Batam, Kepri - Jesus‘ use of stories and images suited for local people, such as the parable of the Good Samaritan or his metaphor of the Good Shepherd, was cited recently as a model of teaching through folk culture.
This methodology remains relevant for contemporary communications, members of diocesan social communications commissions in the Sumatra region observed as they agreed to adapt folk culture for church apostolates.
Acknowledging folk culture as readily accessible and understood by all in the community, they resolved at the end of their July 16-18 workshop that ‘communicators of the Sumatra church region will compile expressions of folk culture ... and adapt them for pastoral work in catechesis and liturgy.‘
The Sumatra region comprises two archdioceses – Medan and Palembang – and four dioceses – Padang, Pangkalpinang, Sibolga and Tanjungkarang. Batam, the urban center on Batam Island where the workshop was conducted, is in Pangkalpinang Diocese, approximately 870 kilometers (about 540 miles) northeast of Jakarta. It lies just south of Singapore and the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia.
The Indonesia bishops‘ commission for social communications organized the workshop on ‘Folk Communication in Church Apostolates.‘
Father Alfons Agus Duka, executive secretary of the commission, cited examples of Jesus‘ use of folk culture while teaching. His presentation then shifted to the local context, and he quoted a pantun, a Malay poetic form. This particular form of pantun involves a four-line stanza with an a-b-a-b rhyme scheme and the poem‘s main message in the third and fourth lines:
Di tepi kali saya menyinggah/ Menghilang penat menahan jerat/Orang tua jangan disanggah/Agar selamat dunia akhirat (At the riverside I stop /To take a rest/Never oppose your elders/If you want to be safe in our world and the next).
‘This pantun contains a universal value,‘ Father Duka pointed out. ‘It is appropriate for us to use it to teach catechism about the fourth commandment, Honor your parents.‘
According to the church official, pastoral workers could use many forms of folk culture found throughout Indonesia – dance, drama, fables, legends, myths, puppet shows, traditional games, tribal customs – to communicate religious values.
Father Albertus Budi Susanto, an anthropologist from Catholic University of Sanata Dharma in Yogyakarta, southeast of Jakarta, led the workshop. He told participants they must be diligent in order to use folk culture in ways that are both relevant and effective.
In the context of pastoral work, he advised church communicators to reflect on and answer a question: Will they use folk culture to offer entertainment with a religious flavor or religion that has entertaining elements?
According to the Jesuit priest, folk culture generally has ‘power and spirit‘ that can motivate people to action. Elements such as language, dress, tools and gestures help people understand the messages, he said.
He cautioned, however, ‘Never let entertainment become a religion.‘
Participants observed that modern mass media, technological advances aside, often present programs or messages that promote hedonism, materialism, consumerism, and violence, which stand against moral values. ‘Therefore, it is necessary to educate children, adults and the elderly about media awareness,‘ they said in their recommendations.
They agreed to conduct a yearlong program of reflections, catechism and other activities related to ‘Children & The Media: A Challenge for Education,‘ the theme Pope Benedict XVI chose for World Communications Day this year. Many local churches commemorated the 41st annual communications day on May 20.
‘The activities should be done in cooperation with catechetics, family and youth commissions, and the Pontifical Mission Aid Societies of Indonesia,‘ said the workshop recommendations, which they planned to send to the region‘s bishops.
Frederiq John Risua, 24, a participant from St. Peter Church in Lubuk Baja, Batam, said folk culture could make it easier to receive and to remember important messages. ‘I still remember what a priest said in a homily he started with a pantun,‘ he recalled.
He called for church print and electronic media to adopt folk culture.
Another participant, Christina Dwi Yuli Nugrahani, of Tanjungkarang Diocese, suggested folk culture could be used effectively to unite people from different backgrounds. However, she echoed Father Susanto‘s call for diligence: ‘We should know who our audience is when we use folk culture in communication.‘
Source: www.catholic.org (4 Agustus 2007)
