M02179
I am Remembering Therefore I am:
Challenges and Opportunities of Teaching the History of Christianity in a
Strong Oral‐Oriented Society and the Biggest Muslim Majority Country
in the World1
Izak Lattu
Department of Theology and Sociology of Religion
Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga, Indonesia
lattu@staff.uksw.edu
Introduction
My short paper touch upon two issues in Indonesia: first, In the past decades,
the study of indigenous knowledge (oral tradition) has contributed to the
development of indigenous awareness and local collective consciousness
internationally. Along with the international massive wave, local communities in
Indonesia begin to develop their local knowledge that based on collective memory
that live in oral tradition. The awareness forces Christianity to take local knowledge
into account seriously: indigenous culture functions as the touchdown of local
theology. This is one among many instances of local knowledge incorporation on
Christian critical engagement in Indonesia.
Second, the topos/sociological context develops the awareness and approach
that shape Christian understanding toward other religions, especially Islam in
1 Presented to ATESEA Teacher Academy 2016 at Seminari Theoloji Malaysia, Kuala
Lumpur, June 20, 2016.
1
Indonesia. This new perspective leads toward the new way of seeing history of
Christian ‐ Muslim engagements in pluralistic context like Indonesia. The new way
of reading history through the mutual understanding eyes is different from the
existing history that provided by colonial scholars who come to the area to pursue
Gold, Glory, and Gospel. The question of how Christianity living in a mutual
relationship with Islam and other religions in Indonesia has hammered Christian
scholars to correct the crooked colonial history.
Main questions here are why the written document has dominated the
history of Christianity in the oral‐oriented society in Indonesia who preserve local
history in oral tradition: folksongs, ritual performances and symbols? Is there any
means by which indigenous community reclaims local‐oral history? This paper
explore: 1) the challenge of academia to bring back people history or at least explore
the history to balance colonial history. 2) Challenges and opportunities of teaching
the History of Christianity in strong oral‐oriented society, but was encapsulated in
the written rhetoric and logic which different from that of orality. 3) Considering
Muslim‐Christian history in Indonesia, the biggest Muslim majority country in the
world.
Colonialism and the Historical Account of Christianity in Indonesia
Scholars in the field of history and philosophy have reminded global
academia that history is the history of the powerful and the winner (Lerner 1997,
118; Foucault 1980). People who are in power have written history to maintain
status quo and to building social fence that protects the powerful while excluding
2
the powerless. In the history of Indonesia, for example, Indonesian former
president, General Soeharto, had written history for the sake of his political power.
The General re‐wrote the history of Indonesia producing new national narrative
that places Soeharto on the top of the national pyramid. The authoritarian office
required the historical curriculum from elementary school to higher education to
teach Soeharto central role in the struggle for independence and his presidency.
History in this sense is the narrative of the ruler who employs the story to legitimate
the potentate political power. The Soeharto’s narrative was circulated as if it’s the
only history of Indonesia while suppressed the people history that different than
that of the political history.
The history of Christianity in Indonesia has taken significant contributions of
Dutch scholars who worked in Indonesia during colonial time. While the historical
account of the scholars has dominated the discourse of history of Christianity in
Indonesia, the scholars motivation to work in Dutch East Indie might involves bias
in the works. Almost all of the scholars who write the history of Christianity in
Indonesia worked as either Dutch government employ or Christian missionaries. As
part of the Dutch colonial government employment, the historical notes of the
scholars aimed to serve the Dutch political goals. In the same tone, as Christian
missionaries, the scholars has inserted the historical descriptions into Christian
frame for the sake of Christian mission. Here, the question of the colonial historical
account comes into being.
The problem of Written Text in the Study of History
3
Former President of American Historian Association, Gerda Lerner, argues
that, “history is memory formed and shaped so as to have meaning. This process, by
which people preserve and interpret the past, and then reinterpret in the light of
new questions, is “history‐making” (Lerner 1997). In Lerner’s perspective, people
understand history through questions that come out from current communal
struggle. Through the questions people encounter new meaning of a historical
narrative. Lerner agrees that history is a communal memory by which people
nurture the past, live the present, and anticipate the future.
Lerner (1997) encapsulates the functions of history in four important
elements: 1) History as memory and a source of personal identity. History in
this sense bridges the past and the future as well as provides a cross generation link.
