Church is very important in Chuuk. It is the center of the community, physically and conceptually. Everybody seems to be highly religious and the vast majority of the people attend church regularly. In fact, a large portion of the population attends church 7 days a week. Church bells ring at about sunrise every morning and awake the locals to get ready for prayer. There is also an evening service before the sun goes down. I usually do not attend the daily services, but I am all but required to attend on Sundays. Everybody goes, so it would be a big deal if I decided to skip out and just lounge around.
The strong religious sense in the island was established by waves of missionaries. My family on Fefan is Catholic; and Catholicism seems to slightly outweigh the protestant religions present in Chuuk. The Spanish were some of the first foreigners to colonize Micronesia and they brought Catholicism along with them. Successive missions have come over the last century and further instilled a religious fervor amongst the locals. Religion has brought a lot of positive changes to Chuuk and gives the community a center point to rally around on a daily basis. However, there are some downsides.
Ancient traditions have been abolished and traditional customs and beliefs have been shunned in forgotten corners. In my opinion, it is rather sad to see the complete disintegration of old Chuukese culture. Nobody dresses in traditional fashion, nobody performs local rituals or dances, nobody talks about ancient folklore, nobody seems to be in touch with the generations before Christianity. There are stories of fantastical Chuukese magic that could accomplish amazing feats and transcend the reality that we have come to know. However, the Chuukese magic has been stamped out by Christians. Today, people in Chuuk have a vague recollection of their ancient magic traditions and tell stories of how their ancestors walked under water and communicated with the spirits of nature. Some people seem upset that they have lost touch with their roots, but most people happily accept that Christianity has destroyed those beliefs.
I am well educated on the history and theologies of various religions and have always been very curious about their effects upon societies. My perspectives often come across pessimistic and cynical about the egotistical self-righteousness that missionaries have used to manipulate and infiltrate the blindly accepting people that they touch. The persistent belief that one religion is entirely right while another religion is entirely wrong seems ignorant to me, because they all share the same goals, origins, purposes and often even the same “God” (they just have different opinions on his manifestation). However, although I do not agree with hardline unwavering faith in a belief system that is simply a function of the environment from which you were raised, I do acknowledge the wonderful things about religion. Actually, in the last couple months I have gained a greater respect for Christianity in some respects.
Anyways, I didn’t start writing this blog entry to ramble about my philosophical beliefs on religion. I could talk about that for ages. I wanted to talk about what an experience at church in Chuuk looks like. This past Saturday, we had a special church event at the large Catholic church on our island. So this description of church is slightly different than an average day, but I have been assured to expect similar occasions at least once or twice a month. However, I felt that my first real experience at church on Fefan was appropriate to retell.
….. I awoke early in the morning to the usual “cock a doodle doooo” that echoes throughout the neighborhood as the sun rises over the mountain. I rolled out of bed, put on some shorts and walked out of my room. It was only about 6am but there were already half a dozen people sitting in my kitchen drinking coffee. A flurry of naked little kids were running around the living room playing tag and screaming. I skipped my way through the mess of flailing naked bodies and entered the kitchen. A seat was immediately vacated for me as I walked in and I was accosted by demands to drink coffee and eat food. I was brought a hot cup of coffee with about 3 tablespoons of sugar. Then a plate of steaming rice and a couple salted fish were thrust in front of me. I ate as I listened to the Chuukese chit chat that is still utterly incomprehensible to me. After breakfast, more people were shuffling in and out of the house and more food was being prepared. I showered, relaxed for a bit, then got ready for church.
We were running late, the church is a half hour walk, and we had a dozen plates of food; so we decided to take the boat. We reached the dock right as the rain started to come down in torrents. Nobody flinched and nobody complained. Although we were all dressed in our nice church attire and the rain splattered in our faces as we sped across the ocean, nobody seemed to be perturbed. Rain is normal around here and fussing about it won’t make anything better. I have come to realize this fact and actually enjoy when a tropical downpour drizzles down.
We pulled around a outcropping of mangrove trees and approached the church from the sea. This Catholic Church is quite a site to behold. It is a behemoth white building that shines like a beacon against the dark green background of the lush green mountains behind it. The church is located on an elevated flat spot that is on the edge of the part of Fefan that juts out the furthest. This majestic white building is flanked by two magnificent towers that are adorned with crosses. The church property is a compound and is complete with a basketball court, school, grassy hills and a few large buildings. As we walk up to the church, there are hundreds of people scattered on the lawn and a group of red clad youngsters are dancing in unison to a Chuukese song about Jesus. There is a pathway leading to the church that is lined with flowers and vines that form a border along the aisle. But the most impressive thing about the church is its view. Atop the small point, you have a breathtaking view of the lagoon. There is a cascading perspective of the west side of Fefan and several mountainous islands are spread along the water. From this vantage point, you can really see the distinctions in watercolor caused by the underwater features of reefs, rocks and sand. Four or five different shades of blue are melded together at various levels that denote the depth of the water below. I can definitely understand why they chose this site for the church; just beholding its wonder makes you feel spiritual.
