Architectural inculturation and transformation case study on the three catholic churches in java

ARCHITECTURAL INCULTURATION AND
TRANSFORMATION: A CASE STUDY ON THREE
CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN JAVA

ADI SANTOSA
[BA (Hons.), Indonesia Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta]

A THESIS SUBMITTED
FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS IN ARCHITECTURE

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

2010
i 
 


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I praise to the Lord for His abounding love through the people and institutions
around me.
My study at the National University of Singapore would not have been
possible without sponsorship. Accordingly, I give a high appreciation to Petra
Christian University and the Ministry of Higher Education of the Republic of
Indonesia that have provided a full scholarship to me.
During my studies and preparation for this thesis research, the role of
supervisors has been very important to me. I express my infinite gratitude to Dr.
Johannes Widodo as my supervisor who has guided me with all the discussions that
opened my mind, the instructions that facilitated the process of writing my research,

and the wise advices that made me stay motivated until the completion of this
research. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Lilian Chee as my previous supervisor. Her
coaching in the early days has been very important as a basis for subsequent writings.
My research would not have progressed smoothly without any person or
institution willing to help provide the data and information. Therefore, on this account
I also wish to express my gratitude and appreciation to those who have helped provide
materials for my research in the field survey:
•

Mgr. Ignatius Suharyo, Pr, former Archbishop of the Archbishopric of Semarang.

•

Sariyanto, Pr, Vicar General of the Vicariate of Yogyakarta.

•

Dominicus Bambang Sutrisno, Pr, Director of the Museum of Mission of
Muntilan, and staffs: mas Anton and mas Seno.

•

Hendrikus van Opzeeland, SJ, former supervisor for Propaganda Fide building
projects, Jesuits Province of Indonesia.
ii 

 


•

Yoseph Suyatno Hadiatmojo, Pr, Priest of the St. John the Apostle of Somohitan
Church.

•

Christophorus Sutrasno Purwanto, Pr, Priest of the Santa Maria Assumpta of
Klaten Church.

•

Krismawan Aris Dwiyanto, Secretary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Ganjuran
Church.

•

Sumardiyanto, Ir., M.Sc, Ismartono P. Rahardjo, Ir., MIH.Sc, and Benny
Kristiawan, ST, architects from Atmajaya University, Yogyakarta.

•

Albertus Bagus Laksana, SJ, theologian from Sanata Dharma University,
Yogyakarta.

•

St. Ignatius Seminary Library, Yogyakarta, and Library of Department of
Architecture, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta.
I am also grateful to all my friends for sharing and helping during my study in

Singapore. Finally, I thank all my family, especially my beloved wife and son, and my
parents and parents-in-laws. All their love, care, support and prayers have allowed me
to survive and enable me to complete my study.

Adi Santosa
Singapore, 2010

iii 
 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page ………………………………………………………………………..

i

Acknowledgement ………………………………………………………………

ii

Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………….

iv

Summary ………………………………………………………………………..

vi

List of Figures …………………………………………………………………..

vii

Chapter 1: Introduction ………………………………………………………..

1

1.1. Background ………………………………………………………………...

1

1.2. Objective of the Study and Research Question ……………………………

3

1.3. Methodology ……………………………………………………………….

4

1.4. Limitation of the Study …………………………………………………….

5

Chapter 2: Theoretical Review ………………………………………………...

6

2.1. Levels of Cultural Encounter ………………………………………………

6

2.2. Development of Inculturation and Church Councils ………………………

9

2.3. Java: History, Cultural Identity, and City ………………………………….

12

2.4. Javanese Architecture ……………………………………………………...

20

2.5. Religious Architecture in Java ……………………………………………..

24

2.6. New Dutch-Indies Architecture and Indonesian Modern Architecture ……

27

2.7. Catholic Church in Indonesian Archipelago ………………………………

30

Chapter 3: Development of the Three Churches ………………………..……

37

3.1. The Ganjuran Church ……………………………………………………...

38

3.2. The Klaten Church …………………………………………………………

49

3.3. The Somohitan Church …………………………………………………….

56

Chapter 4: Architectural Inculturation and Transformation ……………….

