Touching the Wounds
My name is Nyssa Janice Latumeten. I am an Indonesian woman, mother, researcher, and theologian. Since last year, I live in the Netherlands with my husband, Danang, and our two daughters, Kantiana and Renea. My research includes feminist studies, gender studies, and trauma theology.
In my life, I have been witnessing several survival stories of women. At the same time, I am a witness of my own story, too. Papuan women’s stories of survival and long-term-suffering make me question a theology based on my identity as a woman and theologian. My years of being a witness of intensive violence against women began in 2013 when I was involved in the Indonesia National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) for the Papua Task Force. Becoming ears to the Papuan women’s stories of endless suffering was a challenging and yet encouraging experience that led me to persevere as I looked into the reality of women through the lens of suffering that does not go away (trauma).
Papuan women inspired my journey in theology since Papua is one of the conflict areas in Indonesia, and Papuan women experience war differently. I have listened to and at the same time witnessed so many horrible experiences of Papuan women, namely, polygamy and adultery, marital rape, domestic violence, economic neglect, wives being infected with HIV/AIDS, and state violence (military rape). I met several military rape survivors who, after having been raped by the military, got stigmatized by family members and society. They carried burdens of unrelieved shame and also traumatic symptoms in their lives accordingly.
One testimony came from a Papuan woman survivor of mass sterilization executed by Indonesian military forces in 1998. When I met her in person, I saw her blank stare. I saw nothing but tears that fell on her cheek. Her tears told me everything that had shattered her existence. This woman experienced physical and emotional sensations that echoed from her past. Her memory, as well as her body, carried the unspoken voice of her wounds, the voice of the wounds that always rupture and haunt her present. Her silence told me loudly of her trauma that cries on. On this part, I again questioned theology and I insisted that we do something to offer compassion to Papuan women victims or survivors.
Christian theology has always dealt with suffering. Jesus’s suffering as well as his resurrection is the epicenter of the Christian faith. By this, I do not mean to glorify suffering. But rather, I want to call attention to a Christian theology that engages closely with the aftermath of violence and its ongoing suffering. Moreover, Christian theology reckons the wounded reality within the context of human life. As human beings experience death and life simultaneously, Christian theology accommodates the via negativa or the apophatic discourse to find the paradoxical facts in trauma discourse: the unseen wounds; the muted cry; and the unspeakable voice.
As a Christian woman theologian who witnessed the pain of Papuan women, I feel called to respond to their suffering. It is not just Papuan women’s problems but the problem of us all as Christians. Therefore, in this research, I aim to propose an imaginative interpretation of the notion of stigmata, connecting the trauma (“wounds”) of Christ in his resurrected body (as addressed in John 20) with the experiences of traumatized Papuan women.
This research aims to add significant insights to peace and justice (and trauma) studies, more broadly to an ecumenical peace theology. In addition, it takes into account — and this is a novum – the specific spirituality derived from the experiences of traumatized Papuan women. The narrative of the resurrected Christ in John 20, along with the notion of stigmata, will serve as an hermeneutical lens for trauma healing with Papuan women, using (feminist) exegetical research approaches.
Written by: Nyssa Janice Latumeten
