VISIT TO INDONESIA

Te Ao Hou, December 1961, Page 40

Indonesian S.C.M. students in the conference hall of the World Council of Churches, Djogjakarta, Central Java. The Latin inscription means: ‘So that all may be one’. VISIT TO INDONESIA by CANON TE HIHI KAA, B.A., L.Th. KO TE HAERE KI INDONESIA No te 12 o Aperira, 1960, he turei te ra, ka rere maua ko toku hoa wahine ma runga aropereina mai i Nepia ki Akarana. I konei ka okioki, ka moe maua i te kainga o nga whanaunga. I tetahi rangi ake, i te hawhe paahi o te iwa ka rere ano maua; engari ma runga i te Aropereina o te Kamupene Rererangi o Poihakena (Teal), mau ana mai te wehi i tona nui me tona ataahua, i tona horo hoki ki te rere. Kaore i rokohanga kua tae maua me o maua hoa ki Poihakena. 1200 maero te tawhiti o Poihakena i Aotearoa nei; ehara kau ki tenei aropereina tu atu ana matou ki Poihakena i te 11.30; a wha haora noa iho e rere ana. No te ahiahi pouri o tetahi rangi ake katahi ano matou ka rere atu ma runga i tetahi aropereina no tetahi Kamupene o Inia; he Inia katoa nga tangata mahi o runga tae atu ki to ratou tumuaki. On Tuesday the 12th of April, 1960, my wife and I flew from Napier to Auckland, the first stage of our journey to Indonesia. Here we rested having found accommodation with our relations. The next morning at 9.30 we flew again; but, this time, by Teal (Tasman Empire Air Lines); a most impressive experience for no other reason than that the plane we were on was so great in size, so beautiful to look upon, so fast in flight. Before we realised it, we were already in Sydney, the distance from Auckland to Sydney being within the vicinity of 1200 miles; it was just a minor effort to the Teal plane, we landed in Sydney about 1.30 p.m. (11.30 a.m. Australian time); flying time was only four hours. It was not until the next evening at 6.30 when we took off again by an All India plane; the whole crew including the Chief Pilot consisted of Indians. Yes, it was at 6.30 when we left and touched down at Darwin at 2 a.m. the next morning; it was still dark. While we were waiting in Sydney, we went sight-seeing and crossed the Harbour by ferry to a town called Manley. This is one of the most popular

No te 6.30 matou i rere atu ai a no te 2 karaka i te ata o tetahi rangi ake ka tau atu matou ki Darwin; e po tonu ana. I a matou e whanga ana i Poihakena, i haere matou ki te matakitaki haere, whakawhiti rawa atu ma runga i te waka harihari tangata ki tetahi taone, ko Manly te ingoa, i rawahi o te kokorutanga o Sydney. Ko te taha moana o tenei taone tetahi o nga taha moana o Poihakena e tino muia ana e te tangata i nga raumati. Engari kaore hoki i pai atu i nga taha moana o Niu Tireni nei; otira pai noa ake ano etahi o o tatou nei tahamoana. Heoi ano, i waimarie ki te kite i tera wahi. I a matou e whakawhiti ana ma runga i te poti harihari pahihi, ka tino kite pai matou i te piriti whakaharahara o te Sydney Harbour. He piriti i hangaia e nga tohunga pakeha. Ka ui tatou he mea pehea ra i taea ai te whakatoro atu mai i tetahi taha ki tetahi taha. I pau tonu te haora i a matou ki Darwin e kapu ti ana, e mihi atu ana e mihi mai ana matou me era atu pahihi—e waru tekau katoa pea matou—no nga wahi katoa o te ao, e horoi ana, e whaka-hauaaua ana—kaore hoki i tatakimori mai nei te wera o tera wahi o Ahitereiria, he wahi kirikiri hoki na reira i wera atu ai i Indonesia, te whenua e haeretia nei e matou. No te toru o nga haora i te ata ka rere ano matou, e po tonu ana; kua kai katoa ra hoki to matou aropereina te whakatikatika e nga tohunga whawha mihini. Me pai ka tika kia pai ai hoki te rere i te takiwa te Rawhiti ai tetahi, te teitei ai ki raunga rawa; ka ahua maharahara tonu te tangata; ka pakaru ano hoki kahore he hokinga mai ki te wa kainga. Ka rere na matou, ka whakamau atu ki Djakarta (ko te taone tino nui tenei o Indonesia); kei te pito whaka-te-raki rawa e tawhiti rawa atu ana i Ahitereiria, no te hawhe pahi o te waru i te awatea ka tau matou ki Djakarta. Puta atu ana matou ki waho kua rongo matou i te wera e piki haere ake ana i o matou waewae, te momo wera e kore e rangona ki tenei whenua. He heke tonu te wera i a matou, hoki noa mai matou ki te kainga nei. Kei roto tonu hoki ra i te wahi wera o te ao. Kaore tona wera e hoki iho ana i te 90 te wera i nga ra katoa, puta noa te tau. Heoi ana a kua maia tera iwi ki te noho i to ratou