70

4.1. Juxtaposing …..…………………………………………………………….

70

4.2. Superimposing …...….……………………………………………………..

76

4.3. Interlocking ...………………………………………………………………

81

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Chapter 5: Discussion ………………………..…………………………………

87

5.1. The Significance of the Church Architectural Inculturation …...………….

87

5.2. Benchmark in the Church Architectural Inculturation …………………….

91

5.3. Design Approach in the Church Architectural Inculturation ………………

93

5.4. The Role of Architects, Parish Priests and Parishioners …………………..

94

5.5. Social Communication in the Church Architectural Inculturation ………...

98

Chapter 6: Conclusion …………………………………………………………

99

Bibliography …………………………………………………………………….

104

Appendix 1: Articles …………………………………………............................

109

Appendix 2: The Ganjuran Church …………………………………………... 134
Appendix 3: The Klaten Church ………………………………………………

138

Appendix 4: The Somohitan Church ………………………………………….

141

v 
 


SUMMARY

Inculturation is a movement in Catholicism to respect local wisdoms and
customs of various cultures in the world and to harmonize them with Gospel. In
practice, inculturation has materialized in Church liturgy. By inculturation, Latin
liturgy was not the only liturgy in Catholicism. Each archbishop has had a chance to
develop their own liturgies by accommodating local cultural values. Inculturation in
church architecture is needed to fulfill various spatial needs for distinctive expressions
in those liturgies. Inculturation has enabled forms and functions of church architecture
transformed from universal standards to local variations. Besides, interpretation of

meanings in church architecture has become more plentiful, and it contains a duality
between local and universal meaning.
Choosing three Catholic churches in Java as the case study, this study tried to
reveal architectural inculturation by analyzing their development and examining their
transformation of forms, functions, and meanings. Furthermore, this study aims to
generate broader understandings about the church architectural inculturation through a
discussion based on the result of developments analyses and transformation
examinations.
Employing a typological approach, this study found that the way the three
churches transformed their forms, functions, and meanings can be classified in three
configurations including juxtaposing, superimposing, and interlocking. Through a
discussion on this typological analysis and combined with interviews data, this study
has generated some points especially related to the significance of the church
architectural inculturation and the requirements to success the conducting of church
architectural inculturation.
Keywords: architecture, inculturation, transformation.
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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Maps of Indonesia and Central Java ………………………………

3

Figure 2: Level of cultural encounter diagram ………………………………

9

Figure 3: Timeline chart of Inculturation ……………………………………

9

Figure 4: Timeline chart of the Church Council ……………………………..

11

Figure 5: Prambanan and Borobudur Temple ………………………………..

13

Figure 6: Ancient and recent cities in Java …………………………………..

15

Figure 7: Capital city of Majapahit according to Mclaine Pont ……………..

17

Figure 8: Ancient Yogyakarta City …………………………………………..

19

Figure 9: Joglo, limasan, and kampong building typology ……...…………..

22

Figure 10: Room division in Javanese traditional house ……………………...

23

Figure 11: Sequence of the Javanese architectural culture ……………………

26

Figure 12: Timeline chart of the religious architecture in Java ……………….

26

Figure 13: Variation of the New Dutch-Indies architectural conceptions …….

28

Figure 14: Neo-gothic churches in Jakarta, Surabaya and Malang …………...

33

Figure 15: Churches with local forms in Sidikalang and Tuka ……………….

35

Figure 16: Timeline chart of Catholic Church in Indonesia …………………..

35

Figure 17: Map of the Chosen Churches ……………………………………...

37

Figure 18: Site of the Ganjuran Church complex ……………………………..

38

Figure 19: Exterior and interior of the early Ganjuran church ………………..

40

Figure 20: A Mass in front of the Monument of the Sacret Heart of Jesus …...

40

Figure 21: First phase of the development of the Ganjuran Church complex ...

41

Figure 22: Second phase of the development of the Ganjuran Church
complex ……………………………………………………………

43

Figure 23: Exterior and interior of the temporary church ……………………..

44

Figure 24: Façade of the early Ganjuran church after earthquake …………….

45

Figure 25: Exterior and interior of the recent Ganjuran church ………………

45

Figure 26: Third phase of the development of the Ganjuran Church complex .

46

Figure 27: Compilation of the building typologies at the Ganjuran Church ….

