•  
  •  
 

Abstract

The goal of this study is to analyse the travelogues of Protestant evangelists in Wonogiri, a topic so far barely touched upon. Despite being a predominantly Muslim community, Wonogiri was one of the areas in the principalities of Surakarta targeted by the zending. Therefore, this study explores various aspects, including the purpose behind the visits of Protestant missionaries, the discourses presented in the travelogues, and the perspectives of these evangelists on the belief system prevalent in the community in the early twentieth century. Based on several travel accounts, this research utilizes a critical discourse analysis approach. The evangelists built a discourse which intertwined Christianity and identity discourse. The narratives reveal stark differences between the abangan communities and the stricter Muslims identified as putihan. The indigenous people who embraced Protestantism were perceived as the chosen ones, while those who remained unconverted were considered as the others. This reality highlights the inherent European-Christian perspective adopted by the travelogue writers.

References

Andel, H.A. van. 1934a. “Boekoe Kristen: een verhaal uit 1914”, in: H.A. van Andel and N.A.C. Slotemaker de Bruine (eds), Morgenrood: korte verhalen en schetsen, pp. 15-19. Zwolle: La Rivière & Voorhoeve.

Andel, H.A. van. 1934b. “Een Javaansche Willebrord”, in: H.A. van Andel and N.A.C. Slotemaker de Bruine (eds), Morgenrood: korte verhalen en schetsen, pp. 41-49. Zwolle: La Rivière & Voorhoeve.

Andel, H.A. van. 1934c. “Eenlingen, wellicht eerstelingen”, in: H.A. van Andel and N.A.C. Slotemaker de Bruine (eds), Morgenrood: korte verhalen en schetsen, pp. 100-111. Zwolle: La Rivière & Voorhoeve.

Arifianto, Alexander R. 2009. “Explaining the cause of Muslim-Christian conflicts in Indonesia; Tracing the origins of kristenisasi and islamisasi”, Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 20(1): 73-89. [DOI: 10.1080/09596410802542144.]

Aritonang, Jan Sihar and Karel Steenbrink. 2008. A history of Christianity in Indonesia. Leiden / Boston, MA: Brill.

Atwood, Craig. 2021. “The Bohemian Brethren and the Protestant reformation”, Religions 12(5): 360. [DOI: 10.3390/rel12050360.]

Bavinck, J.H. 1934. “Een vijfdaagsche reis door het land van Wonogiri (1932)”, in: H.A. van Andel and N.A.C. Slotemaker de Bruine (eds), Morgenrood: korte verhalen en schetsen, pp. 132-141. Zwolle: La Rivière & Voorhoeve.

Bawono, Harry. 2020. “Adaptasi dua sisi: ketika Gereja Kristen Jawa me-multikultural-kan diri”, in: Izak Y.M. Lattu and Tedi Kholiludin (eds), Agama & budaya Nusantara pasca kristenisasi, pp. 1-30. Semarang: Lembaga Studi Sosial dan Agama (eLSA) Press.

Bosnak, Judith E. and Frans X. Koot. 2020. The Javanese travels of Purwalelana: a nobleman’s account of his journeys across the Island of Java 1860 -1875. London: Routledge.

Breukelaar, W. and K. van Anken. 1937. Vijfentwintig jaren Solo-zending 1912-1937. [Uitgaande van de Gereformeerde Kerk van Delft en de samenwerkende classes Gouda, ‘s-Gravenhage, Leiden en Woerden.]

Breukelaar, W. and L.G. Goris. 1932. Atlas van de zendingsterreinen van de Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland. Wageningen: Zomer en Keuning.

Burhani, Ahmad Najib. 2005. “Revealing the neglected missions; Some comments on the Javanese elements of Muhammadiyah Reformism”, Studia Islamika 12(1): 101-129. [DOI: 10.15408/sdi.v12i1.647.]

Burke, Peter. 2010. “The cultural history of the travelogue”, Przegląd Historyczny 101(1): 1-11.

Chao, En-Chieh. 2017. Entangled pieties: Muslim-Christian relations and gendered sociality in Java, Indonesia. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Cornelissen, P. 1939. Sint Willebrord de Prediker. Helmond: Boekdrukkerij Helmond.