na whenua. Moe noa iho ai kahore he paraikete awatea noa. E TATA ANA RANEI TATOU KI A RATOU? Ka tau atu ra matou, ka haere mai ona tangata, he kaimahi na te Kawanatanga o reira, he maori katoa no reira, ki te tirotiro i a matou katoa tae atu ki a matou paahi. Mutu rawa enei ahuatanga me te uiui i a matou katahi ano matou ka riro i a matou rangatira hei manaaki i a matou i tenei wahi o te whenua o Indonesia. He mea miharo ra, ko enei maori ano kei te whakahaere i a ratou sea-side resorts in Australia where thousands of people go during the summer months; yet, it is not much better than our own sea-side resorts here in New Zealand; indeed, some of our own are even much better. However, we were fortunate in seeing that place. It was while crossing when we got a wonderful view of the huge Sydney Harbour bridge, built by European engineers. We ask the question how it was possible to build such a massive bridge from one side of the Harbour to the other. We spent quite an hour in Darwin having refreshments, all the passengers, about 80 all told, from all parts of the world, exchanging greetings one with another, washing, cooling ourselves, the heat in this part of Australia being virtually unbearable; being so sandy, it was hotter than Indonesia, the country of our destination. It was three o'clock in the morning, while it was still dark, when we resumed our flight, after the mechanics had thoroughly examined the plane ensuring that every thing was in order. It was imperative that it should be air-worthy for such a long flight and being so high up in space. Some measure of anxiety does come to one; should disintegration occur, there is no opportunity for a return homewards. We continued on our flight, and looked forward to the next place—Djakarta (the Capital city of Indonesia); it lies in a northerly direction at the tip of Java far-distant from Australia, leaving behind Timor, the southern-most part of Indonesia and quite close to Australia. At 8.30 a.m. we Canon Te Hihi Kaa and Mrs Maharata Flora Kaa, on their visit to Indonesia.

ano, kahore te kiri ma e whai mana ki runga ake i a ratou inaianei a haere ake nei. Kei te taha tonga ki te rawhiti Te Mana Motuhake o Indonesia. He iwi e noho ana i runga moutere. Kei runga atu i te iwa tekau miriona to ratou tokomaha; i heke mai i Malaya i ko noa atu ranei, ka whakanoho i konei. Ko te Ingoa “Indonesia” i ahu mai i etahi kupu e rua o te reo Kariki: “Indos” (East India) me “nesos” (island). Ne reira, ki te reo Maori: “Ko nga Moutere o Inia ki te Rawhiti”. Na ko te ingoa maori o India ko “Irihia”, ka tika noa atu ai te mea ko “Irihia ki te Rawhiti” te ingoa maori o Indonesia. Hei tetahi atu wa ka korero ai ahau i te roanga atu o nga korero mo “Irihia” me era atu ingoa o era takiwa o te ao tae noa mai ki nga ingoa o te Moana-nui-a-kiwa e whanaunga ana ki era. Ma te haere marika na reira ka ata kitea te tika o nga korero a Percy Smith, a Dr Buck, me eahi atu o o tatou tohunga o era nga ra, i heke mai nga iwi Maori o te Moana-nui-a-kiwa i era wahi o te ao. Kei te tautohetia tenei korero. Waiho i konei. Taro ake nei ka korero ai ahau o tona roanga atu. E toru mano maero te roa o tenei whenua, a kei tetahi taha kei tetahi taha o te rohe wera i tera takiwa o te ao. Ka takahi atu i runga ka whiti atu ki te tuawhenua o Ahia, ka whiti mai ranei ki Ahitereiria ki a tatou hoki i Aotearoa nei. Ki te rere tika ma runga i te aropereina tekau haora ano kua tae tatou ki tenei whenua, ki tenei mana motuhake i tenei ao pahekeheke. E tino kitea ai tona rahi, ka pau katoa mai tetahi wahi o Awherika, te wahi kei raro i te mana o te Wiwi. TE IWI O INDONESIA E toru mano nga moutere o tenei whenua, ara, he whenua moutere, he whenua wai: ko te rahi o nga moutere e 735,000 square miles (e whia ake eka te rahi). Ko nga moutere nunui o tenei whenua ko: Sumatra, ko Borneo ki te taha tonga, ko Java, ko Celebes, ko Bali, ko Flores, ko Halma-heira, ko Timor, e tata tonu mai ana ki Ahitereiria nei. Ko te ingoa “Java” a rite tonu ana ki te “Hawa” a te Maori. Na Tatimana te “Java” i tona taenga mai ki tenei whenua. He uaua ki a ia no te “Hawa”, ka whakahuaina e ia “Java”. No tona tikanga ki te reo pakeha “Homeland” or “Island”. Ka mohio ai tatou ko te “Hawaiki” e mohio nei tatou ko te “Kainga iti” ko te “Moutere iti” ranei. Ko te “iki” a rite ana ki ta tatou kupu maori “iti”. Ka pai