47

Figure 28: Site of the Klaten Church complex ………………………………..

50

Figure 29: First phase of the development of the Klaten Church complex …...

51

Figure 30: The early Klaten church …………………………………………...

52
vii 

 


Figure 31: Second phase of the development of the Klaten Church complex ...

53

Figure 32: Exterior and interior landscape of the recent Klaten Church ...……

54

Figure 33: Compilation of the building typologies at the Klaten Church …….

55

Figure 34: Site of the Somohitan Church complex ……………………………

57

Figure 35: First phase of the development of the Somohitan Church complex

58

Figure 36: The early Somohitan church ………………………………………

59

Figure 37: An illustration by H. Caminada, SJ ………………………………..

59

Figure 38: Illustration details by H. Caminada, SJ ……………………………

60

Figure 39: Second phase of the development of the Somohitan Church

complex ……………………………………………………………

62

Figure 40: Site of the second Somohitan church ……………………………...

63

Figure 41: Façade of the second Somohitan church …………………………..

63

Figure 42: Situation at the site of the Somohitan cultural hall ………………..

65

Figure 43: Third phase of the development of the Somohitan Church complex

66

Figure 44: Façade of the new Somohitan church ……………………………..

67

Figure 45: Compilation of the building typologies at the Somohitan Church ...

68

Figure 46: Transformation of the early Ganjuran church ……………………..

71

Figure 47: Transformation of the early Somohitan church ……………………

73

Figure 48: Transformation of the second Somohitan church …………………

75

Figure 49: Transformation of the early Klaten church ………………………..

77

Figure 50: Transformation of the new Ganjuran church ……………………...

79

Figure 51: Transformation of the new Klaten church …………………………

82

Figure 52: Transformation of the new Somohitan church …………………….

84

Figure 53: The “astuti”, a ritual to parade the monstrance around the
Ganjuran temple …………………………………………………...

88

Figure 54: Gamelan for liturgical music in the Ganjuran church ……………..

89

Figure 55: A pilgrim is praying in front of the statue of Jesus inside the
Ganjuran temple …………………………………………………...

90

Figure 56: The luwengan, a small and hidden space to put the tabernacle in
the Klaten church ..………………………………………………...

91

Figure 57: Community support from various religious groups in the
renovation of the Somohitan church ………………………………

98

viii 
 


CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background
“Inculturation” is a specific term in Catholicism which relates to the meeting
between Christianity and indigenous cultures in the world. The term of “inculturation”

has gained its formalization since the Second Vatican Council, a council which was
held in Vatican, Rome, from 1962 until 1965. In that council, all delegations from
Catholic Church regions in the world came to re-determine the universal Catholic
policies, and inculturation is one of the issues which were discussed. The Redemtoris
Missio, an encyclical of the Gaudium et Spes decree of the Second Vatican Council,
defines inculturation as follows:
‘Inculturation is the intimate transformation of authentic cultural values
through their integrations in Christianity, and the insertion of Christianity in
the various human cultures. By inculturation, the Church implements the
Gospel into various human cultures and puts them into the alliance of the
universal Church’1.
Inculturation is a movement in Catholicism to respect local wisdoms and
customs of various cultures in the world and to harmonize them with Gospel. In
practice, inculturation has materialized in Church liturgy. By inculturation, Latin
liturgy was not the only liturgy in Catholicism. Each archbishop has had a chance to
develop their own liturgies by accommodating local cultural values. Inculturation in
church architecture is needed to fulfill various spatial needs for distinctive expressions
in those liturgies. Inculturation has enabled forms and functions of church architecture
transformed from universal standards to local variations. Besides, interpretation of
meanings in church architecture has become more plentiful, and it contains a duality
                                                            
