Colors of Faith

Here in Fiji I encountered a lot of things that are not only new to me but also strange at times. Among these are the following issues and situations that I find challenging to understand and deal with coming from a limited theological background and which I hope I would be enlightened from.

Plurality of Religions. Fiji is not just multi-racial  with the presence of the native Fijians (iTaukei – 475, 739), Indo – Fijians (313,798), Chinese (4,704), Europeans (2,953), Rotumans (10,335), Part-European (10,771) and other Pacific Islanders (15,331) but here also exist a plurality of religions among the different racial groups but also within the different groups, too. The largest populations by race are the iTaukei and the Indo-Fijians.[1]

Children of Fiji

The 2007 Census revealed that in that year 539,536 Fijians are Christians; 233,393 are Hindus; 52,520 are Muslims; 2,577 are Sikhs; 2,172 are of other religions and about 7,703 implied to have no religion. A closer look at the data shows that the Catholics are a minority in the Christian group at only 14 percent.  A more detailed data but outdated (1996) revealed that most of the iTaukei are Christians mostly Methodist (261,972) and only 52,163 are Catholics. Amongst the Indo-Fijians the population is largely Hindu (Sanatan – 193,061), Muslim (Ahmadya – 32,082) and also Christian. Out of the 20,719 Christians: 5,432 are Methodists and 3,520 are Catholics. Faith has many colors, too.

Pertinent Issues and Questions: How do we respond to the plurality of religions? What is mission? What is our mission then to promote the Gospel, convert people or engage in dialogue with these religions? How? One Catholic asked me what is the Catholic Church in relation with the other religions. How to engage with peoples of other religions? What is authentic dialogue? One important aspect I want to examine is the aspect of reconciliation in mission – our world is a broken world not just talking about our differences, which could sometimes lead to violence or indifference but also the lost of our relationship with the Creator and in turn with the entire Creation.

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Suva, Fiji Islands

On a more practical issue attending prayer and worship service of other religions, the Hindu in particular. I once attended a “pooja” or prayer service conducted by a Hindu priest to give thanksgiving for the first year death anniversary of their mother. At the end of the service, a girl was going around distributing what seems to be a liquid and later I learned was milk to everyone. When she came to me I asked what is it and she said “pooja” but I just said thanks and refused her. When interacting with other religions, what is allowed when it comes to participating in their different services or rituals?

Inculturation and pastoral application: the use of diya and celebration of the “Diwali” mass. The level of acceptance of certain practices like inculturation of the liturgy with the use of the diya or clay lamp and of the celebration of the “Diwali” mass even if these practices have been approved by the Church vary in the different Indo – Fijian communities in Fiji. There are some communities who welcome the use of the diya and the celebration of the Diwali Mass but there are also groups that opposed it.

I realized real inculturation is not subjecting communities to instructions and practices borrowed or taken from other communities assuming if it works there it can work anywhere. It must grow from within the communities guided and inspired by the Spirit. How is inculturation accepted here in Fiji and what are some examples of these?

---

[1] All figures taken from Fiji Facts and Figures as at 1^st July 2010 by the Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics.

A Royal Wedding

I have only been two weeks into my first missionary assignment here in Fiji and I was able to witness my first Indian wedding. Fiji is multicultural society – the population is composed of the native Fijians, Indo-Fijians, Chinese and others. Most of the Indo-Fijians are descendants of the “girmitiyas” indentured laborers from India who came to Fiji to work in the sugar fields of Fiji more than a hundred years ago.  Within the Indian population here in Fiji, one can also find diversity in ethnicity and religion. They came from different parts of India. There are three major religions practiced by the Indo-Fijians namely Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. Here in Fiji, Christianity is further divided into many other churches like the Methodist, Catholic and Pentecostal groupings.

