By Fr. Ferdie Samar

(Part Two)

Strange Processions

My stay in Koibuga was short-lived. But it was in Koibuga that I witness to big procession on two different occasions. I say big because almost the entire tribe joined. It was however a different procession from what we have in the Philippines because instead of religious images or statues, the people paraded pigs, cassowaries (a large flightless bird), horses, cows and even crocodiles for “compensation”.

Compensation, next to bride-price-exchange is a common event here in Papua New guinea when a tribe pays another tribe for an offenses or damage made by a member of the tribe like an injury, destruction of property, even death (intentional or otherwise). Failure to compensate would mean a tribal battle.

An Idea Came to Me

For many days I had been thinking about those two “processions” and the practice of compensation and how I could use these processions for pastoral purposes. If people make processions to show how much they can afford to give which is a real show of wealth, I could probably adapt the same practice to teach people not to be ashamed of their faith and how to express it openly. Here in the Highlands, religious practices are confined to the churches and chapels which they call “fellowship houses.”

But I had to do something and not just sit in the rectory, I used the Sunday celebrations to give homilies focusing mainly on peace and reconciliation rooted in the gospel. Every after mass I held meetings with the leaders of the community. After a month I was able to invite them for a leadership retreat. Having been able to get the support and cooperation of thee leaders, I felt confident to visit the people in their villages and fellowship houses. This direct contact with the people enabled me to plan a series of activities.

Statue of Blessed Mother

I then remembered the ‘processions’ I had seen when I was in Koibuga. In the main station, we have a big statue of the Blessed Mother. I told the people one Sunday that the statue will visit all the fellowship houses (we have 18) and will stay in each fellowship house for a week. Every Sunday, they will have procession to the church before the mass. After the mass, members of another fellowship house will take the statue. During the first few weeks, the people were a bit shy and hesitant to join. They are not used to it, so they say. Buy as the weekly procession became a common scenario on the road, people begin to realize its power and meaning in their lives. The procession is just the culmination of the weekly fellowship houses where people gather together for a whole week to pray in the presence of the statue. There they talk about Mary’s message of peace. They also share and reflect on the biblical passage of the visitation.

Tribal War Decline

With these weekly visits, I can see some changes in the lives of people. There were, for example, four fellowship houses which had been closed for a long time due to tribal fights. Since fellowship prayer meetings are held at night, the people were afraid of enemy attack. They even prepared a ‘mumu’ (party where the food serve is cooked in a pit with some hot stones) as a celebration of thanksgiving. Not only that but the Sunday before September 8, we held a big Marian Procession of a whole tribe now proud being Christians.

Keep People Busy

The Marian visits and processions are the ‘highlight’ of our activities in the parish. My objective is to keep people busy so that they would not have time to think of the tribal wars while at the same time strengthen the foundation of their Christian faith. I have regular meetings and consultation with leaders. They were the ones who defined their roles and the scope of their responsibilities. I was able to make them promise not to be involved in the firth should it erupt.

Growth and Renewal

I also visit houses especially when requested to anoint the sick. The celebration of sacraments is still at the center of my pastoral ministry. Since I came into the parish, I was able to baptize about a hundred people. I solemnized two marriages and I welcomed more than 100’lus Kotolik’ [Catholic who left the church and either joined a local Pentecostal group or just stayed away from the Church because of tribal fights] back to the Church. I also invited the Archbishop and he confirmed more than 40 Christians. In spite of thee tension of an on-going tribal fight, our church is always full of people. With the influx of more coming back to the Church and with the catechist doing their job well, we are experiencing a spirit of growth and renewal.