ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

Summary

The written literatures of Malay and Javanese have a long history — more than one thousand years in the case of Javanese. During this long period the outward appearance of the book changed beyond recognition, themes occupying the minds of the authors and their audiences were adapted to new ideologies, long established literary conventions gave way to completely different ones, and the languages concerned, subject to constant renewal like any natural language, went through successive stages that became more and more incomprehensible with increasing distance in time.

These and other factors contributed to old texts falling into oblivion and new ones rising to popularity. A constant element amidst change, resisting the threat of oblivion, was the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Having arrived early in the history of Javanese literature, both epics found expression in various forms during the long period of Indian influence. The epics remained after the Indianized culture to which they belonged waned and disappeared. Continuing to manifest themselves in all sorts of shapes, their presence was not undermined by the advance of Islam in Java, nor was it by the more recent influence of Western culture. Information on the history of Malay literature, though providing less detail, shows a similar picture.

The chapters collected in Traces of the Ramayana and Mahabharata in Javanese and Malay Literature go beyond mapping epic presence. They show what happened during transmission, adaptation and borrowing, and offer hypotheses on the underlying motives. The authors scrutinize a couple of selected texts and pictorial representations and — again or for the first time — address old questions and raise new ones, going back and forth in time, connecting Javanese and Malay and even Balinese literature.

The author with whom the volume opens, Stuart Robson, gives an overall view of the history of one text, the story of Rama and Sita, from the Old Javanese Ramayana of the ninth century up to the Serat Rama and Rama Keling written in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Quite extraordinarily, the intervals between copies (partly hypothetical, partly based on real examples) appear to coincide with important moments in the history of Javanese culture. Taking Teeuw's theory on literary history and on translation as his starting point, the author is able to explain continued Javanese interest in the story from the wider social context as it developed over almost one millennium.

Summary

This chapter examines the role of the great Indian epics in the process of signification in the Panji romance Hikayat Misa Taman Jayeng Kusuma (copied or written between 1860 and 1870), concentrating on five episodes in its narrative. It traces the intertextual presence of elements familiar from Mahabharata and Ramayana, and suggests that the hikayat's most probable sources are New Javanese (wayang kulit purwa) and Malay (hikayat's) adaptations of episodes of these epics, the creation of which was more or less contemporary with the hikayat's probable date of composition, and not Old-Javanese ones in the form of kakawin. The unknown author of the hikayat freely combines disparate elements from these adaptations to create what may be called mirrortexts commenting on the hikayat's narrative and thus adds new layers of meaning to it. The chapter closes with some considerations about how and why the hikayat foregrounds its own fictionality, relating this to what Malay poetics calls creative amplification (memanjangkan), a key characteristic of all narrative in the genre of the Panji romance.

Keywords: Literary criticism, intertextuality, traditional Malay literature, Old-Javanese poetry, wayang kulit purwa.

Introduction

First the story is told that the gods were sitting together in the Hall of the Lotus of Illusion, discussing a plan to send Betara Indera Naya and his wife down to incarnate in the Illusionary Abode. Since the Pandawa kings had long ago gone back to the heavens, the Illusionary Abode had become a deserted place and their land was about to become forest again. The gods therefore liked the idea and all agreed with Betara Kala's proposal.

With these words opens the narrative of a bulky Malay Panji romance, entitled Hikayat Misa Taman Jayeng Kusuma (henceforth called HMTJK), that according to its editor, Abdul Rahman Kaeh (1976), was possibly copied or written between 1860 and 1870. On Betara Kala's proposal, so the hikayat subsequently tells us, Betara Indera Naya and his wife Dewi Mandurati descend to earth and incarnate as the king and queen of Koripan, whose sons then become the kings of the Javanese kingdoms of Koripan, Daha, Gagelang and Singasari, and whose daughter marries the king of Manjapahit.

Summary

IN MEMORIAM

Supomo Suryohudoyo (12-8-1931 – 8-7-2016)

The twelfth-century Kakawin Bhāratayuddha (“The War of the Bhāratas”) is unique in Old Javanese kakawin literature because it was the work of two authors, Mpu Sĕḍah and Mpu Panuluh. Mpu Panuluh began his contribution to the poem from Canto 32, at the point in the narrative when Śalya becomes commander-in-chief of the Kaurawa forces. To this part of the text — a poem in its own right within the larger work — the poet gave the name Śalyawadha, “The Death of Śalya”. Mpu Panuluh's section of the kakawin is marked by a number of major diversions from the Sanskrit narrative of the Mahābhārata, including the animosity between Śalya and Aśwatthāmā and the introduction of the figure of Śalya's wife, Satyawatī, who later performs sati, taking her life on the battlefield in order to follow her beloved husband in death. It is precisely these episodes that dominate later Balinese reworkings of the Bhāratayuddha narrative in poetry and art. This chapter examines the narrative continuities between Mpu Panuluh's contribution to the twelfth-century Javanese kakawin and later textual and visual representations produced in Bali.

