Bongal Site of Central Tapanuli: Early Traces of the Spread of Christianity as a Learning Resource for History Subject in High Schools
Keywords:
Bongal Site Central Tapanuli High Subject Senor High School
Abstract
Purpose of the study: This study aims to present the findings at the Bongal Site as an important learning resource in the History subject in Senior High Schools to understand the dynamics of cultural interaction and the spread of religion in the Archipelago in ancient times. The Bongal Site in Jago-Jago Village, Badiri District, Central Tapanuli Regency, is one of the important early evidences of the entry of Christianity into the Indonesian region, especially Sumatra, in the 4th to 5th centuries AD.
Methodology: This research employs a qualitative method, utilizing both historical and archaeological approaches. The historical approach aims to reconstruct the process of Christianity’s arrival on the west coast of Sumatra. Alongside fieldwork, the study also reinforces its findings through an extensive review of relevant literature.
Main Findings: The spread of early Christianity to Sumatra remains a subject of mystery among historians. Written records indicate that the Nestorian Church had established a presence in the Fansur (Barus) region along Sumatra’s west coast. Through archaeological research, a number of artifacts were found at the Bongal Site, such as rings with cross symbols, Roman beads, stones engraved with crosses, and Byzantine liturgical spoons.
Novelty/Originality of this study: These findings show similarities in characteristics with Byzantine and early Roman Christian artifacts. Based on comparative analysis of artifacts, it can be concluded that Christianity had reached the west coast of Sumatra during that period.
References
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[2] M. Siregar and A. Prayogo, “Preservasi Artefak Islam Situs Bongal dan Penegasan Penting Awal Islam di Nusantara,” Al Qalam J. Ilm. Keagamaan dan Kemasyarakatan, vol. 18, no. 4, p. 2881, Jun. 2024, doi: 10.35931/aq.v18i4.3555.
[3] P. U. Shaleha, P. Sumantri, and S. A. Nababan, “Pengaruh Sejarah Situs Bongal Desa Jago-jago terhadap Penyebaran Islam di Sumatera Utara,” Polyscopia, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 42–51, Jan. 2025, doi: 10.57251/polyscopia.v2i1.1558.
[4] B. I. Salempa and Seniwati, “Diplomasi Maritim ‘Rempah’ di Nusantara: Perjalanan dari Maluku Sampai ke Pelabuhan Malaka,” J. Creat. Student Res., vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 71–84, Dec. 2024, doi: 10.55606/jcsr-politama.v2i6.4571.
[5] K. Steenbrink and J. S. Aritonang, A History of Christianity in Indonesia. BRILL, 2008. doi: 10.1163/ej.9789004170261.i-1004.
[6] W. S. Hutahaean, SEJARAH GEREJA INDONESIA. Malang: Ahlimedia Press, 2017.
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[8] J. S.- Aritonang, Sejarah perjumpaan Kristen dan Islam di Indonesia. Jakarta: BPK Gunung Mulia, 2010.
[9] Y. Prihantoro and P. N. Hestiningrum, “SELAYANG PANDANG PERKEMBANGAN AGAMA-AGAMA DUNIA DAN SEJARAH PENYEBARANNYA DI NUSANTARA (OVERVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF WORLD RELIGIONS AND THE HISTORY OF THEIR SPREAD IN THE NUSANTARAOVERVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF WORLD RELIGIONS AND THE HISTORY ),” QUAERENS J. Theol. Christ. Stud., vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 165–184, Dec. 2020, doi: 10.46362/quaerens.v2i2.28.
[10] A. Tukiran, “Gereja Nasara Nasathirah di Fansur Abad ke-7,” Media (Jurnal Filsafat dan Teol., vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 13–24, Mar. 2021, doi: 10.53396/media.v2i1.23.
[11] A. Tabrani, A. Sutiyono, A. Khunaifi, D. Istiyani, M. Arif, and K. A. R. Indonesia, “PERKEMBANGAN ISLAM DI NUSANTARA DAN ASIA TENGGARA,” 2019, DKI Jakarta: Direktorat Jenderal Pendidikan Islam Kementerian. [Online]. Available: https://cendikia.kemenag.go.id/storage/uploads/file_path/file_06-06-2023_647eb738773b9.pdf
[12] M. R. Irsyad, H. Fitri, and P. Sumantri, “Migrasi Muslim India ke Barus Tapanuli Tengah di Abad ke-20 M: Sebuah Tinjauan Sejarah,” Local Hist. Herit., vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 73–78, Sep. 2023, doi: 10.57251/lhh.v3i2.1094.
[13] A. N. Hasudungan, “TNI-AD dan Kesatuan Aksi Mahasiswa Indonesia (KAMI) dalam Kelengseran Soekarno Tahun 1965-1968,” Yupa Hist. Stud. J., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 28–37, 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.30872/yupa.v3i1.173.
[14] I. S. Lustick, “History, Historiography, and Political Science: Multiple Historical Records and the Problem of Selection Bias,” Am. Polit. Sci. Rev., vol. 90, no. 3, pp. 605–618, Sep. 1996, doi: 10.2307/2082612.
[15] C. W. Keys, B. Hand, V. Prain, and S. Collins, “Using the Science Writing Heuristic as a Tool for Learning from Laboratory Investigations in Secondary Science,” J. Res. Sci. Teach., vol. 36, no. 10, pp. 1065–1084, Dec. 1999, doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2736(199912)36:10<1065::AID-TEA2>3.0.CO;2-I.
