History of Freemasonry in Indonesia (Part 1)

 

There is evidence to suggest that there have been Masonic Lodges established in Scotland since the early 16th century (Stevenson, David – 1988.  The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland's Century 1590-1710 ).

However, formally, the Freemasonry movement is considered to have been founded in England in 1717 AD by combining four lodges into one large lodge called the Grand Lodge of England. After that, Freemasonry then spread to mainland Europe, the American continent and Asia.

In the Netherlands, the Grand Lodge of Nederland was founded in 1756 and later influenced the Dutch East Indies (current Indonesia). 

Active Freemasons spread throughout the Dutch East Indies from 1762 to 1962. The first lodge in Asia, "La Choisie", was founded in Batavia by Jacobus Cornelis Mattheus Radermacher (1741–1783).

In 1922, a Dutch Provincial Grand Lodge, under the Grand Orient of the Netherlands, in Weltevreden (Batavia) was put in charge of 20 lodges in this colony. Fourteen in Java, three in Sumatra, and the rest in Makassar and Salatiga.

The development and movement of Freemasonry in the archipelago is strongly suspected of being in line with the Dutch colonial agenda since the VOC (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) era. Freemasonry records between 1767-1917 describe the main goals of Freemasonry in Indonesia and can be traced. 

The goals of Freemasonry are contained in pamphlets written in Malay, Javanese (Latin and Javanese script), and Chinese ("De Ster in het Oosten", Weltevreden, "La Constante et Fidele", Semarang, "De Vriendschap," 1917). 

Pamphlets massively invited natives to become members. The Grand Lodge of the Netherlands noted that during the golden age of the Dutch East Indies Freemasonry had reached 25 lodges with 1,500 members (Stevens, 2004). 

The main goal and vision of Freemasonry is to improve behavior and intellectualism using real life science. “De Ster in het Oosten”, Weltevreden, “La Constante et Fidele”, Semarang, “De Vriendschap,” (1917) proposed six principles underlying Freemasonry, namely:

1. Respect human dignity
2. Giving rights to anyone who will seek perfection of conscience in their way
3. Determining that each person must bear their own responsibility for what will happen on their journey
4. Realizing that all people are the same
5. Proclaiming brotherhood to everyone
6. Determining that everyone must work earnestly towards the safety of all

These principles were translated by Br. Jl. Ng. Sosro Hadikoesoemo.

The statement above explains that the goal of Freemasonry to achieve purity and perfection of heart can direct human behavior and intelligence, free a person to seek a spiritual path without being bound by certain religious rules, and provide equality between humanity and brotherhood. 

According to Kerr & Wright, Freemasonry bases its brotherhood on bonds of love, faith, and charity, and each member can communicate through various complex rituals and systems by elaborating ceremonies and systems in the form of secret signs. 

Signs refer to specific passwords, for example a way of shaking hands. Most of Freemasonry's rituals are based on moral teachings in the Old Testament which are illustrated or symbolized by the tools used by masons, namely a square ruler and a compass ( Kerr and Wright, 2015 ).

During the colonial period, Freemasonry specifically selected  priyayi  as the native elite and recruited them as targets in the Dutch East Indies. Moreover, the Dutch colonial government chose  priyayi  as partners to continue government. 

Priyayi  also became a liaison and implementer of policies and various regulations issued by the Dutch colonial government and the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Scherer, 1985). The Gusti-Kawula concept   explains and provides an analysis of the relationship between society and  the priyayi and the Dutch. 

Moreover, this concept symbolizes a balanced relationship between the king in the middle and his followers or the people around him. But this concept that has been running for centuries changed after the arrival of the Dutch. The Netherlands makes the relationship between superiors and subordinates, not circular. Therefore the Netherlands became  God  for the Javanese (Scherer, 1985).