1

Cited by Robert Hardawiryana, 2001:28-29

1 
 


between local and universal meaning. Local meaning is interpretations towards the

church architecture that is interpreted by local parishioners based on their local
cultural values, while universal meaning is interpretations that is interpreted by the
church institution based on the Gospel teachings.
The term of “inculturation” had just gained an official recognition since the
Second Vatican Council, held in Vatican, Rome, from 1962 until 1965. However, the
practices of inculturation had been existed since many years before. Many
missionaries in the past used to employ inculturation as a strategy to localized
Christianity in order to be acceptable by indigenous people. Catholic Church in Java2
is an important case because of its success in christianized Javanese by inculturation.
Fransiscus Georgius Josephus van Lith, S.J. (1863-1926) is a Dutch missionary in
Java who pioneered in applying inculturation by using Javanese language to introduce
the Christian values among the Javanese. Moreover, he translated Latin prayers also
in Javanese, employed the gamelan for liturgical music instrument, and built his first
Church in a Javanese traditional architecture typology of “limasan” in Muntilan in the
early twentieth century. Since the era of van Lith, the number of Javanese
parishioners increased rapidly. They dispersed in many regions in what is now known
as Central Java Province and Yogyakarta Province of Republic Indonesia territory, or
in Semarang Archdiocese of Catholic territory.

                                                            
2

Java is one of the main islands in Indonesian archipelago. In this research, Java is not discerned as an
administrative but a cultural territorial entity. Culturally, Java was divided into two basic cultural
territories, Javanese and Sundanese. Javanese is the culture of indigenous people who live in the center
and the eastern part of Java Island, and Sundanese is the culture of those who live in the western part of
Java Island. Based on the cultural history, center part of Java is known as the center of Javanese culture
since it has inherited all the Javanese cultural inheritances. This legacy was identified by the existence
of the last two Javanese kingdoms, Surakarta and Yogyakarta. 

2 
 


Figure 1: Maps of Indonesia and Central Java (author, 2010)

1.2. Objective of the Study and Research Question
Choosing three Catholic churches in Java as the case study, this study tried to
reveal architectural inculturation by analyzing their development and examining their
transformation of forms, functions, and meanings. Furthermore, this study aims to
generate broader understandings about the church architectural inculturation through a
discussion based on the above development analyses and transformation examination
results.
More specifically, these broader understandings will be achieved through
some research questions including: How the transformation can be categorized? What
is the significance of the church architectural inculturation? What is the benchmark in
the church architectural inculturation? What design approach is suitable to be applied
in the church architectural inculturation? How is the role of architects, parish priests
and parishioners in the church architectural inculturation? Why social communication
is important in the church architectural inculturation? Finally, all the questions lead to
a formulation: What are the requirements to success the conducting of church
architectural inculturation?

3 
 


1.3. Methodology
In this study, the discussion begins with a review of theories and data as the
basic knowledge to recognize the context of the issues raised. They include: levels of

cultural encounter; development of inculturation and church councils; Java: History,
Cultural Identity, and City; Javanese architecture; religious architecture in Java; new
Dutch-Indies architecture and Indonesian modern architecture; and Catholic Church
in Indonesian Archipelago.
Architecture of the three parish churches in Java are taken as the case study
including: the Ganjuran church, the Klaten church, and the Somohitan church. They
are chosen based on a consideration that each churches has unique characteristics
related to architectural inculturation, however all of them have a similarity in using
Javanese architectural culture as the basic idea to form their architectures.
In order to analyze the development of those three churches, the author used
typological analysis. Using typological approach, architecture is analyzed based on its
physical forms to reveal its functions and meanings. Typological approach allows the
analysis relies on the materialized forms so inculturation study could be more focused
on the architectural point of view. Functions in the three churches are revealed
through typological approach. Other factors including historical, social and cultural is
also chronologically analyzed to build an integrative analysis.
Architectural inculturation is a transformation of architecture caused by
interaction between two different architectural cultures. In another words, identifying
architectural transformation could be used as a tool to reveal an architectural
inculturation phenomenon. In this study, ‘transformation’ itself is defined as the
change of form, function, and meaning of the church architecture that is caused by
intercultural interactions. These transformations related to the process of ‘meeting’ of

4 
 


inner and outer architectural culture. Analysis of the transformations results three
configurations including juxtaposing, superimposing, and interlocking.
The results of development and transformation analyses are used as the bases

to reveal architectural inculturation of the chosen three churches in a broader point of
view. Interviews with parish priests, church leaders and officials, parishioner leaders
and architects of the churches are the main sources for this discussion. Meanings in
the three churches are encoded through their opinions. Names of the above
respondents are cited to keep the authenticity of opinions as long as they do not
interfere with privacy and ethics. Thus, all original interview recordings are kept by
the author. On the other hand, author decodes the meanings of the three churches
based on personal experience during exploring the data and engaging in the activities
in churches during the research in the field. Personal knowledge was acquired through
the theoretic studies about inculturation and church architecture. New understandings
on the church architectural inculturation are raised through this discussion.