Damayanti, Angel and Sri Yunanto. 2022. “From evangelization to worship restrictions; The changing characteristics of threat perception between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia”, Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 33(4): 329-353. [DOI: 10.1080/09596410.2022.2158608.]

Davis, Aeron. 2008. “Investigating cultural producers”, in: M. Pickering (ed.), Research methods for cultural studies, pp. 53-67. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Derksen, Maaike. 2016. “On their Javanese sprout we need to graft the European civilisation”, Tijdschrift voor Genderstudies 19(1): 29-55. [DOI: 10.5117/TVGN2016.1.DERK.]

Dilogo, Suwitadi Kusumo, Wahyu Nugroho, Tanto Kristiono, Nike Lukitasari Ariwidodo, Ayupanta, Wisinggih Hadi Purnomo, Setya Maharani, P. Sularno, Yohanes Wahono, and Winantyo. 2016. Satu abad (100 tahun) GKJ Margoyudan Surakarta meniti zaman dan menatap masa depan. Edited by J. Syahban. Surakarta: Penerbit Majelis GKJ Margoyudan Surakarta.

End, T. van den, C.G.F. de Jong, H. Reenders, and M. van Selm. 2001. De gereformeerde zending in Midden Java 1859-1931: een bronnenpublicatie. Edited by H. Reenders. Zoetermeer: Uitgeverij Boekencentrum.

Ewertowski, Tomasz. 2022. “Javanese mosaic; Three Polish representations of Java from the second half of the 19th century”, Indonesia and the Malay World 50(147): 211-233. [DOI: 10.1080/13639811.2022.2044659.]

Fairclough, Norman. 1995. Critical Discourse Analysis; Papers in the critical study of language. London / New York, NY: Longman Publishing.

Fairclough, Norman. 1996. Language and power. New York, NY: Longman Inc.

Florida, Nancy K. 1997. “Writing traditions in colonial Java; The question of Islam”, in: S.C. Humphreys (ed.), Cultures of scholarship, pp. 187-217. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

Galavaris, George. 1978. “Some aspects of symbolic use of lights in the Eastern Church candles, lamps and ostrich eggs”, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 4(1): 69-78. [DOI: 10.1179/030701378806931653.]

Grzywaczewski, Józef. 2019. “Zagadnienie Kościoła w kontekście ascetycznym u Marka Eremity”, Collectanea Theologica 89(1): 51-74. [DOI: 10.21697/ct.2019.89.1.04.]

Harahap, Yoshua Budiman Paramita. 2017. “Liberatio communio: the ecclesiological identity of Sadrach’s Javanese community”, International Bulletin of Mission Research 41(3): 239-250. [DOI: 10.1177/2396939317706446.]

Heintze, E.K.E. 1937. Salatiga-zending: Begin en beginsel. Utrecht: Comité der Vereeniging tot ondersteuning van Zendelingen der Salatiga-zending.

Honings, Rick. 2021. “Guardians of the colony: nineteenth-century military travellers in the Dutch East Indies”, Studies in Travel Writing 25(4): 461-486. [DOI: 10.1080/13645145.2022.2143995.]

Houtman, C., J.H. van de Bank, A.J. van den Berg, A. de Groot, O.J. de Jong, F.R.J. Knetsch, G. H.M. Posthumus Meyjes, H.J. Selderhuis, J. van Sluis, and J. Trapman. 2006. Biografisch lexicon voor de geschiedenis van het Nederlandse protestantisme. Part 6. Kampen: Uitgeverij Kok.

Howell, Julia Day. 1976. “Javanese religious orientations in the Residency of Surakarta”, in: Carol A. Smith (ed.), Regional analysis Volume II, pp. 229-254. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press.

Imadudin, Iim. 2015. “Pendidikan kolonial dan politik asosiasi: kajian atas memoar Pangeran Aria Achmad Djajadiningrat (1877-1943)”, Patanjala: Jurnal Penelitian Sejarah dan Budaya 7(3): 543-558. [DOI: 10.30959/patanjala.v7i3.118.]

Inostroza Ponce, Xochitl. 2019. “Baptise, name, legitimise, be a godparent; The Christian baptism in indigenous populations: Altos de Arica, 1763-1833”, Estudios Atacameños 1(61): 199-218. [DOI: 10.4067/S0718-10432019005000301.]

