Inclusive celebrations at Magelang seminary

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Festive: People gather for centenary commemorations at the Mertoyudan Seminary in Magelang, Central Java.

The peak of the recent centenary commemorations of Mertoyudan Seminary in Magelang, Central Java, was enlivened by a festival involving Catholic delegates from all over the country and non-Christian members of the Community of Five Mountains.

Smoking: Part of what was a true cultural festival involved a man going into a trance and requesting cigarettes.Following a mass conducted by Semarang Archbishop Monsignor Johanes Pujosumarta, hundreds of artists from Mount Merapi, Mount Merbabu, Mount Sumbing, Mount Andong and the Menoreh mountain range paraded bishops from various places in Indonesia to the rostrum of arts.
Celebrating: Following a mass conducted by Semarang Archbishop Monsignor Johanes Pujosumarta, hundreds of artists paraded bishops from various places in Indonesia to the rostrum of arts.
Themed “Encyclopedia of Agro-culture”, the festival presented the graceful Arjuna Wiwaha dance drama, an episode of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, and a jatilan, or traditional horse dance with performers going into a mass trance.

Although it was the centenary of a college that trains prospective Catholic priests, the festival shed any religious connotations.

What emerged instead was a celebration of culture for people of all faiths.

— Photos by JP/Tarko Sudiarno