2) History as a collective immortality. The history shapes a sense of immortality
to human being because this is the continuation of human enterprise and the
production of human mind that expand human story beyond physical life. 3)
History as cultural tradition. History is shared perception and cognition in value,
idea, and experience among a society. The history in this sense functions as the
cultural legitimacy in a given society. 4) History as explanation. Because history
captures the meaning, idea, and value of the past, the historical event illustrates and
interprets the past in the present question to anticipate future problems.
History in this sense is a “form‐giving and meaning‐giving.” The connection
to the past is depend on historical events the require people to be actively engage
with the past narrative. In the society where meaningful connection to the past are
structured in the form of written text, canon plays central role in the active
4
engagement. From folklore studies perspective, Amin Sweeney asserts that people
in strong oral‐oriented society preserve local knowledge orally. He underlines
strong oral oriented society employs verbal memorization and oral mnemonic
devices in face to face every communication. In contrast, canon‐based society
practices written form for social remembrance and communication (Sweeney
1987). Jack Goody, who focuses on the politics of writing, points out that oral society
has written literature as well, yet “oral society has a different approach to language
than when writing intervenes” (2010, 54). Writing, for Goody, “ does not supplant
oral communication; it is merely another channel of communication, substituting for
the oral only in certain contexts.” He adds, in non‐literate society, “oral tradition
handed down through the oral channel” (1992, 12 – 13). Along the same line, Walter
J Ong insists, “Writing, moreover, as will be seen later in detail, is a particularly pre‐
emptive and imperialist activity that tends to assimilate other things to itself even
without the aid of etymologies.” Ong adds, “thus writing from the beginning did not
reduce orality but enhanced it, making it possible to organize the ‘principles’ or
constituents of oratory into a scientific ‘art’, a sequentially ordered body of
explanation that showed how and why oratory achieved and could be made to
achieve its various specific effects (Ong 1982).
Although scholars aware of the oral tradition centrality (Jan Vansina, 1985)
in the people history, scholars in the study of Christian history (Aritonang 2011,
Ngelow 1997) in Indonesia are rarely engage oral tradition in the academic
conversation. The oral history in Christian conversation over the history of
Christianity still an academic lacuna in the study of religion and theology in
5
Indonesia. It’s great that this scholars have explored the history of Christian‐Muslim
relationships in their works.
History, Performance, and Interreligious Engagement
Many areas and ethnic communities in Indonesia preserve local knowledge,
values, narratives, idea, and experience in orality: folksongs, ritual performances,
and symbols. My research in Toraja, Indonesia, shows that Christians recall local
history in the ritual performances, symbols, and oral narratives. Through ritual
performance and symbol people understand and live the cultural narratives. The
meaning of life comes along in the cultural‐historical events not in the form of
written canon.
People in Maluku who underwent religious based conflict in 1999 – 2004 has
realized the misleading influence of written text history after 10.000 people dead.
Written history that produced by the Dutch scholars has inflamed the segregation
between Christian and Muslim in the area. Across generations, people passed down
historical text that situated Muslim as the enemy of Christianity. While oral tradition
describes Muslim and Christian in a strong‐mutual kinship. Folksongs as form of
orality in Maluku cover significant part of Malukan oral history that absent in the
Dutch‐based Christian history.
In the context of Toraja and Maluku, the Dutch‐based Christian history has
situated Christian and Muslim in the enemy image. Yet local history in the diver
forms of orality has pointed indigenous people toward a social solidarity and mutual
understanding. The Dutch Christian history trapped Christian in a religious ghetto.
6
In contrast, local‐oral history has opened avenue for the celebration of religious
differences.
Teaching History in Indonesia
Based on my teaching experience and research data I argue that “orality and
mutual relationship with different religious community” are the main challenges
and opportunities of teaching the History of Christianity in Indonesia. The challenge
could be “fascinosum et tremendum” (Rudolf Otto) at the same time. The challenge is
interesting because students and teachers will explore the history of “self” in the
broader picture of Christianity that already exist in the written text. Also, the
challenge will lead toward the discovery of new history that live in the storytelling
and oral remembrance, but absent in written documents.
