Model by day, spirit medium by night

Karim Raslan Karim Raslan Updated 6 years ago · Published on 15 Feb 2018 8:00AM · 0 Comments

ARIFIN Kurniawan towers over his 55-year-old father’s prostrate figure. With a hand placed firmly on the older man’s head, the blond-haired son barks out instructions in Hokkien.

Only moments before, the 21-year-old Chinese-Indonesian had cut his tongue with a sword – using the blood to write Chinese characters on rice paper. Bathed in an eerie red light, with statues of countless deities lining the walls and the air filled with chanting, the Fat Cu Kung shrine is Arifin’s domain tonight.

Surrounded by kneeling adherents, he strokes what would appear to be a chest-length beard imperiously.

But on a normal day, the young man doesn’t speak Hokkien or even write Chinese. Neither does he have a beard.

You see, Arifin is a spirit medium and that evening, he was possessed by Guan Gong, a deity based on a historical general called Guan Yu who lived in the tumultuous ‘Three Kingdoms’ era of ancient China. As part of a ritual blessing, Guan Gong entered his body.

I first met Arifin at Tak Kie, one of the oldest Chinese-run coffee-shops in Indonesia. Founded in 1927, the establishment is a local favourite in Glodok, the Chinatown of Jakarta. As he enters, Arifin is warmly greeted by several regulars as ‘Ah Fin’.

Down a back alley from Tak Kie, Arifin’s family run a tiny convenience store out of their home. It’s five minutes from the Fat Cu Kung, where Ah Fin conducts prayers.  

After finishing secondary school, Arifin chose to start work right away. Tall, with a piercing gaze and a disarming smile, he found a job as a fashion model. Between lion dances, rituals, and strutting the runway, the hardworking young man also sells SIM cards at events to earn some side income.

The youngest of three, Arifin’s ability to walk the tightrope between modernity and tradition is perhaps a result of his diverse upbringing. While his father and elder brother are Buddhist, his mother is Muslim and his elder sister is Catholic.

Ah Fin himself is a Buddhist who is dating a Muslim.

Mindful of the wave of religious conservatism spearheaded by radical groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), I ask Ah Fin what he thinks of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (‘Ahok’), the Chinese Christian former governor of Jakarta.

“Talk less do more. That was Ahok to me. Under him, Jakarta was cleaner and more efficient. I think he was heading in the right direction: cracking down on corruption, reducing traffic, and modernising the city.”

And now that Ahok has been sentenced to two years in jail on blasphemy charges?

“I think it’s a pity. I don’t care about his race or his religion, just that he got the job done.”  

As Indonesia moves closer to 2018 regional elections and 2019’s presidential race, political fault lines are bound to deepen.

Issues of race and religion that poisoned the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial contest may well rear its ugly head once more, challenging the republic’s motto: ‘Bhinneka Tunggal Ika’ (Unity in Diversity).

To Arifin, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika is more than a mantra; it’s what it means to be Indonesian. – February 15, 2018.

Arifin Kurniawan at the Vihara temple. He’s a fashion model with an arresting presence. – Pic by Muhammad Fadli, February 15, 2018.
Arifin posing with his lion head at the back of Vihara, where Arifin posing with a lion head at the back of Vihara, where he rehearses lion dancing. He says lion dancing teaches him how to move, take care of the body and work in a team. It’s a tradition that he’s proud to be part of. – Pic by Muhammad Fadli, February 15, 2018.
A street scene in Glodok in West Jakarta’s ‘Chinatown’. The area traces its origins to November 1740, when the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) turned it into a ghetto for the Chinese after the Batavia Massacre where at least 10,000 were killed. – Pic by Muhammad Fadli, February 15, 2018.
A Muslim riding pillion while carrying Chinese New Year decorations at a crossroads in Glodok. While the demographics of Glodok have changed rapidly, many ethnic Chinese have stayed on. As Chinese New Year approaches, a festive mood pervades, with the hustle and bustle of street traders selling decorations. – Pic by Muhammad Fadli, February 15, 2018.
Arifin and his father in their living room. At only 70 sq m, the house can barely fit the team and Arifin’s family. – Pic by Muhammad Fadli, February 15, 2018.
Arifin leading prayers at the Fat Cu Kung shrine in Glodok. Arifin also conducts ritual blessings in his role as a spirit medium. – Pic by Muhammad Fadli, February 15, 2018.
The founder and spiritual figure of the Fat Cu Kung Shrine, Tan Tek Shu Sian. At night, the small shrine hidden in an alleyway is bathed in an eerie red light. Countless deities line the walls. Chanting fills the air. – Pic by Muhammad Fadli, February 15, 2018.
In a gruesome ritual, Arifin pierces the cheeks with a needle. Without flinching, he then summons the spirits. The first spirit that enters Ariffin is Guan Gong. – Pic by Muhammad Fadli, February 15, 2018.
Arifin conducting a purification ritual, bathing an adherent in flower water. All sorts of people come for the blessing: the sick, the unlucky, those who are looking for more business opportunities, even a few who are looking to ask after those who have gone to the grave. It’s a chance to start anew, to be cleansed. – Pic by Muhammad Fadli, February 15, 2018.
Arifin praying at the Vihara temple. His prayers are for ‘the Indonesia I know and grew up with, that I believe in, it’s a place where we keep moving forwards – together. It doesn’t matter if you’re Christian or Muslim or Chinese or Javanese, this is Indonesia.’ – Pic by Muhammad Fadli, February 15, 2018.

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