ta tatou korero hei tirotirotanga ma tatou, hei whakahoki i o tatou whakaaro ki a tatou korero maori ki a tatou waiata maori hei whakaatu i te tohungatanga o te maori ki te tito waiata hei pupuri i ana mahi, i one hikoitanga ki konei ki kora; i ana karakia ki ona atua, i tona rangatiratanga. Kati i konei mo tenei wa enei korero. He iwi kotahi a Indonesia, kotahi hoki tona reo, (Indonesia), i roto i nga reo o ona wehewehenga, touched down at Djakarta. No sooner did we deplane than we felt the heat coming up our legs, the kind of heat that would not be felt in this country. We perspired during the whole of our tour even up to the time when we returned home; of course, it is in the equatorial zone; the heat is no less than 90 degrees all the year round, and these people have become accustomed to it in their own land. A blanket is unthought of when one is asleep. ARE WE RELATED TO THE INDONESIANS? When we arrived the Customs officers, all natives, came and went through the usual formalities respecting our persons and our luggage. All these and the questioning had to be completed before we could be received by our hosts whose responsibility it was to give us hospitality in this part of Indonesia. It is an amazing thing that these people rule their own country and administer their own affairs. Politically, they are independent of the West and for all time (so it seems). Indonesia lies to the south east of South East Asia, as a separate Power and nation. Her people live on islands. She has a population of over 90 million people migrated from Malaya or beyond and settled here. The name “Indonesia” originated from two Greek words: “indos” (East Indian) and “nesos” (island). Therefore, according to the Maori it means “Ko nga Moutere o Inia ki te Rawhiti”—“The islands of India to the South”. Now the Maori name for India, according to our authorities, is “Irihia”, so that it will be quite safe to say that “Irihia ki te Rawhiti” is the Maori name for Indonesia. At some future date, I shall tell you more about the name “Irihia” and other names in Asia including South East Asia; and place names in the Pacific, with a view to explaining the connection between Asia and the Pacific. It is by actually visiting these places that one can see truth of what Percy Smith, Dr Buck and other anthropologists of yesteryear said, that the Maori Race of the Pacific migrated from those regions of the world. This question is a controversial one. Let the matter rest here. At some future date, I will continue with it. THE INDONESIAN NATION This country is about three thousand miles long. It lies within the equatorial zone in that part of the world. It is a stepping stone from Asia north of the equator to Australia in the south; and to us, of course, here in New Zealand. If we flew, as the crow flies, by plane it would take ten hours, if not less, to reach this country, an independent one in this unstable world. In order to see its large dimensions, it will bring in that part of the United States starting from New York and

The technique of basket weaving followed by this woman of Kuala Kapuas, Borneo, Indonesia, closely resembles the Maori way. i ahu mai i te tuawhenua o Malaya. I raro i te whakahau a te Kawanatanga me mohio nga hapu katoa me nga iwi katoa o Indonesia ki tenei reo. Ki te kore, kaore e tino mau te kotahitanga. Ko tona whakatauki nui ko “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika”, a ko tona tikanga “Ko te Kotahitanga i roto i te Wehewehenga”. Hei mohiotanga mo tatou he maha nga wehewehenga o tenei iwi puta noa tona whenua. Ko ia moutere e rere ke ana tetahi i tetahi. Tena ano ranei nga wehewehenga i roto i tena moutere, i runga i nga reo, i nga mahi, i nga tikanga. I te moutere o Java, hei whakamarama, e toru nga reo motuhake: ko te Sundanese, ko te Javanese, ko te Madurese. I tua atu i te reo mo katoa, katoa e tata ana ki te rua rau nga reo e korerotia ana puta noa nga Moutere. TO RATOU WHAKAPONO Ko te karakia nui o tenei whenua ko te Karakia o Mohomete. Ko tenei karakia e mea ana ko Mohomete tonu te mangai o te Atua i runga i te mata o te whenua (ahakoa kua mate noa atu ia). Ko tona tikanga ra, e ai ki nga whakaakoranga, kei raro noa atu a te Karaiti. No maua ko toku hoa wahine whakamanuhiritia ai ki tetahi kainga i Borneo ka rongo au i tenei karakia e whakahaerea ana i tetahi po. Ka ui atu