Prinsip Inkulturasi Sacrosanctum Concilium dalam Tradisi Bate' Toraja pada Peresmian Gedung Gereja Katolik

Abstract

This article examines how the theological principles of liturgical inculturation set out in Sacrosanctum Concilium articles 37-40 can be used to analyze the transformation of meaning of bate’, a traditional Toraja ceremonial banner originally used to inaugurate the tongkonan (ancestral house), when the symbol is adopted in the blessing of Catholic church buildings. Prior studies have described bate’ ethnographically or through a single hermeneutical lens, but none have systematically tested the symbol against the normative criteria of authentic inculturation, namely unity of faith, avoidance of syncretism, ecclesiastical approval, and organic development. This conceptual-theological study addresses that gap by constructing an analytical matrix that integrates Sacrosanctum Concilium, the 1994 instruction De Liturgia Romana et Inculturatione, Stephen Bevans’ anthropological model of contextual theology, and Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of symbol. Using a qualitative library-research method, published Church documents, peer-reviewed articles, and ethnographic reports were analyzed descriptively and analytically. The findings indicate that bate’ can be read as an instance of authentic liturgical inculturation: its original cosmological meaning as a link between heaven, earth, and ancestors is reinterpreted as a sign of divine blessing, the presence of Christ, and communal joy, while remaining outside the sacramental core of the rite. The study concludes that catechetical accompaniment and diocesan documentation are needed to guard this reinterpretation against residual syncretistic understanding, and it recommends field-based verification of the proposed framework in future research.