Jeurgens, Charles. 2013. “The untamed archive: History-writing in the Netherlands East Indies and the use of archives”, History of the Human Sciences 26(4): 84-106. [DOI: 10.1177/0952695113500800.]

Jong, Chr. G.F. de. 1997. Gereformeerde zending in Midden-Java, 1931-1975; Een bronnenpublicatie. Zoetermeer: Boekencentrum.

Kato, Hisanori. 2021. “The Islam Nusantara movement in Indonesia”, in: M.A. Upal and C.M. Cusack (eds), Handbook of Islamic sects and movements, pp. 110-128. London / Boston, MA: BRILL.

Kruithof, Maryse. 2018. “The acceptance of new religions on Java in the nineteenth century and the emergence of various Muslim and Christian currents”, Kawalu: Journal of Local Culture 5(1): 117-134. [DOI: 10.32678/kawalu.v5i1.1877.]

Kwartanada, Didi. 2017. “Bangsawan prampoewan; Enlightened Peranakan Chinese women from early twentieth century Java”, Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia Vol. 18 No. 2: 422-454. [DOI: 10.17510/wacana.v18i2.591.]

Ladouceur, Paul. 2019. “Neo-traditionalist ecclesiology in Orthodoxy”, Scottish Journal of Theology 72(4): 398-413. [DOI: 10.1017/S0036930619000619.]

Leopold, Anita M. and Jeppe S. Jensen (eds). 2004. Syncretism in religion; A reader. London / New York, NY: Routledge.

Lombard, D. 2005. Nusa Jawa: silang budaya; Batas-batas pembaratan. Book 1. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama.

Lowe, Lisa. 1991. Critical terrains; French and British Orientalisms. Ithaca, NY / London: Cornell University Press.

Mamahit, Ferry Y. 2021. “Abangan Muslims, Javanese worldview, and Muslim–Christian relations in Indonesia”, Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies 38(1): 31-45. [DOI: 10.1177/0265378820965602.]

Margana, Sri. 2019. “Religion, communism, and Ratu Adil; Colonialism and propaganda literature in 1920s Yogyakarta”, Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia Vol. 20 No. 2: 233-249. [DOI: 10.17510/wacana.v20i2.735.]

Matheson, Virginia. 1985. “Kisah pelayaran ke Riau: Journey to Riau, 1984”, Indonesia Circle. School of Oriental & African Studies 13(36): 3-22. [DOI: 10.1080/03062848508729602.]

Meer, Arnout H.C. van der. 2017. “Performing colonial modernity; Fairs, consumerism, and the emergence of the Indonesian middle classes”, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 173(4): 503-538. [DOI: 10.1163/22134379-17304015.]

Mellor, Philip A. 2004. “Orientalism, representation and religion: the reality behind the myth”, Religion 34(2): 99-112. [DOI: 10.1016/ j.religion.2003.12.002.]

Meyer, Anneke. 2008. “Investigating cultural consumers”, in: Michael Pickering (ed.), Research methods for cultural studies, pp. 68-88. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Nederveen Meerkerk, Elise van. 2019. “An exceptional empire? Dutch colonialism in comparative perspective”, in: Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk (ed.), Women, work and colonialism in the Netherlands and Java; Comparisons, contrasts, and connections, 1830–1940, pp. 47-83. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. [Palgrave Studies in Economic History (PEHS).]

Oettinger, Ayelet. 2007. “Making the myth real; The genre of Hebrew itineraries to the Holy Land in the 12th-13th century”, Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore 36: 41-66.

Phillips, Kim M. 2013. Before Orientalism: Asian peoples and cultures in European travel writing, 1245-1510. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Pitaloka, A.I., A.M. Syarif, M.Z. Afwani, D.S. Wibowo, A. Fajar, and A. Nastiti. 2017. “Penginderaan jauh untuk evaluasi pemanfaatan lahan di Kabupaten Wonogiri, Jawa Tengah”. [Paper, Seminar Nasional Penginderaan Jauh ke-4.]

Pol, D. 1922. Midden-Java, ten Zuiden. ‘s-Gravenhage: Algemeene Boekhandel en Uitgeverij voor Inwendige en Uitwendige Zending (Zendingsstudie-Raad).

