Njega wa Gioko and the European missionaries in the colonial Kenya: A theo-historical recollection and reflection

Njega wa Gioko (1865–1948) was one of the pioneer Chiefs in Kirinyaga county of Kenya. The other pioneer Chief in Kirinyaga county was Gutu wa Kibetu (1860–1927) who reigned in the Eastern part of Kirinyaga county. Gioko reigned in the western part of Kirinyaga county (Ndia) that extended to some geographical parts of the present-day Nyeri county and the present-day Embu county. Njega also became the first paramount Chief of Embu district, which refers to the present-day Embu and Kirinyaga counties. As colonial hegemony and the protestant missionary enterprises, and its resultant evangelical theology, began to shape up in the present-day Kirinyaga county and the surrounding areas between 1904 and 1906, it found Gioko and Kibetu as the Athamaki (the most revered leaders). The evangelical European missionaries (Church Missionary Society [CMS]) who were comfortable with the colonial expansion, as it provided western governance structures that favoured their enterprises, employed Calvinistic theology in their dealings with the colonial government, and they dealt with the local leaders (Athamaki), who were eventually ‘promoted’ to the post of Chiefs in 1908 by the new rulers. Nevertheless, the missionary’s emphasis on unrealised eschatology (future concerns) differed sharply with those of Athamaki who were the custodians of African indigenous religion and its resultant emphasis on realised eschatology (present concerns). As an agent of African religion, how did Gioko relate with the early 20th-century evangelical European missionaries and their Calvinistic tendencies that favoured the Church–State relationship as the way of God? The data for this research article are gathered through oral interviews, archival sources and extensive review of the relevant literature.Contribution: This article contributes to the journal’s vision and scope with its focus on the early protestant theologies of the European Missionaries of the 19th and 20th centuries, and their resultant clashes with the theologies of African indigenous religion. As a multidisciplinary article that builds on a theo-historical design, the article contributes to the ongoing discourses on gospel and culture.

REVISITING JAVANESE ISLAM

This article tends to revisiting Javanese Islamic studies. This study began from the European travelers’ period who noted some aspects of society such as the religious life. Those notes show the negative label that is addressed to the Javanese religious practices. These negative labels are often reproduced in Javanese Islam studies to this day. This article argues that the negative labels in Javanese Islamic studies tend to be misrepresentative. These kinds of results cannot be separated from certain paradigms in religious studies. There are two paradigms in the study of religion which are discussed in this article. First, the world religion paradigm. This paradigm, consciously or not, is often used in Javanese Islamic studies. The implication is Javanese religious practices are often portrayed as animist, syncretic, and so on. Second, the indigenous religion paradigm. This article elaborates this paradigm because of its potential in understanding Javanese Islamic religious practice more properly. The basis of this paradigm is intersubjective relation with ethical commitment, responsibility, and reciprocity.

Oral-Based Christian-Marapu Interreligious Engagement: Manawara as a Shared Virtue for Common Liberation