However, the challenge might be a nightmare (tremendum) for academia
because the need of revision to the existing (written) history, whereas the existing
history has become the collective truth for society. Another tremendum challenge is
the diverse versions on oral history. It is laborious and time consuming to explore
different narratives and variety of truth in oral history. Yet in long run, the oral
history could rebuild the social‐cultural relationships in society and strengthen civic
engagements.
In my teaching experience, I address the challenge through “glonaloc”
teaching material, student based teaching method, and talent based evaluation.
“Glonaloc” teaching material is the incorporation of global historical event (the
history of Christianity in the global map), national history of Christianity (the
7
interpenetration of Christianity and national narratives), and local history of
Christianity as well as oral history that Christianity need to be consider in a
respective context. Student based teaching method is the model of teaching that
based on student reflections and questions on reading materials. Students bring into
either dialogue or contestation; the narrative of Christianity and current issues that
akin to the materials. By taking this teaching method, students will comprehend the
nexus of the past history of Christianity and the present questions of the sequel of
the history. The evaluation takes talent‐based evaluation to avoid the necessity of
written text evaluation. Using the method, students post the idea of history of
Christianity in different forms of assignments.
Conclusion
Teaching the history of Christianity in country like Indonesia requires
teachers and students to take into account seriously the strong oral‐oriented
context and existence of people of different religious backgrounds. Current
experience is the maxim for academia to question the past history that was formed
in colonial era. Colonial power invaded country like Indonesia in colonial time to
change local culture and to conquer other religions, especially Islam.
The history of “backward” local culture infused the spirit of glory to the
colonial culture to cover local community with a “Western mask.” The history of
Christianity in this sense is the history of Western glory over non‐Western cultures.
By the same token, the history of “infidels” had situated Christianity as the colonial
winner. The history of Christianity here is the story of evangelism and proclamation
8
of Western‐Colonial gospel. In this colonial historical account, the oral history of
local community and historical account of other religions are lesser than that of
Christianity.
This win‐lose model of history needs to be transformed through the
incorporation of the oral history of local Christianity and the awareness of other
religious existence. The transformation is the respect to the history from below and
the story of the neighbor.
9
Challenges and Opportunities of Teaching the History of Christianity in a
Strong Oral‐Oriented Society and the Biggest Muslim Majority Country
in the World1
Izak Lattu
Department of Theology and Sociology of Religion
Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga, Indonesia
lattu@staff.uksw.edu
Introduction
My short paper touch upon two issues in Indonesia: first, In the past decades,
the study of indigenous knowledge (oral tradition) has contributed to the
development of indigenous awareness and local collective consciousness
internationally. Along with the international massive wave, local communities in
Indonesia begin to develop their local knowledge that based on collective memory
that live in oral tradition. The awareness forces Christianity to take local knowledge
into account seriously: indigenous culture functions as the touchdown of local
theology. This is one among many instances of local knowledge incorporation on
Christian critical engagement in Indonesia.
Second, the topos/sociological context develops the awareness and approach
that shape Christian understanding toward other religions, especially Islam in
1 Presented to ATESEA Teacher Academy 2016 at Seminari Theoloji Malaysia, Kuala
Lumpur, June 20, 2016.
1
Indonesia. This new perspective leads toward the new way of seeing history of
Christian ‐ Muslim engagements in pluralistic context like Indonesia. The new way
of reading history through the mutual understanding eyes is different from the
existing history that provided by colonial scholars who come to the area to pursue
Gold, Glory, and Gospel. The question of how Christianity living in a mutual
relationship with Islam and other religions in Indonesia has hammered Christian
scholars to correct the crooked colonial history.
Main questions here are why the written document has dominated the
history of Christianity in the oral‐oriented society in Indonesia who preserve local
history in oral tradition: folksongs, ritual performances and symbols? Is there any
means by which indigenous community reclaims local‐oral history? This paper
explore: 1) the challenge of academia to bring back people history or at least explore
the history to balance colonial history. 2) Challenges and opportunities of teaching
the History of Christianity in strong oral‐oriented society, but was encapsulated in
the written rhetoric and logic which different from that of orality. 3) Considering
Muslim‐Christian history in Indonesia, the biggest Muslim majority country in the
world.