Pradita, Dennys, Adi Putra S.W, Meilinia Fathonah, Siti Rhohana, Hany Nur Pratiwi, Afriani Nur Hastuti, Tony Prasetyo, and Efel Indhurian. 2021. Onderneming Mento Toelakan; Dinamika perkebunan serat di pinggiran Wonogiri 1897-1996. Edited by A.P.S. Wardhana and Dennys Pradita. Klaten: Lakheisha.

Quinn, George. 1992. The novel in Javanese. Leiden: KITLV Press.

Rahayu, Nuryani, Warto Warto, Bani Sudardi, and Mahendra Wijaya. 2020. “Dynamics of social values and teaching in the global era; Beyond Sekaten tradition in Surakarta Kingdom”, Journal of Social Studies Education Research 11(1): 213-229.

Rahmanita, M. 2019. “Assessing tourist spending at an attraction; The case of Yogyakarta Palace”, Bridging Tourism Theory and Practice 11: 161-173.

Ricklefs, M.C. 2007. Polarising Javanese society; Islamic and other visions (c. 1830-1930). Singapore: NUS Press.

Rihsivayevna, Shamsematova Barno. 2021. “Features of translating religious values terms of religious discourse”, Archive of Conferences 14(1): 8-9.

Riptanti, Erlyna, A. Qonita, and R.U. Fajarningsih. 2018. “Potentials of sustainable development of medicinal plants in Wonogiri Regency of Central Java Province of Indonesia”, Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science 24(5): 742-749.

Rivkin, Julie and Michael Ryan (eds). 2004. Literary theory: an anthology. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Rörden, Jan, Doris Gruber, Martin Krickl, and Bernhard Haslhofer. 2020. “Identifying historical travelogues in large text corpora using machine learning”, in: A. Sundqvist, G. Berget, J. Nolin, and K.I. Skjerdingstad (eds), Lecture notes in computer science, pp. 801-815. Cham: Springer.

Rubaidi, Rubaidi. 2019. “Java Islam: relationship of Javanese culture and Islamic mystism in the post-colonial study perspective”, el Harakah: Jurnal Budaya Islam 21(1): 19-35. [DOI: 10.18860/el.v21i1.6066.]

Said, Edward W. 2003. Orientalism. London: Penguin Group.

Sasmita, Gusti Garnis and Adi Putra Surya Wardhana. 2020. “Eksistensi budaya Kejawen di tengah kristenisasi masyarakat Sidorejo Kediri abad XXI”, in: Izak Y.M. Lattu and Tedi Kholiludin (eds), Agama & budaya Nusantara pasca kristenisasi, pp. 124-157. Semarang: Lembaga Studi Sosial dan Agama (eLSA) Press.

Sharankov, N. 2019. “‘Infectam usque fatale exitium’; the milestones of Emperor Julian in the territory of Serdica and the conflict of Paganism and Christianity”, Archaeologia Bulgarica 23(3): 41-70.

Singgih, Emanuel Gerrit. 2015. “A postcolonial biography of Sadrach; The tragic story of an indigenous missionary”, Al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies 53(2): 367-386. [DOI: 10.14421/ajis.2015.532.367-386.]

Soekotjo, S.H. 2009. Sejarah gereja-gereja Kristen Jawa Jilid 1; Di bawah bayang-bayang zending 1858-1948. Yogyakarta: Taman Pustaka Kristen.

Sofianto, Kunto, Amos Sukamto, Agus Manon Yuniadi, and Agus Nero Sofyan. 2021. “The struggle of NZV in spreading the Gospel in Garut,

West Java, Indonesia, in the early 20th century”, Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies 38(4): 330-343. [DOI: 10.1177/02653788211047156.]

Steenbrink, Karel. 2003. Catholics in Indonesia; A documented history, 1808-1903. Vol. 1. Leiden: KITLV Press. [Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Vol. 196.]

Steenbrink, Karel. 2015. Catholics in independent Indonesia: 1945-2010. Leiden: BRILL. [Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Vol. 298.]

Sukamto, Amos. 2022. “The role of missionaries from the Nederlandsche Zendingsvereeniging (NZV) in the development of public health in Cirebon Residency 1864-1899”, Church History and Religious Culture 102(2): 250-271. [DOI: 10.1163/18712428-bja10041.]