Keywords: Old Javanese literature, Balinese literature, kakawin, Balinese art, Bhāratayuddha, Mahābhārata, Śalya, Mpu Panuluh.

Introduction

On 6 September 1157 CE, Mpu Sĕḍah, a poet at the court of King Jayabhaya of Kaḍiri, began to compose the Old Javanese kakawin, the Bhāratayuddha, “The War of the Bhāratas”. This long narrative poem of 731 stanzas retells the story of the war between the Pāṇḍawas and the Kaurawas described in the “battle” books of the great Sanskrit epic, the Mahābhārata, that is, from the preparations for battle in the Udyogaparvan (Book 5) to the annihilation of the Kaurawa forces and the slaughter of the five sons of the Pāṇḍawa heroes on the night after the battle from the Sauptikaparvan (Book 10). In the introductory tribute to his patron in Canto 1, Mpu Sĕḍah, who composed the first section of the poem, reveals that his retelling of the story of the great war between the Pāṇḍawas and the Kaurawas is presented in homage to another mighty hero, his patron, King Dharmeśwara, or Jayabhaya, who has vanquished all his enemies (Supomo 1993, pp. 7–8). This kakawin therefore serves also as an allegorical panegyric to the world-conquering East Javanese monarch who ruled from c. 1135 to 1157 CE.

Summary

The Asṭabrata or “Eight Rules of Life”, which refer to the meritorious acts of the eight Hindu deities which the ideal king should emulate, was first introduced in Java through the Old Javanese kakawin Rāmāyaṇa, in which Rāma lectures Wibhīṣaṇa on the status and role of a king. This exposition of ancient Hindu political theory has remained popular in Java until this present day, Islamization notwithstanding. Over time it has even become regarded as a genuinely Javanese theory on leadership, and part of indigenous wayang philosophy. This chapter takes a closer look at a Yogyakarta version of the Asṭabrata made at the Pakualaman principality, represented in two early twentieth-century illuminated manuscripts with coloured drawings in wayang style. These rare and beautiful artefacts are a wonderful example of how the age-old Indic tradition was once redefined in an Islamicate environment. Examining the iconography of the eight deities that embody the ideal royal virtues, the conclusion is drawn that the illustrations seem to offer merely visual diversion. Although the two manuscripts discussed here were produced in a colonial context as gifts to high-ranking Dutch representatives of the colonial regime, the words and images do not seem to suggest a mode of “writing back” to the dominant Dutch ideology.

Keywords: Asṭabrata, Yogyakarta, Pakualaman, Javanese manuscript art, mirror for princes.

Rāma's Lessons on Leadership and “Javanese Genius”

In 2011, a book on the astabrata, also known under such designations as “the eightfold teachings”, “the eight ways of life”, and “the eight royal virtues”, was published in Indonesia, stating in the blurb that Indonesians were nowadays intoxicated by imported theories on leadership that, however, were ill-fitted to local realities.1 Hence, the author argued that local wisdom from Indonesia's own heritage as presented in the Astabrata is in fact still relevant (Yasasusastra 2011). Strictly speaking, however, the Astabrata is no less foreign-derived, being a concept of ancient Hindu political theory on “the divine qualities that a king was to emulate” (Weatherbee 1994, p. 414).

Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Summary

Introduction

When riots broke out in Indonesia in 1998, I returned to my homeland and served in Mawar Sharon Church which has expanded into 30,000 members in this nation. Today, I'm entrusted to lead as Vice Head-Pastor of Mawar Sharon Church which [sic] oversees 70 local churches all around the country. At a young age, I am so fortunate to have personally witnessed more than 100,000 souls led to Christ. My passion is to fan into flame the fire of spiritual awakening everywhere, raising up pastors and leaders who are anointed in every field — especially in Asia. Moreover, I'm yearning to see every nation on the face of the earth experience a personal encounter with Jesus Christ.