This has been prevalent that the discourse of interreligious dialogue has been overwhelmingly dominated by the elites in the formal spheres. It even seems to be the only standard to examine the issues of interreligious relations, without taking into account the diverse modes of everyday engagements among the people. This then raises the recognition that there is actually no single pattern for interreligious engagement since it would be always contextual according to its distinctive context. It therefore implies the need to learn more from the localities to develop more contextual interreligious engagement. In this regard, this work will examine the interreligious engagement of Christianity and Marapu indigenous religion in Sumba. The data used in this work are based on the field research conducted in 2019 in Southwest Sumba. Observation and in depth interview with a number of Sumbanese Christians and Marapu are also conducted. The research finds that manawara (the teaching of love; compassion) as the potential basis for developing social engagement. The term manawara is used by Marapu people in their teaching, but since the term is a Sumbanese language, the Sumbanese Christians also translate their prominent teaching of love with that term. Manawara is then both scriptural-based for Christians, and oral-based for Marapu people. Using Lattu’s oral-based interreligious engagement and Knitter’s socially engaged dialogue as the theoretical frameworks, this work argues that manawara as a shared virtue is very potential to be developed, in realizing common liberation of the Sumbanese through mutual action. Keywords: interreligious engagement, manawara, orality, sumbanese christian, marapu indigenous rel Wacana dialog antaragama selama ini telah didominasi sedemikian rupa oleh para elit dalam ruang-ruang formal. Hal itu bahkan menjadi seolah satu-satunya ukuran untuk membahas isu-isu hubungan antaragama, tanpa memperhitungkan keberagaman bentuk keterlibatan sehari-hari yang dihidupi secara nyata oleh orang-orang beragama yang merupakan subjek utama dalam topik tersebut. Dari sinilah kemudian muncul kesadaran bahwa sebenarnya tidak ada satu pola tertentu untuk keterlibatan antaragama karena ia akan selalu tergantung pada konteksnya yang unik. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa penting untuk lebih banyak belajar dari lokalitas-lokalitas yang ada demi mengembangkan keterlibatan antaragama yang lebih kontekstual. Untuk itu, tulisan ini akan membahas keterlibatan antaragama Kristen dan Marapu di Sumba. Data yang digunakan dalam studi ini diperoleh dari sebuah penelitian lapangan pada tahun 2019 di Sumba Barat Daya yang dilakukan melalui observasi dan wawancara mendalam dengan sejumlah orang Sumba Kristen dan Marapu. Penelitian tersebut menemukan manawara (ajaran tentang kasih) sebagai basis potensial untuk mengembangkan keterlibatan yang ada. Istilah manawara digunakan oleh orang Marapu dalam ajaran mereka, namun karena istilah tersebut adalah sebuah kata dalam Bahasa Sumba, orang Sumba Kristen juga menerjemahkan ajaran kasih mereka dengan istilah manawara tersebut. Dengan demikian, manawara menjadi suatu ajaran yang basisnya skriptural, bagi orang Kristen, dan oral, bagi orang Marapu. Dengan menggunakan keterlibatan antaragama berbasis oral dari Lattu dan socially engaged dialogue dari Knitter sebagai kerangka teori, studi ini berargumen bahwa manawara sebagai sebuah kebajikan bersama sangatlah potensial untuk dikembangkan, dalam merealisasikan pembebasan bersama orang Sumba melalui aksi bersama. Kata Kunci: keterlibatan antaragama, manawara, kelisanan, orang Kristen Sumba, agama Marapu

DINAMIKA KONFLIK IDENTITAS PENGHAYAT SAPTA DARMA DI DESA SUKORENO, JEMBER, JAWA TIMUR

The polemic of religious identity between “penghayat kepercayaan” (believers of indigenous religion) and followers of the official religions in Indonesia is still become a sensitive issue, which adds to the long list of marginalization of indigenous believers in Indonesia. Several forms of marginalization are: forcing to choose certain official religions in their National ID Card, the pros and cons of the burial places of the deceased indigenous believers, and restrictions on the construction of their worship places. This article aims to elaborate the dynamics of identity conflict between adherents of the Sapta Darma (one of indigenous belief) and the followers of official religions in Sukoreno Village, Jember, East Java. This study uses a qualitative approach using observation, in-depth interviews with 7 (seven) informants of Sapta Darma followers, and members of FKUB (Forum of Religious Harmony) for the data collection. The results of the study reveal that this identity polemic has made it difficult for adherents of Sapta Dharma to change their religious identity on their ID cards. As a consequence, they also have difficulty in accessing public burial places. Conflict resolution efforts are carried out through FKUB by providing socialization of knowledge on nationality and cultural perspective to the interfaith leaders. Polemik identitas agama antara penghayat kepercayaan dengan pemeluk agama resmi di Indonesia masih menjadi isu yang menambah daftar panjang marginalisasi penganut kepercayaan di Indonesia. Bentuk marginalisasi ini mengarah kepada pemaksaan pencantuman agama tertentu dalam KTP dan KK warga penghayat, pro dan kontra tempat pemakaman warga penghayat yang meninggal, dan pembatasan pembangunan rumah peribadatan bagi warga penghayat. Artikel ini bermaksud untuk mengelaborasi dinamika konflik identitas antara penghayat kepercayaan Sapta Darma dengan para pemeluk agama resmi, dengan mengambil lokasi tempat di Desa Sukoreno, Jember, Jawa Timur. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan teknik pengumpulan data berupa observasi, wawancara mendalam terhadap 7 (tujuh) informan warga penghayat Sapta Darma, dan anggota FKUB (Forum Kerukunan Umat Beragama). Hasil penelitian mengungkapkan bahwa polemik identitas ini mengakibatkan warga pengahayat kesulitan dalam mengganti identitas agamanya di KTP dan KK sehingga mereka memiliki identitas ganda dan kesulitan dalam mengakses tempat pemakaman umum. Upaya resolusi konflik dilakukan melalui FKUB dengan memberikan sosialisasi wawasan kebangsaan dan pendekatan kultural dengan tokoh lintas agama.