1.4. Limitation of the Study
Based on the experience during survey for this study, there are many cases on
architectural inculturation which could be found in the Catholic churches in Java. The
more cases are taken, the more uniqueness could be revealed. However, because of
the limitation of time for survey, the author could only take three churches. Besides,
insufficient documentation in several churches complicated this study. For these
limitations, the author’s personal interpretation toward incomplete data may not be so
valid.

5 
 


CHAPTER 2
THEORETICAL REVIEW

2.1. Levels of Cultural Encounter
For Catholic Church, inculturation is a strategy to enter various cultures in the

world and an awareness to respect the diversity of cultures. However, Catholic retains
its own cultural values from melting or fusing of cultures. Therefore, to avoid the
emergence of syncretism, Catholic formulated its own terminology. As stated in the
background of this paper, “inculturation” is a specific term in Catholicism which
relates to the meeting of Christianity and various indigenous cultures in the world.
Related to the “meeting” of cultures, there are several terms and terminologies which
could be arranged based on their levels of connectivity, as follows:
1. Inculturation: revealing a relationship between Christian values and worldwide
cultures. Churches receive all the world cultural heritages (customs, traditions,
wisdoms, art and knowledge) as a contribution to enrich Christianity; on the other
hand, they are improved by the Christian values.
2. Enculturation: a process for an individual to enter his/her own culture. He/she
needs someone else to support and train him/her in all his/her aspects of life. This
learning process differentiates human beings and the other creatures; and by this
process a human being will live by his/her cultural manners.
3. Acculturation: a meeting of various cultures, or intercultural contact that results
changes and impacts when different cultural groups are in contact continuously.
This process will result the changes of the basic cultural pattern of one or both
cultures.

6 
 


4. Transculturation: the transfer of cultural characteristics, cultural symbols, cultural
meanings, cultural pattern, cultural values, or cultural institutions to another
different culture. The transference is repressive and creates a universal
characteristic following the repressor. On the other hand, the repressor is reclusive
from the influence of the repressed cultures.3
5. Syncretism: Reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief, as in

philosophy or religion, especially when success is partial or the result is
heterogeneous.4
 
Based on the above definitions, it could be concluded that inculturation is
different from enculturation since inculturation occurs in institutional level while
enculturation occurs in personal level. Inculturation is also different from
acculturation. In inculturation, an outer culture (church) takes the initiative to meet
inner cultures (indigenous cultures) to enrich each other; however, they still retain its
basic cultural pattern. Acculturation will occur when the initiative has come from the
both parties to make continuous and intensive relationships in such a way that one or
both of them release some basic cultural patterns. Comparing to transculturation that
is repressive, in inculturation, none of any party becomes the repressor or the
repressed. Both of them are in an equal position and respect each other. Syncretism is
the most intimate relationship among the cultures. It happens when they have melted
themselves to create a new hybrid culture.
Inculturation occurs by a process. For this research, the process was divided
into three steps: early, middle, and late process. All of them, together with the terms
of acculturation and syncretism are arranged in a diagram to show their levels of
cultural encounter as follows:

                                                            
3
4

Hardawiryana, 2001:32-33
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2009

7 
 

Early Process:
Juxtaposing

The early configuration of
inculturation is the openness
between inner and outer culture
to juxtapose each another.
Therefore, both of them will
stand on their own cultures
while they learn to find each
entry points.

Middle Process:
Superimposing

Inculturation

A culture which can find the
entry points of the other one
more quickly will influence
more progressively. Therefore,
it will superimpose the other
one.

Late Process:
Interlocking

The both cultures will reach a
new balance when they have

recognized each other in a deep
understanding and interlock
each another in an equal
position.

Enculturation

Enculturation occures in
individual level. It happens
when a person enters to a
culture and learns to accept that
culture to become her/his new
culture.

