Museum Catharijneconvent

Mystical Moluccan - meet the piring natzar.

Focus Exhibition sept. 2021 - mei 2022

Exhibition Design, Graphics and Photography: Studio 60A/Mirella Sahetapy

Refterzaal Catharijneconvent

Denounced by the colonial church in the Moluccas, yet cherished to this day. The piring natzar is a Moluccan offertory dish consisting of a plate (the piring) with coins on it sometimes wrapped in paper (the natzar, offering). Many Moluccan families say their daily prayers to God around this dish at home. This custom, which arose from a confluence of Christian and pre-Christian traditions, is unique to Moluccan Protestants. The piring natzar is not used by Moluccan Catholics or Muslims.

Some Moluccans consider the piring natzar so sacred that they allow its display only in the intimate setting of the home. Others no longer observe the tradition. There are also Moluccan Protestants who view the piring natzar as non-Christian, as ‘heathen’. Dutch missionaries to the Moluccas for centuries took the same view. As a consequence, its use was long taboo. Towards the end of the twentieth century, Moluccan theologians in the Netherlands began showing renewed appreciation for this unique Moluccan expression of faith. 

In this presentation, the piring natzar guides you through the various ways that Moluccans in the Netherlands engage with their Moluccan Christian identity. This sacred but also controversial object paints a wonderful picture of the diversity of Christianity in the Netherlands. 

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