Colonialism and the Historical Account of Christianity in Indonesia
Scholars in the field of history and philosophy have reminded global
academia that history is the history of the powerful and the winner (Lerner 1997,
118; Foucault 1980). People who are in power have written history to maintain
status quo and to building social fence that protects the powerful while excluding
2
the powerless. In the history of Indonesia, for example, Indonesian former
president, General Soeharto, had written history for the sake of his political power.
The General re‐wrote the history of Indonesia producing new national narrative
that places Soeharto on the top of the national pyramid. The authoritarian office
required the historical curriculum from elementary school to higher education to
teach Soeharto central role in the struggle for independence and his presidency.
History in this sense is the narrative of the ruler who employs the story to legitimate
the potentate political power. The Soeharto’s narrative was circulated as if it’s the
only history of Indonesia while suppressed the people history that different than
that of the political history.
The history of Christianity in Indonesia has taken significant contributions of
Dutch scholars who worked in Indonesia during colonial time. While the historical
account of the scholars has dominated the discourse of history of Christianity in
Indonesia, the scholars motivation to work in Dutch East Indie might involves bias
in the works. Almost all of the scholars who write the history of Christianity in
Indonesia worked as either Dutch government employ or Christian missionaries. As
part of the Dutch colonial government employment, the historical notes of the
scholars aimed to serve the Dutch political goals. In the same tone, as Christian
missionaries, the scholars has inserted the historical descriptions into Christian
frame for the sake of Christian mission. Here, the question of the colonial historical
account comes into being.
The problem of Written Text in the Study of History
3
Former President of American Historian Association, Gerda Lerner, argues
that, “history is memory formed and shaped so as to have meaning. This process, by
which people preserve and interpret the past, and then reinterpret in the light of
new questions, is “history‐making” (Lerner 1997). In Lerner’s perspective, people
understand history through questions that come out from current communal
struggle. Through the questions people encounter new meaning of a historical
narrative. Lerner agrees that history is a communal memory by which people
nurture the past, live the present, and anticipate the future.
Lerner (1997) encapsulates the functions of history in four important
elements: 1) History as memory and a source of personal identity. History in
this sense bridges the past and the future as well as provides a cross generation link.
2) History as a collective immortality. The history shapes a sense of immortality
to human being because this is the continuation of human enterprise and the
production of human mind that expand human story beyond physical life. 3)
History as cultural tradition. History is shared perception and cognition in value,
idea, and experience among a society. The history in this sense functions as the
cultural legitimacy in a given society. 4) History as explanation. Because history
captures the meaning, idea, and value of the past, the historical event illustrates and
interprets the past in the present question to anticipate future problems.
History in this sense is a “form‐giving and meaning‐giving.” The connection
to the past is depend on historical events the require people to be actively engage
with the past narrative. In the society where meaningful connection to the past are
structured in the form of written text, canon plays central role in the active
4
engagement. From folklore studies perspective, Amin Sweeney asserts that people
in strong oral‐oriented society preserve local knowledge orally. He underlines
strong oral oriented society employs verbal memorization and oral mnemonic
devices in face to face every communication. In contrast, canon‐based society
practices written form for social remembrance and communication (Sweeney
1987). Jack Goody, who focuses on the politics of writing, points out that oral society
has written literature as well, yet “oral society has a different approach to language
than when writing intervenes” (2010, 54). Writing, for Goody, “ does not supplant
oral communication; it is merely another channel of communication, substituting for
the oral only in certain contexts.” He adds, in non‐literate society, “oral tradition
handed down through the oral channel” (1992, 12 – 13). Along the same line, Walter
J Ong insists, “Writing, moreover, as will be seen later in detail, is a particularly pre‐
emptive and imperialist activity that tends to assimilate other things to itself even
without the aid of etymologies.” Ong adds, “thus writing from the beginning did not
reduce orality but enhanced it, making it possible to organize the ‘principles’ or
constituents of oratory into a scientific ‘art’, a sequentially ordered body of
explanation that showed how and why oratory achieved and could be made to
achieve its various specific effects (Ong 1982).