However, Scherer's study does not discuss the relationship between Freemasonry in the colonial era. In this era, the association supports the education and evolution of priyayi thought which leads to the process of transformation and adoption of foreign (Western) values ​​and ideas into traditional Javanese values. Meanwhile, colonialism required ideological transformation as part of the legitimization of Western power in the archipelago.

The genealogy, teachings, and structure of freemasonry

Colonial interests through social associations, such as Freemasonry, could be mutually beneficial for both parties. Freemasonry recruits indigenous people with a mission of love for humanity because this action directs its members not to be hostile to Europeans. 

This action was directly proportional to the colonial goal of wanting harmonious relations between the native government (  inlanders zaken  ) as subordinates and the Dutch as colonizers. 

In this case, Snouck Hurgronje was an advisor to the Dutch Colonial Government. He initiated and ensured that the educational process in society created two opposing poles. 

The first pillar is  priyayi-abangan  , which is close to Sanskrit, Hindu, Old Javanese and New Javanese education as real politics. 

The second is students  who are close to Arabic and Islamic education (Gobee and Andriaanse, 1990). Therefore, Snouck made and classified potential friends and foes in the educational process that took place in Dutch East Indies society. The Freemasons seem to have benefited from these native circumstances.

The Colonial Government aimed to direct the native population back to Javanese culture and ancient religion, opposing religious doctrines and symbols, and separating them from Islam. Apart from that, Freemasonry is actively pursuing the Javanese in subtle ways, namely:

1. Visiting ancient Javanese sites and not visiting Islamic historical sites in the archipelago
2. Giving lectures on ancient religions
3. Organizing cultural activities that support the values ​​of Freemasonry
4. Inviting native people to contribute thoughts to Freemasonry

This activity was a systematic effort to campaign to  the aristocrats  that "Islam" was very different from and consistently hostile to Javanese culture.

Studying ancient religions is a central theme of Freemasonry and a symbol of opposition to formal religion. 

Several elements related to symbolism in Freemasonry incorporate characters from ancient religions and mystical societies as well as various symbols of medieval builders or masons (AC Stevens, 1899). 

They study and take lessons and the meaning of spirituality from ancient religions in Asia, including Javanese and Indian spirituality. 

The emergence and development of Javanese spirituality or other local spirituality (Kebatinan) always attracted Dutch colonial attention. 

As a counterbalance to Islamic fanaticism among the  Islamic boarding school community , Borobudur is seen as an ideal representation of the building of Freemasonry (Perelaer, 1888). Borobudur remained one of the topics discussed in Freemasonry meetings at Deventer Lodge until 1917 (Kloosterman, 1917).

An example of a visit to an ancient non-Islamic Javanese site is the activities of Loji Mataram coming to Borobudur Temple in 1925 as seen below. 

Visit to Borobudur temple – an ancient non-Islamic Javanese site – by Loji Mataram in 1925 (Source: 
Stevens, 2004, Freemasonry and Society in the Dutch East Indies and Indonesia 1764–1962 , p. 174)

One of the walls of the Borobudur corridor shows the birth of Khrishna (the last incarnation of Vishnu) who was born from a representation of a virgin mother, from whom a Man-God would be born (Perelaer, 1888). This depiction suggests that the virgin birth of Jesus might have adopted this story. 

Therefore, visiting Borobudur not only shows the majesty of the archipelago's culture, but also indicates that Java has a higher civilization than that of Islam or Catholicism. 

During this visit, Huib van Mook, who later became Lieutenant Governor General of the Dutch East Indies during the Dutch Military Aggression, wanted Indonesia to return to Dutch colonial rule.

Perelaer carried out symbolic interpretations of Israeli buildings (Solomon's Temple) and Hindu buildings, including Borobudur (Perelaer, 1888). From his point of view, he combined the Jewish teachings from the Sulaiman temple with the Hindu teachings from Borobudur as part of the freedom to seek spiritual truth. 

Continue to: History of Freemasonry in Indonesia (Part 2)

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