au ki o maua rangatira e aha ana nga tangata o tetahi stretching across the Atlantic to that part of Africa which is occupied by the French. This country consists of three thousand Islands, i.e. it covers land and water; there are about 735,000 square miles of land (what an area in acres!). The large Islands of this country are: Sumatra, South Borneo, Java, the Celebes, Bali, Flores, Halmaheira, and Timor, which is quite close to Australia. The name “Java” is the same as the Maori word “Hawa”. Its meaning in English is “Homeland” or “Island”. We come to realise then that name “Hawaiki”, which we know, means “the Small Home” or “the Small Island”. The final “iki” is exactly the same as our maori word “iti” equals “small”. This is most interesting for us to look at, and to prompt us to look back to our maori language and to our poetry, which will show us the genius of the Maori to compose songs wherein is reposed his deeds, ubiquity, his worship, his right to aristocracy. Let this suffice for the meantime. The Indonesian nation is united; it has one common language, Indonesian, distinct from its multiplicity of languages, and having a Malayan background. By Government decree all tribes and divisions must learn and know this language. Without it, its unity will not be perpetuated. Its emblematic representation is: “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” which means “Unity within a Diversity”. We realise from this that there are many divisions among these people right throughout the country. Each island is quite distinct from the other. There are differences of language, culture and customs from island to island. In the Island of Java, for instance, there are three distinct languages: the Sudanese, the Javanese, and the Madurese. Apart from the one common language, there are about two hundred languages spoken throughout the Islands. RELIGIOUS LIFE IS VIGOROUS The Mohammedan religion is the strongest in this country. This religion teaches that Mohammed is the Vicar of God here on earth (although he died a long long time ago). It appears, according to the doctrine, that Christ is of far lower status. When my wife and I were guests at one home in South Borneo, I heard one night this form of religion being expressed in worship. I asked our host what was going on in one house next to the one we were at. He replied that a Mohammedan service was in progress. I did really want to go and see how the worshippers performed, so that I would see and know whether they knelt or stood as they worshipped. From what I could hear I really thought they were doing the haka dance, making grimaces, singing lullabies, chanting anthems, doing the war dance; was it all this I wondered? It was coming on to dawn before they finished. Listening to it, it was very much like the Maori chanting. The leader would start

whare i tua tonu atu i to matou. Ka ki mai e karakia ana i te karakia o Mohomete. I pirangi ahau ki te haere kia kite i aua tangata e karakia ana kia mohio ai pehea ai ta ratou tu, ta ratou koropiko ranei. I pohehe hoki au e haka ana te iwi nei, e ngangahu ana, e oriori ana, e patere ana, e ngeri ana, e aha ana ranei. Ko te ahua katoa hoki ki taku whakarongo atu e penei ana ratou. Kaore hoki i ko atu i te huihuinga maori nei e waiata ana, e haka ana, e aha ana. Ka whakaawatea raka katahi ano ka mutu. Ki taku whakarongo atu rite tonu nga rangi ki nga rangi maori. Ka haere ano tona kaiarihi a ka mea ake te nuinga, ronaki tonu te waiata me he ngaru e whati ana ki uta tetahi i muri i tetahi. Hoki rawa mai oku whakaaro ki te wa kainga nei. Kei te ono tekau miriona kei roto i tenei momo karakia. Ka mohio ai tatou kei te pakari tenei karakia i runga i te nui tangata tonu, engari ko nga whakaakoranga e koititi ke ana i ta te whakapono Karaitiana. Nuku peka atu i te rua miriona tangata kei roto i te whakapona o Buddha engari ko te nuinga o enei kei te taha tonga o Java whakawhiti atu ki te Moutere o Bali. Kei reira ona whakapakoko. Kei etahi wahi ano ko ona Temepara ina te nunui whakamataku ana ki te titiro atu. Ehara i te mea he temepara rawa e karakia ai te tangata i roto. Ko te ahua noa iho o te temepara hei whakaatu he pera o ratou whare karakia i Inia me ko atu. Ko enei hoki he kohatu katoa puta noa puta noa. Tona tikanga i whakapukaitia tena mea a te kohatu e 50 putu nuku atu te teitei; engari