).

"We just followed Rama Tedjabuana who became a Catholic," Amir said, who together with about 300 others, then returned to ADS in 1981 when Prince Djatikusumah, Cigugur's current village elder and Tedjabuana's son, abandoned Catholicism and revived the movement.

However, just like most pluralist Cigugur people who do not make religious association an issue, Amir said, "But I am still involved in church-related activities, if needed."

Amir, and his wife Tarpi'ah -- who has remained a Catholic -- told their life story to The Jakarta Post from their 30-square-meter cow stable, which is big enough for three cows, a mini "kitchen" with a firewood stove and a tiny sofa.

Church's development aid

Initially the couple's only source of income was from farming, but later they enrolled in an animal husbandry project initiated by Cigugur Church, which at the time was under the pastoral care of Dutch priest Matthieu Kuppens.

"Rama (Father) Kuppens purchased cows for the KUD (village cooperative), then the KUD sold them to the farmers and in return the KUD bought our milk," Amir said, who has fond memories of the humorous pastor -- who was able to speak Sundanese fluently.

Carolus Ruskandar, 36, inherited six cows from his parents who had taken advantage of the church's development aid.

"It was a pity that there were negative responses to the aid, due to suspicions. KUD was for everyone and the aid was not just for (those who had become) Catholics," Carolus said.

The turn toward Catholicism in 1964 was simultaneous with the first decade of development aid, Steenbrink said. There were many development projects in agriculture, animal husbandry and small industry, while the Catholic hospital of this small village (300 hectares), which was run by nuns from the Congregation of Sisters of Saint Carolus Borromeus, was regarded by many as the best hospital in Kuningan regency.

Cigugur has become a "productive" Indonesian parish, in terms of producing priests and nuns. They have scattered as far as The Netherlands, The Philippines, Timor Leste, Papua, East Nusa Tenggara, West Sumba and North Sumatra. In this sense, we can say that Jesus was born in the Sundanese earth, too.

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