Philip Mantofa

Large numbers are important to Pentecostalism in particular because they are both the goal and the tool of proselytization. In sermons and media that advertise worship events, numbers serve as “objective indicators of progress” in the mission of the believers. Meanwhile, the large-scale worship and the construction of megachurches are an indispensable part of this growth project, be it in South Korea, the United States, or Indonesia. Yet, Indonesian megachurches have their own distinctive features. As I demonstrate below, Indonesia's prominence in the global Christian network has contributed to a vibrant rise of Christian presence and influence in the Global South; a rise made more noteworthy given that it is the world's largest Muslim-majority country. In fact, as Indonesian megachurches flourished in major cities, Indonesian Pentecostal leaders have been actively leading, and not merely following, some new global Christian networks.

In this chapter, I consider the cultural logic of counting souls in a multi-ethnic Indonesian Pentecostal congregation. This is one of the most dynamic and popular churches in Indonesia: Gereja Mawar Sharon (literally The Rose of Sharon Church, or GMS). As a youth-centred church that has been the most attractive congregation in Indonesian college towns, GMS began to position itself as an independent church in 2001 when it broke away from GBI (Gereja Bethel Injil, or The Bethel Gospel Church), the long-standing Indonesian Pentecostal Church. In terms of its membership, it has a strong representation of ethnic Chinese, particularly among those in the leadership strata. Yet, it is more accurate to see the congregations as multi-ethnic and, particularly, belonging to transnational, middle-class religious networks oriented towards a global Christian revival.

Summary

Introduction

Klang Valley, comprising the federal capital Kuala Lumpur and the adjoining city of Petaling Jaya, is the most important urban centre in Malaysia. It is also in Klang Valley where one would find the highest concentration of churches in the country. This is because Christian missionaries during the British colonial period focused on spreading their faith in areas where immigrants from China and India lived and worked. As the number of converts grew, churches were also built in colonial Kuala Lumpur. However, the Christian population during British colonial rule was never more than a small fraction of the local population.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Christianity experienced a growth in number of adherents and churches in all the major urban centres in Peninsular Malaysia, particularly in Klang Valley. These churches range from small house churches to Pentecostal independent megachurches. It was the Pentecostal-Evangelical brand of Christianity, rather than that of traditional mainline denominations like the Anglicans and Methodists, which attracted people to these churches.

In this chapter, I will discuss Pentecostalism and its success in attracting a mainly urban middle-class population to its fold. For this purpose, I will begin by briefly discussing the history of Pentecostalism in Malaysia, followed by a discussion on the growth of the middle class. I will then offer a case study on the Bethesda church in downtown Petaling Jaya and argue that it is a window into the universe of Pentecostalism in the country, particularly its relationship with the middle class.

What is Pentecostalism? Briefly, Pentecostalism refers to the ecstatic forms of Christianity in which “believers receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and have ecstatic experiences such as speaking in tongues, healing and prophesying”. Most Pentecostals can be considered evangelical in theological orientation; that is, they have a literal interpretation of the Bible, believe in personal salvation, in the need for holy living, and in having an emphasis on evangelism.

According to general scholarly consensus, Pentecostalism originated in the United States in the early twentieth century and then spread to the rest of the world through its missionaries.

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Small and medium enterprises, including micro enterprises (or MSMEs), play an important role in Southeast Asia as they contribute between 88.8 per cent and 99.9 per cent of total establishments in all sectors in the region and between 51.7 per cent and 97.2 per cent of total employment in the region. Approximately 30–53 per cent of the region's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 10–30 per cent of its total exports are accounted for by them as well. There are, however, considerable differences in the performance of MSMEs in the region. For example, Thailand's MSMEs contribute about 25.5 per cent of Thailand's total exports, while those in Indonesia and Malaysia contribute about 19 per cent and 15.7 per cent, respectively, to the total exports in these two economies. Likewise the policy environment for nurturing MSMEs in each of these countries differ substantially from each other, as indicated by the SME Policy Index developed by Economic Research for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) in 2014. The results reveal that Singapore's score is the highest, followed by Malaysia, with Indonesia and Thailand tying in third position with the same score, and lastly the Philippines for the ASEAN-5. The rest of ASEAN's member countries score at or below the ASEAN average score.

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), established in 2015, aims to create a highly integrated and cohesive economy that provides an expanded market for its ten member countries. In principle, this initiative should create opportunities for MSMEs in the region to grow regionally before entering the global market. However, studies have shown that MSMEs are in general not aware of the AEC and the opportunities accorded by the AEC initiatives. They remain inward-looking, as indicated by their relatively low share of total exports in their respective countries.