The occasion for the Saturday mass on this day was that a newly ordained priest from Tonoas was going to give his first sermon on Fefan. He arrived and walked down the flowery aisle shaking everyone’s hand along the way. His entourage followed him into the church and then we mingled around the lawn area for about an hour until the mass began. My friend Julie came over from Parem for the mass and my fellow Peace Corps Ben was also in attendance. It is always great to see other Americans and I spent the time catching up with Julie about our new host families.
The mass takes a couple hours and I have no idea what is going on the whole time. First off Im not Catholic, second I haven’t been to any type of church very many times, but most importantly I don’t really understand Chuukese. I stand when others stand, I kneel when others kneel, and I bow my head when others bow their heads; but basically I don’t know what’s happening. I think the mass followed basic Catholic customs and performed all the rituals in the correct fashion. It is all very precise and everything seems to be done in a particular fashion. Since I haven’t been baptized in the Catholic church, I was told to sit idly with Ben as everybody gets up to take the communion.
After church is over, its time to eat. It’s always time to eat in Chuuk, but especially at church functions. Chuukese are always looking for a reason to feast and this provided a perfect one. I sat on the lawn and ate a big plate of rice, chicken, taro, and a few mystery items. Right as I finish my meal, a large man approaches me and requests my presence inside. He leads me into the large banquet hall adjacent to the church and seats me at the head table. There are three long tables at the front of a room that is adorned with giant palm leaves and tropical arrangements of flowers and leaves. I take my seat at the main table along with the religious and political leaders that are in attendance. Since I am white and a visitor, I guess I will always be an honored guest anywhere that I go. Ben soon follows and is placed in a seat of respect as well. In front of us are enormous platters of food. My plate is full of 6 types of meat, 3 types of fish, pasta, rice, kimchi, potato salad, cucumbers, breadfruit, taro and a whole mess other things. It is enough food to feed a small village, good thing I just finished eating!
We munch on our food as people begin to file into the building and sit on the ground. After a few minutes, hundreds of people are seated before us sitting cross-legged. Then the speeches begin. As I have said before, Chuukese speeches are the most long-winded, lengthy, ridiculous orations ever. Five different guys get up and each give 15 minute speeches about something. I have no idea what that something is. I asked Ben what they are talking about, and he says nothing. He says that the majority of the speech is just thank you’s and apologies. That’s the Chuukese way. Kinisou (thank you) and omusano (sorry) are used in every interaction and every conversation that extends for more than 10 seconds. People are very humble and always try to be respectful.
Anyways, after the speeches then the energy level perks up a bit and things really get interesting. A big group of kids from Parem (including my Peace Corps buddy Julie) get up and start singing and dancing. They perform a few songs and everybody cheers and claps. Then the next group of kids starts into their singing routine. They start kind of slow, but then things pick up quickly. One of the priests jumps out of his seat and starts boogying down the aisle. The crowd erupts in laughter and claps furiously. Then an old lady hops out of her seat and starts to shake her hips and swing her arms. Again everybody bursts into elated screams. Next, a fat man runs into the middle of the room with a bag and starts throwing candy to everybody. Within minutes, half a dozen people are running around the room with bags of little candies and hurling them up into the air. Hundreds and hundreds of pieces of candy rain through the sky and come down into eager hands of the singing crowd. The singing continues and transfers to other groups of kids in the crowd. More people randomly stand up and do a little dance to the utter joy of the raucous horde of onlookers. Meanwhile, the priest has been dancing like a maniac the whole time. He is coming up with all kinds of dance moves and goes around the room motivating others to shake their stuff. The atmosphere then quiets down for a while and another serious, long, inane speech is given. The energy level has fallen off and I could see drooping eyes all around the room. Then a man in a loincloth and flower necklace bursts into the room and screams some warlike cries. His group of kids then get up and perform a wild song and dance routine led by this traditional island looking man. More candy is thrown out and the crowd goes wild.
After the performances are done, final speeches are given and the banquet hall begins to disperse. However, dancing and music has now begun in the center of the room. My host mother comes up to me and demands that I go get Julie and dance with her. Julie and I make our way out to the dance floor and are immediately the center of attention. Within 30 seconds, a big circle of connecting hands is formed around us and we are in the middle of hundreds of people. I do my goofy uncoordinated dance moves and try to entertain the masses of on looking eyes. Then Ben is thrown into the circle and the three of us whities are dancing in the middle of a gigantic circle. By the third song, the circle finally breaks and others start coming in to dance with us. Flowers and sticks and leaves are hoisted upon us in droves and I try to use some of them as dance props. This dance exhibition continues for a little longer and then finally the music stops and we slip our way out of the circle. It seems like at any occasion, we will be expected to dance. So far in Chuuk, every time I have been at any type of festivity I am demanded to dance in front of everybody. Too bad I am a terrible dancer. Just like on Tonoas, I now have a reputation as “that guy who dances”. Everyone is constantly asking me about my dancing and waiting for the next time they can see me. It is also assumed that Julie and I are going to get married because we danced together. Word spreads quickly on these little islands and my dancing exploits are already famous.
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