Swancutt, Katherine. (2019) 2023. “Animism”, in: Felix Stein, H. Diemberger, M. Candea, S. Lazar, J. Robbins, A. Sanchez, and R. Stasch (eds), Cambridge Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Facsimile of the first edition in The Open Encyclopedia of Anthropology, pp. 1-17. [DOI: 10.29164/19anim.]

Thufail, Fadjar I. 2015. “An account of indigeneity: court festival and the aristocratic-self”, in: S. Groth, R.F. Bendix, and A. Spiller (eds), Kultur als Eigentum: Instrumente, Querschnitte und Fallstudien, pp. 295-314. Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Göttingen.

Titaley, John A. 2008. “From abandonment to blessing; The theological presence of Christianity in Indonesia”, in: Sebastian C.H. Kim (ed.), Christian theology in Asia, pp. 71-88. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Toivanen, Mikko. 2019. “Java on the way around the world; European travellers in the Dutch East Indies and the transnational politics of imperial knowledge management, 1850-1870”, BMGN - Low Countries Historical Review 134(3): 47-71. [DOI: 10.18352/bmgn-lchr.10742.]

Tsuchiya, Kenji. 2018. “Javanology and the age of Ranggawarsita; An introduction to nineteenth-century Javanese culture”, in: T. Shiraishi (ed.), Reading Southeast Asia, pp. 75-108. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Wasino and Endah Sri Hartatik. 2019. “Rice policy in Java from traditional kingdoms to Dutch colonial time”, in: Cepi Kurniawan, Karnowo, and Ardhi Prabowo (eds), Proceedings of UNNES International Conference on Research Innovation and Commercialization 2018, pp. 730-735. Dubai: KnE Social Sciences.

Watson Andaya, Barbara. 2006. “Christianity in Southeast Asia”, in: Keith Brown (Editor-in-Chief), Encyclopedia of language & linguistics, pp. 401-404. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Watson Andaya, Barbara. 2017. “Islam and Christianity in South-East Asia 1600-1700”, in: David Thomas and John A. Chesworth (eds), Christian-Muslim relations; Bibliographical history. Volume 11, South and East Asia, Africa and the Americas (1600-1700), pp. 15-28. Leiden: BRILL.

Weed, Jennifer Hart. 2019. “Thomas Aquinas and the baptism of desire”, Res Philosophica 96(1): 77-89. [DOI: 10.11612/resphil.1748.]

Wolterbeek, J.D. 1995. Babad zending di Pulau Jawa. Yogyakarta: Taman Pustaka Kristen.

Woodward, Mark R. 1991. “The ‘Garebeg Malud’ in Yogyakarta: veneration of the Prophet as imperial ritual”, Journal of Ritual Studies 5(1): 109-132.

Wuthnow, Robert J. 2011. “Taking talk seriously; Religious discourse as social practice”, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 50(1): 1-21. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01549.x.]

Zach, K. 2017. “Protestant vernacular catechisms and religious reform in sixteenth-century East-Central Europe”, in: Maria Craciun and Ovidiu Ghitta (eds), Confessional identity in East-Central Europe, pp. 49-63. [e-Book.]

Zainuddin, M. 2019. “Islam-Christian relations in Indonesia”, Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities 27(3): 2099–2107.

Newspapers

“Bruggenbouw”, De Locomotief, 29-8-1917.

“Dr. H.A. van Andel en Mevr. van Andel”, De Amsterdammer, 24-4-1928.

“Dr. Van Andel 60 jaar”, Algemeen Handelsblad, 27-7-1935.

“Europeesche pers. De zending”, De Indier, March 1917.

“Het treffen in Wonogiri. Een godsdienstige secte. Het oude liedje”, De Indische courant, 10-10-1934.

“Midden-Java-nieuws. Wonogiri een Islamietische voordrachtavond”, De Locomotief, 3-2-1928.

“Nieuwe Mohammadiah-Scholen”, De Locomotief, 22-8-1936.

“Uit de Indische bladen. Staatssporen in Midden Java”, Het nieuws van den dag voor Naderlandsch-Indië, 13-5-1914.

Share

COinS