Most research projects focus on the challenges faced by the MSMEs, including the problems encountered in internationalizing their operations, particularly in finance, research and innovation. Thus the questions asked frequently pertain to the factors that determine MSMEs’ exports or the drivers of their internationalization, be it at the firm or country level. The proliferation of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) has also spurred research interest in another dimension, namely, the participation of MSMEs in regional integration.

Summary

The idea for this volume on Pentecostal megachurches in Southeast Asia began to form in 2015 after I had completed several papers on megachurches in Singapore. There were several recurring themes in the Singapore cases which I found interesting. The congregations of Singapore megachurches were generally youthful and infused with energy and idealism. They had an optimistic worldview that stood out from the well-worn apathy typical of today's youth. I also found a strong and mutually reinforcing link between the spiritual and material world. This link, often manifested as the Prosperity Gospels, has drawn much criticism from other Christians. However, deeper ethnographic effort will suggest that this link is more than material accumulation for personal satisfaction. Instead material accumulation is, it is believed, a tangible measure of one's obedience to God; less of a reward but a by-product of faithfulness. Meanwhile, their deep engagement with contemporary culture has resulted in an inclusive outlook that is experimental, playful, and always open to the possibility of imputing secular events and actions with theological meaning in order to get God's message across to non-believers. This has also meant that their Christian identity is often writ large in the workplace. Finally, the expansionist visions of their leaders often come through. The drive for souls was always going to be a numbers game but megachurch leaders are less hampered by the modesty or conservatism of their mainline counterparts. Such visions go beyond filling up auditoriums but include aggressive church-planting in neighbouring countries such that local megachurches enjoy a second wing in the region.

All these findings not only distinguish newer Pentecostal churches from older mainline denominations, but also demonstrate an ability to participate in mass consumption, pop culture and modernity like no other church. The fact that Pentecostalism is one of the fastest growing communities in Singapore suggests that these trends would only continue. As I dwelt on these findings, it became apparent that they needed to be set against the broader region.

Summary

Introduction

With 87 per cent of its 238 million of its citizens claiming to be adherents of Islam, Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world. Surprisingly, this country is also one of the Southeast Asian nations experiencing fast growth in Christianity. Between 1971 and 2005, Indonesian Censuses reported that Christians, including both Protestants and Catholics, consistently represented between 7 and 8 per cent of the population. Scholars have argued that this figure was an understatement because the Indonesian government had a tendency to downplay the number of Christians to limit the perception among Muslims that they were faced with menacing Christianization.

The 2010 census showed that Protestants represented around 7 per cent and the Catholics comprised nearly 3 per cent of the population. This was a significant 2 to 3 per cent increase from previously reported figures. Due to the sensitive nature of such statistics, some argue that these 2010 figures might also have been underreported; the real number of Christians in Indonesia could have been much higher. Several senior Pentecostal leaders have claimed that around 20 and 5 per cent of Indonesia's population were Protestants and Catholics, respectively. Although these figures cannot be verified, they point to Christianity's undeniable exponential growth in Indonesia.

The rise of Christianity in Indonesia in recent decades can be mainly attributed to the Pentecostal and Charismatic megachurches that found fertile ground among the urban middle class. Although Indonesia was introduced to Pentecostalism from as early as 1921 by Western missionaries, rapid growth occurred only after the 1960s, at the arrival of the Charismatic, also known as the Neo-Pentecostal, movement, from the United States.

The oldest and at one time the largest Pentecostal denomination in Indonesia is the Pentecostal Church in Indonesia, or Gereja Pentekosta di Indonesia (GPdI). GPdI has recently declined in numbers due to various reasons, even though many of the rising Pentecostal denominations originated from GPdI and only became independent because of schisms. GdPI has experienced dozens of splits since the 1930s, and this has in turn brought into existence at least a hundred new Pentecostal churches. Reasons for these schisms include doctrinal disagreements, financial disputes, competition for growth among congregations, and personality clashes among leaders.

Summary

Introduction

In 2013, the Jesus Is Lord (JIL) movement celebrated its 35th anniversary at the open-air grounds of the Luneta Grandstand in Manila with an estimated 20,000 in attendance. The event adopted the theme “Revolution of Righteousness”, which organizers have explained in two ways. The revolution was a spiritual transformation people underwent for salvation. This idea cannot be detached from JIL's Evangelical ethos. But also, this idea has implications on the way JIL views Philippine society.