Acculturation

In acculturation, relationships
between two (or more) different
cultures continue intensively in
such a way that one or both of
them release some basic
cultural patterns.

8 
 


Transculturation

In transculturation, an outer

culture enters and penetrates an
inner culture to become its
patron.

Syncretism

In syncretism, the two (or
more) different cultures meet
and melt each other to result a
new hybrid culture.

Figure 2: Level of cultural encounter diagram (author, 2009)

2.2. Development of Inculturation and Church Councils
According to Franzen, he explained that inculturation is a long historical
process in Catholicism. His description on inculturation can be summarized in a time
line chart as follow:

 
Figure 3: Timeline chart of Inculturation (author, 2009, referring Franzen, 1988)
The formulation of inculturation by the Catholics, before this term was
formally declared in the Second Vatican Council, has been inspired and developed for
many centuries. Franzen wrote that the phenomenon of inculturation started from the
Pentecost, when Saint Paul spoke to the Greek at the Aeropagus of Athens by their
language. Later, in the history of missions, missionaries such as St. Patrick in Ireland
(400s) and Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the Eastern Europe (800’s) adapted
9 
 

Christianity to the local cultural contexts. After discoveries of the Americas, Asia and
Africa by Spanish and Portuguese after Renaissance, the Jesuits Matteo Ricci and
others had successfully introduced Christianity to China by adapting the Catholic faith
to Chinese thinking and cultural practicing.
Finally, the long term practices of inculturation have also influenced the
policies of the church leaders. Franzen wrote as follows5:
In 1894, Pope Leo XIII produced encyclical Praeclara Gratulationis that
praised the cultural and liturgical diversity of expressions of faith within the
Church. Pope Benedict XV, since 1919 has attempted inculturation by deEuropeanization of the Catholic missions to develop the autonomy of local
clergies. In 1939 Pope Pius XII wrote in Summi Pontificatus that a deeper
appreciation into the various civilizations and their good qualities are
necessary to the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. He also demanded
recognition of local cultures as fully equal to European culture. After Pius XII,
John Paul II addressed the issue of inculturation in several encyclicals and
public appearances. In the encyclical Slavorum Apostoli (1985), he defined
inculturation as “the incarnation of the Gospel in native cultures and also the
introduction of these cultures into the life of the Church”; and in the encyclical
Redemptoris Missio in 1990, he also defined inculturation as “the intimate
transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in
Christianity and the insertion of Christianity in the various human cultures."
Finally, Redemptoris Missio 52 stated that “inculturation is a theological term
which has been defined as the on-going dialogue between faith and culture."6

The above description implied that from practical actions, inculturation has
become the papal teachings. In the history of Christianity, some of the papal teachings
have also influenced to or been influenced by the church councils, the meetings of all
churches representations from all church territories to discuss and produce decrees
related to Gospel canons, ecclesiastical teachings and protocols. Church council has
become an important inheritance for Christianity, and Catholic Church deeply
concerns to it. During its history, Catholic Church has acknowledged 21 councils

which were divided into three periods as follows:
                                                            
5
6

Franzen, 1988 in
See: John Paul II, 1990:52-54

10 
 


 
Figure 4: Timeline chart of the Church Council
(author, 2009, referring Tanner, 2003)
 
The first seven councils, Nicaea I until Nicaea II, are the most ecumenical
since it represented universal churches. Western (Rome), Orthodox, and Eastern
(Constantinople) Churches took equal roles in those councils. Early Christianity
councils were held in Eastern Europe and employed Greek as the main language. In
the discussions, they were more focusing on Gospel canons and ecclesiastical
teaching. Nevertheless, in the Medieval Ages, all councils were identical with
Western Church councils since a schism between Western and Eastern Church
occurred. Besides, they were held in Western Europe and Latin has been used instead
of Greek. In the discussion, they were more focus on issuing ecclesiastical protocols.
The emergence of Protestantism in the fifteenth century revealed a modern
council of Trento. Although the early aim of this council was to accommodate the
reformist’s indictments, it finally delivered contra-reform decisions. The First Vatican
Council was held to complete some suspended decisions of the Trento Council related
to the role of pope. Nevertheless, the Second Vatican Council did not continue the

