Muslims from Hualoy Village, West Seram Regency, Maluku attended the inauguration of the church in Kariu Village, Haruku Island, Central Maluku Regency on July 2, 2017.
More than 10 women walked, carrying a long white cloth, keeping several figures including the priests and ustad (Muslim clerks), inside the circle. The sound of a tifa (traditional music instrument) played by cross-wearing men was in tune with the tambourines played by a group of teenagers wearing white caps. The sound of the tifa and tambourines accompanied their steps toward the courtyard of the Maluku Protestant Christian Church in Amahusu village, Ambon city, Maluku on Sunday (12/02/2018).
While walking, they sang a song entitled “Gandong”. The song that tells about brotherly relations helps unite the people of Maluku, in which almost all villages are bound in pela and gandong relations, kinship, in other words. On that occasion, the Muslims from Laha village, Ambon city and Tial village, Central Maluku regency, came to Amahusu, a village whose inhabitants are all Christians.
Pela means the relationship of mutual fostering, which is created from events in the past, namely when one village helped another village that suffered difficulties, such as a famine. The two villages then took an oath of brotherhood.
The gandong relationship is created naturally. Villages are gandong when the founders of the villages come from one womb. Gandong literally means “biological siblings”.
By singing “Gandong”, they state they are all brothers despite differences in their tribes and religions. They also feel close even though the distance between the villages was hundreds of kilometer, separated by the sea, or blocked by mountains.
Inside the white cloth circle, which is called the gandong cloth, they dissolve in harmony. They melt in love because of one feeling, one gandong.
Touching
The serene rhythms and tambourines and the lyrics of the song “Gandong” that pierce the heart were very touching. Some of them, both the group members and the women holding the cloth, some of whom wore hijabs, could not resist their emotions. They cried as they were greeted by several women in front of the gate of the church building.
Two women from the congregation who were singing a welcome song suddenly came out of the line. In a half run, both of them hugged two cap-wearing men, Halib Kaliki, secretary of Laha village, and Lukman Yongken, an elder.
Halib tried to be strong, while Lukman, who was standing with the help of a stick, burst into tears. They embraced the two women. The people who witnessed this event joined in the emotion.
The hugs were an expression of longing for brothers and sisters. Based on historical accounts, Laha is the oldest gandong, while Amahusu is the younger sibling. “We are from Laha, who is an older brother, while Amahusu is our younger sister. Brother and sister love each other, although they follow different religions. The religions may be different, but we are still one gandong,” said Djafar Henaulu, the imam of the mosque from Laha village.
The meeting of fellow pela or fellow gandong in Maluku always brings emotion. This also happened during the inauguration of the Maluku Protestant Christian Church in Kariu village, Haruku Island in Central Maluku regency in July 2017. At that time, the Muslims from Hualoy village, West Seram district, attended.
They got emotional because they had not met each other for a long time and they remembered Maluku when it was hit by conflict from 1999 to 2003.
Umar Hehuwat, 76, from Laha realized the adverse effects from the attempt to divide society. Lacking knowledge and information, the residents could get caught up in the social conflict. However, as time went on, people in Maluku became more mature.
They slowly build immunity or social endurance, which used to be vulnerable to burning emotions. “Katong su tau, katong su paham [We already know, we have understood],” said Umar.
The presence of Muslims in Amahusu aims to strengthen kinship. They came at once to convey their greetings to their brothers who were entering a period of advent, the waiting period before the birth of Jesus Christ.
This visit continues to be reciprocated. John Hursepuny, a member of the Assembly of the Maluku Protestant Christian Church Congregation Imanuel Amahusu, said that during Idul Fitri and Idul Adha people from the village came to Laha and Tial to congratulate their relatives.
According to John, through the encounter, the kinship relationship grew stronger. As a result, the resilience of the community would be stronger to deal with attempts to divide society.