Brother Eddie Villanueva, founder and senior pastor of JIL, announced at the anniversary, “the triumph of justice and righteousness must prevail, because, the Bible says, justice and righteousness are the foundations of God's throne.” The anniversary's theme neatly defined JIL and its social location as an evangelical church in contemporary Philippines. It clearly repackaged itself as a force to be reckoned with in Philippine society; it has come a long way from its beginnings as a simple charismatic church in the 1970s to a religious entity with political leverage and ambitions today.

JIL was born in 1978 when Brother Eddie Villanueva felt called by God to establish an independent church. JIL began as a series of Bible study sessions at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP). Brother Eddie, as he is popularly known, lectured economics at PUP.

JIL's establishment marked the rise of non-denominational charismatic churches distinct from institutionalized Pentecostal groups like the Assemblies of God, the Church of God, and the Church of the Foursquare Gospel. These groups arrived in the Philippines during the American occupation in the first half of the twentieth century. JIL has more recently been described as one of the biggest independent megachurches in the Philippines and one of the fastest growing churches in the world. It claimed to have four million members in the Philippines and in 55 other countries. To signify its global presence, the church renamed itself JIL Worldwide.

Apart from congregations in local neighbourhoods across the country, JIL also holds at least nine main services in three different locations in Metro Manila and Bulacan province, its national headquarters. Locally and internationally, most JIL members are working class. The majority of JIL's local congregations are in urban and rural poor communities. Globally, JIL has formed international chapters in places where Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), especially domestic helpers, have found work.

Summary

Introduction

There are many misconceptions over Pentecostal megachurches in the Philippines. They are often perceived as advocates of the prosperity theology and thus motivated by financial gain while their charismatic leaders are viewed by the popular media as individuals with a messiah complex because of the strong leadership demonstrate over their congregations and prominent role they play in the society. This chapter explores the growth of Pentecostal megachurches in the Philippines and their innovative indigenization of the Christian faith as well as the influence of their Western counterparts. It begins with a review of the contemporary scholarship which has informed in the field and proceeds to identify the major Pentecostal megachurches which have been at the forefront of reinventing Christian witness in the Philippine society. It will offer two case studies of Pentecostal megachurches to examine their historical development, links to the poor and the middle class, networks, locations in the political landscape, doctrine of prosperity, and the form of their social and civic engagement. In doing so, this chapter seeks to answer the following questions: How have Pentecostal megachurches developed and what attracts the masses to attend them? What form of civic engagement do they play in indigenizing gospel messages in the Philippine society?

Survey of Scholarship of Megachurches

Studies by Grant McClung in the 1980s reveal that even before the emergence of the Church Growth Movement in the 1960s there had been academic observers who had noted that Pentecostal church growth was already a phenomenon. Later, Donald McGarvan and Peter Wagner, two leading Pentecostal academics, concluded from their investigations that Pentecostal megachurches were emerging because evangelism and mission were central to the ministry of Pentecostals.2 Donald Miller, who conducted qualitative research on three megachurches in the United States observed that megachurches were the “new paradigm” of the Christian movement which was connected to the spirituality of first century Christians. However, while attempting to bring Christianity to the twenty-first century masses, these Pentecostal megachurch-goers were disconnecting themselves from traditional forms of Christianity while providing a contemporary meaning to Christian witnessing in society.

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1 - Introduction

Summary

Nalanda-Sriwijaya Series

Contents

5 - Ramayana and Mahabharata in Hikayat Misa Taman Jayeng Kusuma

Summary

6 - The Death of Śalya: Balinese Textual and Iconographic Representations of the Kakawin Bhāratayuddha

Summary

7 - The Illustrated Asṭabrata in Pakualaman Manuscript Art

Summary

Abbreviations

Frontmatter

Acknowledgements

Frontmatter

Philippines

Accidental and Intentional Exporters: Comparing Indonesian and Malaysian MSMEs

Summary

3 - Counting Souls: Numbers and Mega-worship in the Global Christian Network of Indonesia

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5 - Pentecostalism in Klang Valley, Malaysia

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Accidental and Intentional Exporters: Comparing Indonesian and Malaysian MSMEs

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Preface

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2 - Pentecostal Megachurches in Jakarta: Class, Local, and Global Dynamics

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Contents

6 - Jesus is Lord: The Indigenization of Megachurch Christianity in the Philippines

Summary

7 - Pentecostal-Charismatic Megachurches in the Philippines

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