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Symbols and Symbolic ActsSo far, I have talked mostly about music in an Asian context. In the last part of this presentation I would like to share with you some of the symbolism used in Asian worship.
• The Balinese associate mountains with the presence of God as well as the source of life; this has prompted them to build their churches to resemble mountains. • In Balinese tradition a temple gate symbolizes coming into the presence of God. Thus, a traditional temple gate is constructed behind the communion table, but a cross is set in the middle affirming that Christ is the Way to God. • Dance in Bali is "a powerful medium of communicating ideas, emotions and feelings. Their highly-stylized gestures and eye, finger, arm, and foot movements are the keys to understanding Balinese dance, for all these are symbolic representations of something deeper in meaning."10 For instance dance movements have a traditional meaning that Christians have re-interpreted in a Christian context: All of these new Christian interpretations have added new dimensions in communicating the Gospel to the Balinese through dance. A famous painter, dancer, musician, and composer, I Nyoman Darsane, composed Anak Dara (The Parable of the Ten Virgins) to urge people to prepare diligently and be ready to welcome the sudden coming of the bridegroom. He used the gamelan to accompany singing, which was rare at the time. The parable begins with an overture of dance. It marked the beginning of a new era of Balinese Christian dance and music. I will mention only a few other symbols and symbolic acts.11 Parikrama. Some Christians in South India create a mandala in the sanctuary to pay obeisance to God. A mandala is a space decorated with a vase, pebbles, flowers, etc., to represent the Holy of Holies or the presence of God. When people come to worship they bring gifts of flowers or other objects of God's creation, and walk slowly and meditatively around the mandala, placing the gifts to decorate the mandala, holding their palms together with the sign of namaskar, and slightly bowing the head, which means "I salute the divinity that is in you." It symbolizes thanksgiving, praise and offering. This whole act of worship is called parikrama.12 Mat covering. When a Pacific islander wants to show his regret for having seriously offended someone, he has to ask a respected person from his community to take his place. This respected person sits in front of the house of the offended party, covering himself with a mat to express his plea for forgiveness. If someone comes out to remove the mat, it means that the apology has been accepted. If not, this person has to be killed! The church has utilized this act of penitence. During the prayer of confession, one representative of the congregation sits in the middle, covered with a mat. After the assurance of forgiveness the pastor comes down to remove the mat, symbolizing the forgiveness of sins, and the reconciliation between God and people, and between human beings. Elements for Holy Communion. The liturgy of Holy Communion provides people with ample spaces for imagination. For instance: • Coconuts are one of the main subsistence foods of Filipinos and many other Asian peoples, and so Filipino Christians have used coconuts to replace bread and wine in the Holy Communion. One can easily understand the symbolism of one body broken, the meat and juice coming from the same coconut to nourish the people (although some people have problems with the juice, which is not red). • Taiwan is shaped like a sweet potato. Besides, in the past sweet potatoes were the food of the poor. A recent poem uplifting this Taiwanese spirit reads: "Sweet potatoes, fearless of being rotten under the earth,/ Only yearn for sprouting of leaves and branches for generation after generation." So, we have used sweet potatoes for Holy Communion. The meaning of sacrifice implied in the poem above also reflects the word of Jesus, that when "a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies...it bears much fruit" (John 12:24). • Tea is the most important drink in Taiwanese society. It is very meaningful for Taiwanese to serve tea in place of wine or juice in communion. • Some theologians in Indonesia have done an experiment using chicken meat for Holy Communion, with the following rationale: (1) chicken is the most popular meat for general consumption; (2) chickens only live for people, sacrificing themselves to nourish human beings; (3) a rooster reminds us of the weaknesses in our human nature,warning us of our possible denial of Christ, as did Peter; (4) chickens remind us of God's love as shown in Jesus' lamentation for Jerusalem: "How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings..." (Matt. 23:37); (5) chewing the meat makes people experience the actual eating and partaking of "the body." • Rice wine, a very strong local liquor, is used in place of grape juice. The sacred flame. South Indian families keep a copper lamp, Aathari (sacred flame), lighted at night. The original lamp had a pagan symbol on the top, which is now replaced by a cross. It has five wicks that symbolize five ways to the deity. Christians have given this lamp a new identity: the Aarathi symbolizes the presence of God, or Christ, the light of the world. The flame also stands for the Word, the truth, and eternal life. After a sermon each member of the congregation is invited to come forward to feel the flame. After the first touch they place both hands on top of the head to symbolize receiving the Word or Christ intellectually. After the second touch they place both hands on the eyes, as a prayer for illumination of the mystery and the understanding of the truth. After the final touch the hands are placed on the heart as a sign of receiving Christ and his Word in one's heart with emotion, feeling and love. ConclusionThese are but a few Asian sounds, symbols, and symbolic acts in worship. They are born out of Asian Christians' genuine search for truth, their glimpses of God's glory. These works, vulnerable as they are, represent humble attempts to comprehend the incomprehensible mystery of God's love and revelation. They may be called religious art that "transcends its culture and reflects the eternal."13 It is their imago Dei responding to the call of the Spirit to participate in the continuing act of God's creation "in us, through us, [and] with us,"14 whether they use arts, fingers, spoons, chopsticks, or forks to express their incarnated faith. Let us pray that the unique glory of God as shown in God's special gifts to any particular culture will not be lost because of globalization. Let us also keep an open mind, to see through our third eye, and listen through our third ear, to what God may be telling us or revealing to us today through unfamiliar imageries, through the loud sound of gongs, or through a still small voice. |
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Dance and symbolism in Bali. The Protestant church in Bali has stood out as Asians who have been testifying to Christ through various art forms. Their efforts at contextualization may be seen in the following examples:9