ko waho i whakapaipaitia huri noa. He porotiti te ahua, whakakoi atu ai ki runga, penei me te potaka kua hurihia nei a raro ki runga. Ko te mea miharo rawa, kei runga kei te Temepara nei te tohunga o te iwi nei ki te whakairo. Tona whakapono, ana tikanga, tona korero mai ano kei roto katoa i nga whakairo. Kati i konei enei korero. Tera e taea te ki i ahu mai te whakairo maori i konei? He korero nui tenei. Taria tona roanga atu. Ko te tokomaha o nga Karaitiana kei te nuku atu i te rima miriona o roto i te iwa tekau miriona tangata o tera whenua. Ki taku titiro tera e tokomaha haere tonu atu i runga i te kaha o nga kaiwhakahaere, i runga i te pai o nga karakia; e whia ake nga whare karakia Karaitiana kei reira me ona paipera karaihe, mo ona kura ratapu. Ko nga tino hohipera kei reira kei raro i te mana o nga Hahi Karaitiana tae atu ki nga kura. Miharo ana te mahi a nga Hahi nei ki te whakato i te matauranga o te ao, o te Atua ki roto ki te tangata. Ma konei atu te huarahi o te whakapono Karaitiana ki nga tangata karakia whakapakoko. I te pai ano o nga mahi, he ahu mai hoki i te tinana tonu o te Karaiti. Apopo a ka tapuatu te whakapono o Mohomete tae atu ki etahi atu o nga whakapono horihori. Tekau ma tahi to matou ropu i haere nei ki Indonesia. No etahi o o Hahi e mahi nei i Niu (Continued on page 49) off, the congregation would join in, all in unison like the waves coming in one after the other. My thoughts flew back home to our own elders and experts. There are about 60 million people in this religion. We realise then that numerically this religion is very strong, but by Christian doctrine and standards it deviates from the truth. Just over two million people belong to the Buddhist religion but the greater number of these are confined to southern Java right across to Bali. There you will find its idols. In some parts you will find its temples of huge proportions, frightening in appearance. These are not temples in the real sense of the term, where people go in to worship. They are just imitations designed to show that their temples of worship in India and beyond were shaped like that. These ones were just masses of stone, entirely. It appeared that stones were heaped up to a height of 50 feet or higher; but the outside of them were so arranged so that they all looked beautiful and impressive. They were all round and rose up to a point at the top, like a top turned upside down. What is most interesting about them is the fact that the carvings and the art show the genius of the old Indonesians. Their history, their religion and their customs are incorporated therein. I need not say any more, but might I ask the question: is this the origin of the Maori Carving as we know it in this country? Out of a population of 90 million, there are only about 5 million Christians in this country. From all appearances, it is likely that there will be more as time goes on, mainly because the leaders are most able and full of enthusiasm; also, the form of worship is very good. One only has to look at the number of churches, the number of bible classes run by the young people; and there are Sunday schools and the strong evangelistic movement. The best hospitals and schools are run by the Christian Churches. The results of secular and Christian education are simply amazing. It is by these means that the Christian Church is making inroads into the heathen world. This is quite understandable considering the excellent work that is being done and helped by the grace of God through Christ. The collapse of the heathen religions is inevitable. There were eleven in our group which visited Indonesia; representative of the Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist and Salvation Army churches. The main purpose of the visit was to see what progress the Christian church was making there; was the progress strong or weak? It is really strong, it is hard to describe. What a wonderful thing it would be if we were as strong and as co-operative here in New Zealand. Some of the Ministers in the political Administration are Christians. President Sukarno, though a Moslem, is a great friend of the Christian Church. In one of his public addresses he said this: “Give me ten Christians to help me rule this country, I shall be content, and my joy and happiness cannot be measured.” This is a wonderful statement. Greetings.