First Vatican Council but innovated new and unpredicted decisions related to
ecclesiastical life and world life. This council produced 16 decrees.7 Two of them, Ad
                                                            
7

According to Tanner, 2003:120-121, they include: Sacrosanctum Concilium (constitution concerning
Holy Liturgy, 1963), Inter Mirifica (decree concerning mass media, 1963), Lumen Gentium (dogmatic

11 
 


Gentes and Gaudium et Spes, are the most important decrees related to inculturation.
Later, Slavorum Apostoli and Redemptoris Missio, two encyclicals by Pope John Paul
II which concerned to inculturation (as it has been discussed above), was produced to
respond these decrees.

2.3. Java: History, Cultural Identity, and City
Java is one of the five biggest islands in Indonesia. It is about 1.100 kilometers
length and 120 kilometer width in average. The total area of Java is approximately
132,187 square kilometers, occupying approximately seven percent of the total land
area in Indonesia. Despite the relatively small percentage, but Java is currently
inhabited by about 40% of the total Indonesian population which amounted to more
than 250 million people. So Java is an island with the densest population in Indonesia,
and the density is accumulated in the big cities in Java such as Jakarta, Surabaya,
Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, and Malang.
Historically, Java has evolved and has a prominent role as a center of
civilization in the archipelago since the 8th century, under the Buddhist kingdom of
the dynasty of Syailendra. Artifacts that can be seen up to now are the Buddhist
temples scattered in the region of Central Java. Two of the most famous temples are

Borobudur and the temple complex of Sewu. Progress was caused by the proliferation
of Java that allows the development of the agricultural culture. Since the dynasty of
                                                                                                                                                                          
constitution concerning Church, 1964), Orientalium Ecclesiarum (decree concerning Eastern Catholic
Church, 1964), Unitatis Redintegratio (decree concerning ecumenicalism, 1964), Christus Dominus
(decree concerning bishop’s ecclesiastical pastoral tasks, 1965), Perfectae Caritatis (decree concerning
renewal and adaptation of religious life, 1965), Optatam Totius (decree concerning priest course,
1965), Gravissimum Educationis (declaration concerning Christian Education, 1965), Nostrae Aetate
(declaration concerning relationship between Church and non-Christian religions, 1965), Dei Verbum
(dogmatic constitution concerning divine revelation, 1965), Apostolicam Actuositatem (decree
concerning laity apostolate, 1965), Dignitatis Humanae (declaration concerning religious freedom,
1965), Ad Gentes (decree concerning Church mission, 1965), Presbyterorum Ordinis (decree
concerning priesthood service and life, 1965), Gaudium et Spes (pastoral constitution concerning
Church in the recent world, 1965).

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Syailendra, Java has become a major rice producer in the archipelago, and a surplus of
rice production has enabled Java become suppliers to other regions outside of Java.

Figure 5: Prambanan and Borobudur Temple
(Siswantoro, 2010)
The fertility of the island of Java  is  inseparable from the existence of many
active volcanoes. Volcanic ash which became the source of soil fertility is a result of
the eruptions of volcanoes. Until now there are 35 active volcanoes on the island of
Java.
The advance of agriculture in Java continued until the next period of the
Hindu Mataram kingdom in the 9th century AD, with its greatest heritage includes the

temple complex of Prambanan and Ratu Boko Palace in Central Java. Due to a
disaster that so far not been recorded clearly, in the year 1006 AD, Hindu-Javanese
kingdom in Central Java moved to East Java, and it reached its prosperity during the
reign of Majapahit Kingdom from the 14th century to 15th century AD. During the
golden age, the power of the Majapahit Kingdom is thought to cover almost the entire
territory of the archipelago. Although some historians doubt the truth that the source
power of Majapahit was caused by their military power, but it could hardly
indisputable that the strong influence of Majapahit to other regions outside of Java, is
because those areas dependent on rice supplies from Java.

