Study of Ornaments in the Inkulturatif Pangururan Catholic Church in Samosir, North Sumatera

Authors

  • Ronald Hasudungan Irianto Sitindjak Interior Design Department, Faculty of Art and Design, Petra Christian University
  • Laksmi Kusuma Wardani Interior Design Department, Faculty of Art and Design, Petra Christian University
  • Diana Thamrin Interior Design Department, Faculty of Art and Design, Petra Christian University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18533/journal.v5i7.964

Keywords:

Catholic church, meaning, ornament, inculturation.

Abstract

In the early 1900s, Catholic missionaries arrrived on Batak land in North Sumatera, Indonesia and initiated the process of inculturation, which was subsequently marked by the adaptation of Catholic teachings with the Batak traditional culture. The adaptation involved the liturgy, music and others, inculding the architecture and interior design of their places of worship that continued even to the Modern times. This research aims to discover the meaning behind the ornaments on the exterior and interior of the Inkulturatif Pangururan Catholic Church in Samosir, North Sumatera, as a result of this inculturation process, through Panofsky’s research method known as Iconology. The elements analyzed include the façade, enclosure elements, transitional elements and filling elements. Results show that the ornaments contain various meanings inculturated from Catholic culture having biblical and theological themes incorporated into Batak Toba stylized ornamental forms. This shows that the goodness, truth and beauty of the Catholic faith had honored and adapted their teachings to the local wisdom and culture such that what appears in the implementation of the ornaments is a novel creative beauty and an embodiment of inculturation.  

References

Germain, S., and Van der Goes, B., (2001). Batak Architecture of Sumatra. In Tjahjono, Gunawan (Ed) Indonesian Heritage: Architecture, (24-25). Singapore: Archipelago Press.

Guntur. (2001). Studi Ornamen, Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia, Surakarta.

Joosten, P. L.,(1992). Samosir, the Old Batak Society, Pematangsiantar.

Panofsky, E., (1955). Meaning in the Visual Arts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Prier, K.E., (1999). Inkulturasi Musik Liturgi. PML, Yogyakarta.

Van den End, Th. & Weitjens. J., (2000). Ragi Carita: Sejarah Gereja di Indonesia 2 (1860an-sekarang). BPK Gunung Mulia, Jakarta.

Windhu, I. M., (1997). Mengenal 30 Lambang atau Simbol Kristiani. Yogyakarta: Kanisius.

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Published

2016-07-21

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