The Kelah Ritual of the Manggaraians in Flores-Eastern Indonesia and Its Theological Significance for Roman Catholics

JEBADU, Alexander and RAHO, Bernard and JUHANI, Sefrianus (2021) The Kelah Ritual of the Manggaraians in Flores-Eastern Indonesia and Its Theological Significance for Roman Catholics. Heritage of Nusantara: International Journal of Religious Literature and Heritage, 10 (2). pp. 193-219. ISSN 2442-9031

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Abstract

This paper aims to open up theological significance of traditional religious practice of the Manggaraians in the Diocese of Ruteng, Flores, eastern Indonesia called the Kélah Ritual. It is an aspect of traditional religion of the Manggaraians. The authorities of the local Roman Catholic Church have been very tolerant toward the ritual and provide enough space for the Catholics to practice it. The local Church, however, does not have a sufficient understanding of its deep theological significance due to the fact of insufficient previous studies on the subject. This research paper demonstrates that the ritual has quite a deep theological significance. In the process to reach the fruits of this research, the methods used were direct observation, direct participation in the Kélah Ritual in several places in Manggarai, focused group discussions, key informant interviews and questionnaires. The results of this research show that this ritual is a rite of passage of the human soul departing from this world to heaven conducted a few days or months after the body’s interment. It is the day of the soul’s ascension to heaven where all of the family ancestors have been together with God forever. This research, then, concludes that, with its theological meaning, the ritual is in fact in conformity with the Catholic faith doctrine regarding the gradual departure of the human soul to heaven after its corporal death – purgatory. No soul goes right away to heaven when it is not 100% holy. The ritual, then, should be highly valued and officially incorporated into the Catholic faith tradition in order to enrich its worship to God the Almighty.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	200 – Agama > 200 Agama > 200 Agama 200 – Agama > 230 Teologi Kristen > 230 Agama Kristen, Teologi Kristen 300 – Ilmu Sosial > 390 Adat istiadat, etiket, dan cerita rakyat > 394 Adat istiadat umum
Divisions:	75201 Ilmu Filsafat
Depositing User:	Mr Alexander Jebadu
Date Deposited:	17 Jan 2022 01:36
Last Modified:	23 Nov 2022 04:12
URI:	http://repository.iftkledalero.ac.id/id/eprint/1057

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