Symbolic meanings of Holy Temple in Cao Dai Tay Ninh Holy See

Dai Dao Tam Ky Pho Do [The Great Way of The Third Amnesty Era] (shortly Caodaism) is an indigenous religion established in southern Vietnam in the early 20th century. Being one of the new religions in the region, Caodaism has been constantly developing and attracting quite a great number of followers of over three million. The doctrine of Caodaism is a synthesis of the Three Religions, e.g. Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism together with elements from some other religions. The doctrine is not only shown in scriptures, religious structure, but also expressed through symbols in architecture, rituals and costumes. To a certain extent, it is thus essential to understand the symbolism of the Holy Temple – the most important one of the symbolism system so that we can fully comprehend Caodaism. The Temple is the most solemn and sacred place in Cao Dai Tay Ninh Holy See. It carries both philosophical and esoteric meanings as an emblem of cultural syncretism. The study of the Holy Temple symbol will elaborate further Caodaist doctrines in a relationship with the cultural context of the Southern region.

Construction of rape culture amongst the Shona indigenous religion and culture: Perspectives from African feminist cultural hermeneutics

Rape culture is reportedly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. Culture, patriarchy, poverty and religion continue to sustain rape culture. The notions of the objectification of women’s bodies amongst the Shona people are causatives for rape culture within diverse cultural institutions. Africans reasonably uphold marriage with high esteem; unfortunately, the marriage institution is also susceptible to becoming a source of abuse, coercion, and is often used as a tool for controlling women. Some of the entrenched marital rituals embody diverse detrimental and contentious practices, which deprive girls and women their autonomous rights, particularly their sexual and reproductive rights. This research article interrogates numerous aspects within the Shona indigenous religion and culture, which precipitate the construction of rape culture. The study uses African feminism as a theoretical framework. It utilises African feminist cultural hermeneutics to interrogate rape culture amongst the Shona people. The research study is qualitative with a conceptual analysis paradigm. It concludes by proposing the need for tapping into some life-giving and gender inclusive principles within the Shona indigenous religion and culture to be utilised as tools for eradicating rape culture.Contribution: Utilising the African feminist cultural hermeneutical framework, the article interrogated several factors precipitating rape culture amongst the Shona people. It foregrounded that women bear the brunt of burden of rape culture. It concludes by proposing the need for tapping into some positive Shona indigenous traditions as tools for curbing rape culture.

Primal or Indigenous?

Indigenous religions have been demonised, eclipsed or ignored ever since the advent of modernity. However, in the wake of the decolonial turn they are enjoying a revival of interest and restoration. In Africa this has led to a renewed interest in African Religion. Five approaches are made to the topic by its non-practitioners – that it does not exist, that it is evil, that it is inadequate, that it is preparation for the Christian gospel, or that it is a form of indigenous religion and has integrity in its own right. A particular debate has emerged over the past twenty years concerning nomenclature. How should African Religion be understood and what should it be called? Two possibilities have emerged, the primal and the indigenous. The primal discourse emphasises the role that African Religion plays in the shaping of religion generally and Christianity particularly. The indigenous discourse has developed in opposition to this and emphasises the particularity and uniqueness of African Religion as a species of indigenous religion to be understood in its own right.

African Traditional Religion vis-à-vis the Tackle It Suffers

African Traditional Religion is the indigenous religion of the Africans. The religion that has existed before the advent of western civilization which came with secularism as an umbrella that shades Christianity, education, urbanization, colonization and so on. These features of western civilization were impressed upon African Traditional Religion. Hence, the presence of alien cultures and practices in contemporary African traditional practice, as well as the presence of elements of traditionalism in contemporary African Christian practices. This somewhat symbiosis was discussed in this paper and it was discovered that African Traditional Religion was able to jump all the hurdles of secularism, Christianity, urbanization etc and came out successfully though with bruises. The paper used socio-cultural approach in its analysis.

The History and Current Development of Indigenous People Movements in Indonesia

This paper is based on an argument that discrimination against indigenous religion is a fact of the dynamics of policy interpretations. Therefore, the presence of indigenous people movements such as AMAN (Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara), offers solutions for indigenous rights' violations, and it also serves as a place for discussion on existing and possible threats upon indigenous communities. The indigenous people movements aim to establish religious freedom as a means to promote indigenous religion rights, particularly the importance of customary land. On the one hand, the state recognizes the rights of indigenous people, but, on the other hand they are prosecuted with hard conditions in realizing their rights