Larantuka
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Larantuka is a subdistrict of East Flores Regency, on the eastern end of Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Like much of the region, Larantuka has a strong a colonial Portuguese influence. This overwhelmingly (93.4%) Roman Catholic area enjoys some international renown for its Holy Week celebrations.[1][2]
Larantuka Malay (also known as Ende Malay), a local dialect over 80% cognate with Indonesian, is used as a lingua franca in this area. Portuguese is used in certain Catholic religious rituals.[3][4]
Indonesia Tourism describes:
Larantuka is a neat clean seaport with a beautiful view. Everything is within walking distance except for the pier where the boats leave for Timor (4-5 km from town). [...Larantuka is a] little port nestled at the base of a tall hill at the eastern end of Flores, from where Solor, Adonara, and Lembata islands (the small islands near by) are visible across the narrow strait. [...] people are very outgoing and friendly. Their bemos are brightly painted with murals on the sides and their radios are blasting the latest tunes. Lots of Catholic churches line the roads with a few mosques sprinkled in. [...] There are a number of tuna boats at the docks. They have a big square platform on the bow where fishermen line up with bamboo poles line up flipping hooked tunas.[2]
Another (perhaps less biased) source confirms the affability of the locals:
The town of Larantuka is a quaint little place with the friendliest people we met all the way across Indonesia. On landing on the beach we were mobbed by a group of kids shouting "Hello Mister!" the standard Indonesian English greeting. When they saw I had a camera, they started to ask me to take their picture. Opening up the camera caused all sorts of pandemonium and the parents suddenly showed up wanting to get in the picture as well. [...] When he rewound the tape and played it back the crowd watching themselves on the small screen couldn't stand up they were laughing so hard. We left our new friends of the beach and set out in search of [my friend who we found...] sitting in the middle of about 50 children. Every time he would ask one of them what their name was, riotous laughter would break out in the whole group.[5]
[edit] Holy Week
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- Note: While the spectacle of Larantuka’s Holy Week festivities is attested to in various sources, the specifics that follow fall short of Wikipedia:Verifiability.
"Sancta Semana", the week before Easter, is an important time of religious celebration for the devoutly Catholic people of Larantuka. The celebrations center on two religious statues, one of Jesus Christ and one of Virgin Mary brought by Portuguese missionaries Caspar de Espiritu Santo and Augustinho de Magdalena in the 1500s. These statues are only presented to the public every Easter and are kept out-of-view for the rest of the year.[6]
The religious festivities begin on Wednesday before Easter, known locally as Rabu Trewa or "Shackled Wednesday" in remembrance of the betrayal of Judas Iscariot that led to Jesus's arrest and shackling. Devotees surround the chapel of Tuan Ana where the statue of Jesus is kept, shouting in Latin to mourn the arrest of Jesus by Roman soldiers. Devotees likewise surround the chapel of Tuan Ma in nearby Lohayong village where the statue of Virgin Mary is kept.[6][7]
On Holy Thursday, devotees enact the tikam turo ritual that prepares the route of the next day's seven kilometer procession by planting candles along the road . After the candle are prepared, devotees attend the munda tuan ritual in which members of a religious fraternity known as the Konfreria Reinha Rosaria (Brotherhood of the Queen of Roses) bath the statues of Jesus and Mary. The holy water used is afterwards considered special and is saved to cure ill children and to help women having birth complications.[6]
On the morning of Good Friday, the raja of Larantuka opens the door of the chapel of Tuan Ma thus making may for devotees to enter. His own clan, the Diaz Vieira de Godinho, enter first followed by the brotherhood members and the rest of the population. Worshipers kiss the statue of Mary and pray for divine benevolence per Mariam ad Jesum (through Mary to Jesus).[6][8]
Meanwhile, the statue of Jesus is taken from the chapel in Larantuka and is brought on a seven kilometer long procession by land and sea. The procession has eight stops, each representing a major clan of Larantuka (among which are the Mulawato, Sarotari, Amakalen, Kapitan Jentera, Fernandez da Gomez, Diaz Pohon Sirih, and Diaz Vieira de Godinho clans). At each stop there is a small chapel where a short prayer and devotional singing honor the suffering of the Passion. When the statues of Jesus and Mary are united, they are brought together to Larantuka Cathedral where many devotees attend a Good Friday service that lasts all night.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ [1] Diocese of Larantuka
- ^ a b [2] Indonesia Tourism: Larantuka
- ^ [3] Malay: a language of Malaysia (Peninsular)
- ^ [4] Ethnologue report
- ^ [5] Flores Island East
- ^ a b c d e [6][7] Larantuka" "Sancta Semana"; While the spectacle of Larantuka’s Holy Week festivities is attested to in various sources, the specifics given here fall short of Wikipedia:Verifiability.
- ^ Note that according to traditional accounts of the Passion, the arrest of Jesus takes place is takes place after the Last Supper, i.e. Holy Thursday night or early Good Friday morning.
- ^ [8] Through Mary to Jesus: the Spiritual Value of the Rosary
