BAU: The visage of the statue depicting Jesus Christ is open to interpretation, embracing Asian, Bidayuh, or Caucasian features while still carrying profound symbolic meaning within the Christian faith.
CMPC chairman Vincent Eddy Sireng clarified that the statue at the entrance of CMPC reflects a Bidayuh complexion or the artist’s creative interpretation.
“This is why we can affirm that Jesus is inculturated in Singai among the people living there now,” he stated during his speech at the New Year Thanksgiving Mass and Blessing of Christ is King Statue at Robuh Bigiang, Kampung Tanjong Bowang, Singai on Monday (Jan 1).
Since the statue’s unveiling, numerous comments on social media and through word of mouth have surfaced, expressing disappointment in the work not meeting expectations.
“The Greater Tanjong Committee has granted me the privilege to respond and simultaneously delve into the term ‘inculturation’ as the subject matter here, based on my understanding of church teachings.
“To spread and grow the faith in Christ, the Christian religion must take root in every race and culture on earth. In other words, Christianity has to be inculturated.
“We appreciate the efforts of the earliest missionaries who endeavored to speak and preach in Bidayuh and translate the Bible into our language,” Vincent expressed.
Moreover, he emphasised that despite Europeans introducing the Christian faith to Sarawak 138 years ago, the responsibility lies with the people to fully embrace the faith, integrate it into their culture, and pass it on to future generations.
He explained that “inculturation” involves the concept of growth, mutual enrichment of individuals and groups, facilitated by the encounter of the Gospel with social milieus.
It encompasses the incarnation of the Gospel in native cultures and the introduction of these cultures into the lives of the Church.
“We may not have a passport photo of Jesus or a photo of the Holy Family, but we have impressions from the Bible of Jesus as a child and as a teacher.
“Some of these are carved in wood, others painted on walls in churches, or printed and framed in homes. The images portray a ‘holy person’ as the artist ‘saw’ and painted from their cultural background.
“In Brazil, even the great statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro has an Italian face because it was crafted by an Italian artist,” he pointed out.
Vincent added that artistic impressions of Christ, in both paintings and statues, are best done by consciously avoiding the European image of a man with blond hair and blue eyes.
“That would be the Jesus of European Inculturation. The original Jesus of Nazareth was a Middle Eastern man and certainly not an orang putih or a European.
“The church has developed and grown, spreading across different parts of Bau and Sarawak at large. That is why we can say Jesus is inculturated in Singai among the people living there now.
“The face of the statue is symbolic and not a passport picture. It can represent Asian, Bidayuh, or white features.”