Although scholars aware of the oral tradition centrality (Jan Vansina, 1985)
in the people history, scholars in the study of Christian history (Aritonang 2011,
Ngelow 1997) in Indonesia are rarely engage oral tradition in the academic
conversation. The oral history in Christian conversation over the history of
Christianity still an academic lacuna in the study of religion and theology in
5
Indonesia. It’s great that this scholars have explored the history of Christian‐Muslim
relationships in their works.
History, Performance, and Interreligious Engagement
Many areas and ethnic communities in Indonesia preserve local knowledge,
values, narratives, idea, and experience in orality: folksongs, ritual performances,
and symbols. My research in Toraja, Indonesia, shows that Christians recall local
history in the ritual performances, symbols, and oral narratives. Through ritual
performance and symbol people understand and live the cultural narratives. The
meaning of life comes along in the cultural‐historical events not in the form of
written canon.
People in Maluku who underwent religious based conflict in 1999 – 2004 has
realized the misleading influence of written text history after 10.000 people dead.
Written history that produced by the Dutch scholars has inflamed the segregation
between Christian and Muslim in the area. Across generations, people passed down
historical text that situated Muslim as the enemy of Christianity. While oral tradition
describes Muslim and Christian in a strong‐mutual kinship. Folksongs as form of
orality in Maluku cover significant part of Malukan oral history that absent in the
Dutch‐based Christian history.
In the context of Toraja and Maluku, the Dutch‐based Christian history has
situated Christian and Muslim in the enemy image. Yet local history in the diver
forms of orality has pointed indigenous people toward a social solidarity and mutual
understanding. The Dutch Christian history trapped Christian in a religious ghetto.
6
In contrast, local‐oral history has opened avenue for the celebration of religious
differences.
Teaching History in Indonesia
Based on my teaching experience and research data I argue that “orality and
mutual relationship with different religious community” are the main challenges
and opportunities of teaching the History of Christianity in Indonesia. The challenge
could be “fascinosum et tremendum” (Rudolf Otto) at the same time. The challenge is
interesting because students and teachers will explore the history of “self” in the
broader picture of Christianity that already exist in the written text. Also, the
challenge will lead toward the discovery of new history that live in the storytelling
and oral remembrance, but absent in written documents.
However, the challenge might be a nightmare (tremendum) for academia
because the need of revision to the existing (written) history, whereas the existing
history has become the collective truth for society. Another tremendum challenge is
the diverse versions on oral history. It is laborious and time consuming to explore
different narratives and variety of truth in oral history. Yet in long run, the oral
history could rebuild the social‐cultural relationships in society and strengthen civic
engagements.
In my teaching experience, I address the challenge through “glonaloc”
teaching material, student based teaching method, and talent based evaluation.
“Glonaloc” teaching material is the incorporation of global historical event (the
history of Christianity in the global map), national history of Christianity (the
7
interpenetration of Christianity and national narratives), and local history of
Christianity as well as oral history that Christianity need to be consider in a
respective context. Student based teaching method is the model of teaching that
based on student reflections and questions on reading materials. Students bring into
either dialogue or contestation; the narrative of Christianity and current issues that
akin to the materials. By taking this teaching method, students will comprehend the
nexus of the past history of Christianity and the present questions of the sequel of
the history. The evaluation takes talent‐based evaluation to avoid the necessity of
written text evaluation. Using the method, students post the idea of history of
Christianity in different forms of assignments.
Conclusion
Teaching the history of Christianity in country like Indonesia requires
teachers and students to take into account seriously the strong oral‐oriented
context and existence of people of different religious backgrounds. Current
experience is the maxim for academia to question the past history that was formed
in colonial era. Colonial power invaded country like Indonesia in colonial time to
change local culture and to conquer other religions, especially Islam.
The history of “backward” local culture infused the spirit of glory to the
colonial culture to cover local community with a “Western mask.” The history of
Christianity in this sense is the history of Western glory over non‐Western cultures.
By the same token, the history of “infidels” had situated Christianity as the colonial
winner. The history of Christianity here is the story of evangelism and proclamation
8
of Western‐Colonial gospel. In this colonial historical account, the oral history of
local community and historical account of other religions are lesser than that of
Christianity.
This win‐lose model of history needs to be transformed through the
incorporation of the oral history of local Christianity and the awareness of other
religious existence. The transformation is the respect to the history from below and
the story of the neighbor.
9