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Since the late 15th century, Majapahit Kingdom declined due to the internal
conflicts, along with the decline of the Hindu-India cultural polarization in Southeast
Asia, as well as the increasing influence of Islamic and Chinese cultures into Java
through the merchants of Gujarat (India-Islam) and China. The development of trade
and maritime culture, particularly in regions along the northern coast of Java Island,
has given birth to the cities of independent trade such as Banten, Jayakarta, Cirebon,
Semarang, Demak, Kudus and Jepara. The strengthening of these trading cities
eventually led to a new political force which can ultimately defeat the power of
Majapahit. Demak finally emerged as the first Islamic kingdom in Java that could take
over the role of power of Majapahit in the early 16th century.
The power of the maritime kingdom of Demak in Java did not last long.
Pajang, a kingdom based on agriculture in inland Central Java, managed to take
power from Demak and shifted the center of power back into the inland of Java. Thus,
trading towns on the north coast of Java was again controlled by agriculture-based
empires. Islamic-Mataram, established in Kotagede at the end of the 16th century,
was the next agriculture-based kingdom that took power from Pajang, and it had

reached the peak of success at the time led by Sultan Agung in the early 17th century.
In the subsequent period, Islamic-Mataram kingdom was experiencing a lot of
conflicts and eventually divided into two kingdoms, Surakarta and Yogyakarta in
1755.8
The weakening of the political power of Islamic-Mataram has allowed the
Dutch that originally only controlled the city of Jayakarta in the beginning of the 17th

                                                            
8

These two kingdoms still exist today, and become part of the Republic of Indonesia. In fact, the
Sultanate of Yogyakarta is still recognized its political power by the Indonesian government by
determining the region of Yogyakarta as a special province, where the Sultan automatically has the
right to lead the region as the governor.

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century,9 finally mastering the entire Java as part of the Dutch colony in the East
Indian region. Until the end of the Dutch colonial period, namely in 1942, Java
retained as a granary for the Dutch East Indies territory.

Figure 6: Ancient and recent cities in Java
(Zahnd, 2008)
Agriculture that had been the source of life for Javanese for centuries had
shaped the character of Javanese culture. First, farming is closely related to natural
cycles, namely the planting and harvesting rice performed at certain seasons, and they
are done repeatedly with the same pattern. Thus, the Javanese are familiar with
regularity, not drastic changes. Second, the work of the farming is work to do

together. Therefore, the Javanese prefer togetherness and unity of life. Third, farmers
like to collect. Agricultural products are collected and stored so it can be eaten until
the next harvest.
                                                            
9

Once ruled by the Dutch, the name of Jayakarta was changed to Batavia, and after Indonesian
independence in 1945, the name of Batavia was renamed Jakarta.

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With the above three characteristics, the basis of Javanese culture is formed.
Thus, many new cultures coming from outside are accepted, then be adapted to the
pre-existing culture; so even though many foreign cultures entered and accepted in
Java, but the native culture is not lost but melted in it. ‘The typical of Javanese culture
lies in its ability to let itself flooded by many waves of foreign cultures, and in that
floods it retain its authenticity.’10
With the above historical development and cultural identity, the emergence of
cities in Java are more influenced by the existence of agricultural-based kingdoms in
inland Java rather than by the existence of maritime-based kingdoms in the north
coast of Java. The cities based on trading culture only lies along the north coast of
Java such as Jakarta, Semarang and Surabaya, while other cities in inland of Java are
automatically based on agricultural culture. Yogyakarta and Surakarta are two
examples of inland cities in Java that inherited a pattern of agricultural-based cities
from Hindu-Mataram Kingdom in Central Java and Majapahit Kingdom in East Java.
According to Santoso (2008), cities in Java during pre-colonial era have two
basic principles: sacred axis and circumference fence. The principle of sacred axis has
been existed since the era of Sanjaya Dynasty in Central Java in the 8th century.

Mendut Temple and Borobudur Temple laid in a sacred axis that shows a sacred route
for pilgrims to reach Borobudur in the past. The same pattern can also be found on the
reconstruction of the capital of Majapahit Kingdom in Trowulan, East Java. The
principle of this sacred axis can be categorized as typical of the original town of Java,
since this principle did not only exist in the Hindu and Buddhist, but also continued
until the Islamic period. The pattern of the capital of the Islamic Mataram Kingdom of
Yogyakarta also continued to apply this principle.
                                                            
10

Suseno, 2001:1

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Figure 7: Capital city of Majapahit according to Maclaine Pont
(Santoso, 2008)

17