[16] B. S. Bilal, “Exploring Critical Approaches to Historical Analysis: A Comprehensive Assessment of Tārīkh al-Khulafā’ by Jalal al-Dīn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣuyūṭī,” J. Islam. Hist. Manuscr., vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 99–114, Oct. 2024, doi: 10.24090/jihm.v3i2.11191.
[17] A. Pym, Method in Translation History. Routledge, 2014. doi: 10.4324/9781315760049.
[18] A. Munslow, Deconstructing History. Routledge, 2006. doi: 10.4324/9780203969908.
[19] M. R. Lauder and A. F. Lauder, “Maritime Indonesia and the Archipelagic Outlook; Some reflections from a multidisciplinary perspective on old port cities in Java,” Wacana, vol. 17, no. 1, p. 97, May 2016, doi: 10.17510/wacana.v17i1.428.
[20] M. Nur et al., “Maritime History and Culture in Indonesia: Implementation in Social Studies Learning,” Encount. Theory Hist. Educ., vol. 24, pp. 230–253, Dec. 2023, doi: 10.24908/encounters.v24i0.16705.
[21] B. Nelson, “Civilizational Complexes and Intercivilizational Encounters,” Sociol. Anal., vol. 34, no. 2, p. 79, 1973, doi: 10.2307/3709717.
[22] R. A. Emmons, “Is Spirituality an Intelligence? Motivation, Cognition, and the Psychology of Ultimate Concern,” Int. J. Psychol. Relig., vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 3–26, Jan. 2000, doi: 10.1207/S15327582IJPR1001_2.
[23] B. Uyuni and M. Adnan, “Philosophical Foundations in Training Traditional Religious Educators: Bridging Past and Present,” Futur. Philos., vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 40–65, May 2024, doi: 10.57125/FP.2024.06.30.03.
[24] W. James, The Varieties of Religious Experience. Routledge, 2003. doi: 10.4324/9780203398470.
[25] J. Casanova, “Religion, the New Millennium, and Globalization,” Sociol. Relig., vol. 62, no. 4, p. 415, 2001, doi: 10.2307/3712434.
[26] H. B. Danesh, “Towards an integrative theory of peace education,” J. Peace Educ., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 55–78, Mar. 2006, doi: 10.1080/17400200500532151.
[27] G. H. Rassool, “The crescent and Islam: healing, nursing and the spiritual dimension. Some considerations towards an understanding of the Islamic perspectives on caring,” J. Adv. Nurs., vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 1476–1484, Dec. 2000, doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2648.2000.01614.x.
[28] M. Öhler, “Judaism and Christianity in the Epistles of Ignatius,” in Parting of the Ways, Brill | Schöningh, 2024, pp. 269–285. doi: 10.30965/9783657794898_015.
[29] D. Christian, “Silk Roads or Steppe Roads? The Silk Roads in World History,” J. World Hist., vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 1–26, Apr. 2000, [Online]. Available: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20078816
[30] C. A. Lockard, “SOUTHEAST ASIA IN WORLD HISTORY,” in The New World History, University of California Press, 2019, pp. 189–199. doi: 10.1525/9780520964297-021.
[31] R. Foltz, Religions of the Silk Road. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, 2010. doi: 10.1057/9780230109100.
[32] D. Heng, Southeast Asian Interconnections. Cambridge University Press, 2023. doi: 10.1017/9781108907095.
[33] A. B. Sharangi and S. K. Acharya, “Spices in India and Beyond: The Origin, History, Tradition and Culture,” in Indian Spices, Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018, pp. 1–11. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-75016-3_1.
[34] M. S. Yayusman and P. N. Mulyasari, “Indonesia’s Spice-Based Gastrodiplomacy: Australia and Africa Continents as the Potential Markets,” JAS (Journal ASEAN Stud., vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 51–77, Jun. 2024, doi: 10.21512/jas.v12i1.8004.
[35] I. Gilman and H.-J. Klimkeit, Christians in Asia before 1500. Routledge, 2013. doi: 10.4324/9780203036808.
[36] J. C. England, “The Earliest Christian Communities in Southeast and Northeast Asia: An Outline of the Evidence Available in Seven Countries before A.D. 1500,” Missiology An Int. Rev., vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 203–215, Apr. 1991, doi: 10.1177/009182969101900207.
[37] C. Guillot, “Persia and the Malay World: Commercial and Intellectual Exchanges,” Stud. Islam., vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 405–442, Dec. 2020, doi: 10.36712/sdi.v27i3.14753.
[38] J. N. Miksic, “TRADITIONAL SUMATRAN TRADE,” Bull. Ec. Fr. Extr. Orient., vol. 74, pp. 423–467, Apr. 1985, [Online]. Available: http://www.jstor.org/stable/43731220
[39] J. Drakard, “An Indian Ocean Port: Sources for the Earlier History of Barus,” Archipel, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 53–82, 1989, doi: 10.3406/arch.1989.2562.
[40] J. D. Howell, “Indonesia: Searching for Consensus,” in Religion and Societies, DE GRUYTER, 1982, pp. 497–548. doi: 10.1515/9783110823530.497.
Published
2025-07-29
How to Cite
[1]
R. Sinaga, I. Azhari, L. E. Simangunsong, and P. Sumantri, “Bongal Site of Central Tapanuli: Early Traces of the Spread of Christianity as a Learning Resource for History Subject in High Schools”, Jor. Eva. Edu, vol. 6, no. 3, Jul. 2025.
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