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My Christmas wish: A halal cross and a Rod Stewart song
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Peaceful celebration: Children from the Christian community, which is a minority group in the Muslim-majority province of Aceh, celebrate Christmas at a meeting hall owned by the Hati Kudus Catholic Church in Banda Aceh. (JP/Hotli Simanjuntak)
W
hat lesson can you learn from the British rock singer Rod Stewart and from two instructions by people in Yogyakarta? Both can be useful in preparing for your last journey to your eternal destiny, whatever your faith.
As Rod crooned, “I am sailing/I am sailing/Home again/Cross the sea
I am sailing/Stormy waters/ To be near You/To be free…”
On Tuesday residents of Purbayan subdistrict in Yogyakarta warned a widow, “There should be no cross on his grave, and the family is not allowed to conduct Catholic prayers at his home or at the cemetery!” The “no-cross” rule is perhaps understandable, because it would stay there for a very long time. But where is the sense of humanity when a family is banned from holding religious services for their father and husband? When he was still alive, Albertus Slamet Sugihardi hoped his last journey would be marked by a solemn funeral service.
Hail the Purbayan villagers! They are brave — some might say heartless — Yogyakartans who dared to punish a dead body because it was that of a Catholic! Do not ever try to stain their faith! Clearly they are not affected at all by any old superstitious belief that his spirit will take revenge, as is often portrayed in Indonesian horror films.
The bold Yogyakartans continued their determination to purify their religion from anything that could stain their faith, including when they were confronted with a dead body! Though the man whose corpse it was had mostly lived harmoniously with them during his life, he was a Catholic! Your religion can be disturbing for other people even when you are deceased. This apparently applies for all religions, especially when followers are in the minority.
Just one week before Christians celebrate a hopefully merry Christmas, the Purbayan residents sent a powerful, straightforward message, contrary to usual Javanese custom. The majority have the final say on everything! This has nothing to do with tolerance. It is the real, basic foundation of democracy. The majority (hence the winner) takes all!
Even a pet deserves a proper funeral for many families in Indonesia. So before you begin sailing, make sure you will not face the same bitterness and prolonged grief as that poor Catholic family. According to Javanese tradition, special prayers should be held at least four times, namely seven days, 40 days, 100 days, and 1,000 days after one’s death. The family will never to be allowed to practice this centuries-old tradition!
For years, I often sang “I am sailing” to warn friends to follow my last wishes, or face scary consequences. On Tuesday, my strong confidence that my highly educated friends would never dare to defy my message, began to fade.
Before my final voyage off to my eternal destiny, as a Catholic I also wish to bring along my cross. And of course, I also want my family to hold a requiem mass for my safe passage, plus a few flattering words about me during my life, although that might be very hard for my children. And, as I have told friends and family in an intimidating tone, they should sing Rod’s song in front of my coffin.
Many friends initially laughed when I explained my last wishes to them. But they became more serious when I recited the consequences they would have to deal with if they did not fulfill their promises. I think I have been quite successful in forcing them to agree to what they have to do before my burial.
“Okay. But what if we do not comply?” a colleague asked.
“I will tickle you from my grave!” She looked shocked. On Tuesday however, I realized many would not be afraid by such a superstitious threat.
I have told my wife and three children to hire a small room during my funeral service to play Rod’s Sailing. “My insurance is more than enough to cover the cost,” I told my wife. She later declared her promise void, because the insurance company, with which I had insured myself for Rp 200 million (US$13,400), had gone bankrupt a few years ago, and there was little hope it could be resurrected.
The tragic fate of a dead body in Yogyakarta worries me. You may laugh at me now. But in the Christmas festive mood, let me give you a friendly suggestion: Don’t take it for granted that everything will be alright after your death, especially if you are among the minority. Worse, if you’re also poor.
Albertus Slamet, may you rest in heaven. Forgive the villagers, although they were fully aware of what they were doing. They simply practiced their faith, rightly or wrongly. We hopefully will find some way to create a halal cross that can be acceptable for all Indonesians.
The state is mandated by the Constitution to protect all citizens regardless of their background, including when they celebrate Christmas next week.
But how about my own demands to my friends? Watch out, I will tickle you.