It is not common to find inter marriages between the major ethnic groups. Last April 30, 2011 I got the privilege to witness the celebration of the wedding of an Indian couple – the bride is Catholic while the groom was a Hindu. The entire ceremony lasted for about two hours and it was filled with a lot of rituals, symbols, colors and scents. I realized through the process of inculturation, the wedding ceremony has been enriched and enlivened. The ceremony happened under a brightly – decorated tent called a “mandap” in Hindi on a stage.

Mandap, brightly decorated tent for religious celebrations.

We arrived early before everyone started coming into the venue of the wedding, which was the rented hall of an Indian college. The ceremony began which the sounds of the drums and cymbals announcing the arrival of the groom. The groom was welcomed and given some food and drinks; then he was seated. The bride came in and the priest welcomed the couple. Both the bride and the groom looked very royal and beautiful. The priest then lit the diya, which is a camphor lamp used in religious ceremonies together with the parents of the bride and groom. Everyone settled down and the opening prayer was said followed by the reading of the Gospel and psalms. A bhajan (religious hymn) was sung before the reading of the Gospel.

Lighting of the diya.

It was great to be able to witness everything up close since I was also busy taking pictures while the entire ceremony was going on. The actual wedding rites began with the declaration of the couple’s intention and freedom to marry followed by the kanyadaan, where the bride was culturally handed over by her parents into the hand of the groom. It is a beautiful ritual that shows the value the Indian culture place on women. After this ritual, the couple encircled the tent housing the altar for seven times. The priest also placed incense in front of the Cross and questioned the couple on a different aspect of married life each time they completed a circle. This ritual is called the bhavar.

Kanyadaan

At the end of the bhavar, the couple exchanged marriage vows holding each other’s right hand (The left hand is considered unclean in Indian culture). The priest blessed the rings and the couple placed the ring on each other’s finger. The groom tied the tali, a yellow string, around the bride’s neck. Interestingly, the groom’s sister then placed a toe ring on the bride’s right foot, which is a South Indian practice.

Groom tying the tali around the bride's neck

Then the bride led the exchange of mala, which is a garland of flowers, three times. The exchange signifies that whatever one owns, the other also owns.  The couple then exchanged seating places.  As they were seated, the relatives tied strings of gold metal on the foreheads of the couple. After everyone had their chance, the groom took red dye with his finger and marked the spot on the bride’s forehead just between her eyebrows, which is called the tika. The tika is a mark, which signifies to others that the woman is married. Indians, especially from the Indian South, culturally practice this.

Groom puts a tika on the bride's forehead.

The priest officially blessed the newly married couple. Finally, relatives and close friends were then invited to approach the married couple and shower them with flower petals mixed with rice grains to bless them. This ritual is called the pushpavrishti.  A feast of curry and roti followed which I was looking forward to. All kinds of curry was served but without meat to respect the many Hindus who don’t eat meat, especially during religious functions. I loved the sweets and the paisam, which was made of milk and peanuts.  This is one common thing with Indians and Filipinos, we love food!

Fr. Pat Colgan, SSC officiated the wedding assisted by Master David Krishna who is also my Hindi guru-jii (“respected teacher”). Fr. Pat and the couple went through a lot of preparation before the wedding. Only a few couples request for this kind of wedding because of the preparations and the complexity of the rituals. There were many things I found quite different from my experience of weddings in the Philippines. The rituals that provided so much symbolism and meaning were new for me.  I think it is important to have all these rituals and symbolism kept because they provide the experiential element of the ceremony, which is important in our understanding of the sacraments. Coming from the Philippines, I’m sad that we have lost so much of our rituals and symbolisms. We have given in to the commercialism and Westernization of our faith and culture.  I admire the couple for their courage to remain faithful to their tradition and thank them for their invitation. It was truly a royal Indian wedding. 

Choir singing beautiful bhajans. Mostly members of the Nandera mandali.

Fr. Pat Colgan, SSC watches over as the groom signs the marriage contract.

Written by Kurt Zion Pala, a FMA student from the Philippines currently assigned to Fiji for two years of pastoral and missionary experience.