Larantuka is claimed as HOLY MARY “SEMANA SANTA” CITY.
As the Holy Mary City, Larantuka has thousand of Catholic Tradition. One week before Easter, We celebrate the mystery, Suffer and Holy Mary’s Dead Jesus. Below is the short explanation about our Holy Week Tradition. I take from Wikipedia.
“Semana Sancta”, the week before Easter, is an important time of religious celebration for the devoutly Catholic people of the Diocese of Larantuka. The celebrations center on two religious statues, one of Jesus Christ and one of Virgin Mary brought by Portuguese missionaries Caspar de Espiritu Santo and Augustinho de Magdalena in the 1500s. These statues are only presented to the public every Easter and are kept out-of-view for the rest of the year.
The religious festivities begin on Wednesday before Easter, known locally as Rabu Trewa or “Shackled Wednesday” in remembrance of the betrayal of Judas Iscariot that led to Jesus’s arrest and shackling. Devotees surround the chapel of Tuan Ana where the statue of Jesus is kept, shouting in Latin to mourn the arrest of Jesus by Roman soldiers. Devotees likewise surround the chapel of Tuan Ma in nearby Lohayong village where the statue of Virgin Mary is kept.
On Holy Thursday, devotees enact the tikam turo ritual that prepares the route of the next day’s seven kilometer procession by planting candles along the road . After the candle are prepared, devotees attend the munda tuan ritual in which members of a religious fraternity known as the Konfreria Reinha Rosaria (Brotherhood of the Queen of Roses) bath the statues of Jesus and Mary. The holy water used is afterwards considered special and is saved to cure ill children and to help women having birth complications.
On the morning of Good Friday, the raja of Larantuka opens the door of the chapel of Tuan Ma thus making may for devotees to enter. His own clan, the Diaz Vieira de Godinho, enter first followed by the brotherhood members and the rest of the population. Worshipers kiss the statue of Mary and pray for divine benevolence per Mariam ad Jesum (through Mary to Jesus).
Meanwhile, the statue of Jesus is taken from the chapel in Larantuka and is brought on a seven kilometer long procession by land and sea. The procession has eight stops, each representing a major clan of Larantuka (among which are the Mulawato, Sarotari, Amakalen, Kapitan Jentera, Fernandez da Gomez, Diaz Pohon Sirih, and Diaz Vieira de Godinho clans). At each stop there is a small chapel where a short prayer and devotional singing honor the suffering of the Passion. When the statues of Jesus and Mary are united, they are brought together to Larantuka Cathedral where many devotees attend a Good Friday service that lasts all night.
Larantuka is the small town in the east Flores. Larantuka is Lamaholot Language, mother tongue, meaning “ in the middle of the way “ Laran is the way and Tuka is the middle. The nature settings are so beautiful, here are soaring volcanoes, hot spring and beautiful sea gardens. Larantuka is also famous for its particular style of ikat cloth. Larantuka has the oldest church. The church is Portueges remainder, the build from iron. The Larantuka people called the church “ Gereja Olak” (Iron Church). Three days before Easter in Larantuka the people do not nothing, they must diet and praying and on good Friday the people bring Jesus Christ statue and Maria Renya Rosari (Jesus Christ’s mothers) arrounding the town. The other unique cultural aspect of this village is the matrilineal and matriarchal way in which they are run. In this community the females hold of the power including the land and the governing of the village. Females have the unshared decision whether they wish divorce and area allowed to remarry and it’s the man who must leave his family to join the females whose name continues. Men how ever have the exclusive ability to have more wife although it is unclear how to this works in terms of tribe names. Larantuka is place that you are likely to pas through if you are traveling the classic route if you are diving and is worth a stop off to experience the diving, culture and impact of the area.
Need More Packages?
Tags: Catholic Tradition, East Flores Tradition, Larantuka Tradition
Leave a Reply