Kristianisasi dalam Kalangan Masyarakat Murut di Sabah dari Abad ke-19 hingga Pembentukan Malaysia 1963 [Christianisation among the Murut Community in Sabah from The Nineteenth Century to the Formation of Malaysia (1963)]

Abstract

Artikel ini meneliti sejarah Kristianisasi dalam kalangan masyarakat Murut di Sabah dari abad ke-19 hingga Pembentukan Malaysia 1963 melalui pendekatan kualitatif berasaskan kajian sejarah, analisis dokumen dan data sekunder. Kajian memberi tumpuan kepada lima dimensi utama, iaitu latar sejarah kolonial di Sabah, peranan mubaligh dalam penyebaran Kristian, institusi pendidikan sebagai saluran transformasi sosial, kepercayaan tradisional masyarakat Murut, serta perubahan agama dalam komuniti tersebut. Data kajian diperoleh daripada artikel jurnal, buku, laporan sejarah dan penulisan terdahulu yang berkaitan dengan masyarakat Murut, misi Kristian di Borneo Utara, pendidikan kolonial dan dinamika agama di Sabah. Data tersebut dianalisis secara deskriptif, tematik dan interpretatif bagi mengenal pasti pola hubungan antara faktor kolonial, institusi dan budaya tempatan dalam proses perubahan agama. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa proses Kristianisasi dalam kalangan masyarakat Murut tidak berlaku secara terpisah daripada struktur kuasa kolonial, sebaliknya berkembang melalui jaringan yang melibatkan mubaligh, institusi pendidikan, kebajikan dan pengaruh pentadbiran. Pada masa yang sama, masyarakat Murut didapati telah mempunyai sistem kepercayaan, adat dan kosmologi yang tersusun sebelum kedatangan agama baharu, sekali gus memperlihatkan bahawa perubahan agama dalam komuniti ini berlaku melalui proses penyesuaian, rundingan dan kesinambungan budaya, bukan semata-mata penggantian total terhadap tradisi lama. Artikel ini berhujah bahawa Kristianisasi dalam kalangan masyarakat Murut perlu difahami dalam kerangka hubungan antara kolonialisme, institusi, kepercayaan tradisional dan transformasi sosial masyarakat peribumi. Dengan itu, kajian ini diharapkan dapat menyumbang kepada pengukuhan wacana sejarah agama di Sabah, khususnya yang melibatkan masyarakat peribumi pedalaman yang masih kurang diberi perhatian dalam penulisan terdahulu, di samping membuka ruang penelitian lanjutan tentang perubahan agama dalam komuniti peribumi lain di Sabah.

This article examines the history of Christianization among the Murut community in Sabah from the 19th century to the Formation of Malaysia in 1963 through a qualitative approach based on historical research, document analysis, and secondary data. The study focuses on five main dimensions: the colonial historical background in Sabah, the role of missionaries in the spread of Christianity, educational institutions as channels of social transformation, the traditional beliefs of the Murut community, and religious change within that community. Research data were obtained from journal articles, books, historical reports, and previous writings related to the Murut community, Christian missions in North Borneo, colonial education, and religious dynamics in Sabah. The data were analyzed descriptively, thematically, and interpretatively to identify patterns of relationship between colonial factors, institutions, and local culture in the process of religious change. The findings show that the process of Christianization among the Murut community did not occur separately from colonial power structures, but rather developed through networks involving missionaries, educational institutions, welfare services, and administrative influence. At the same time, the Murut community was found to have possessed an organized system of beliefs, customs, and cosmology prior to the arrival of the new religion, thus demonstrating that religious change in this community occurred through processes of adaptation, negotiation, and cultural continuity, rather than merely a total replacement of old traditions. This article argues that Christianization among the Murut community must be understood within the framework of the relationship between colonialism, institutions, traditional beliefs, and the social transformation of indigenous societies. Accordingly, this study is expected to contribute to strengthening the discourse on the history of religion in Sabah, particularly concerning interior indigenous communities that have received less attention in previous writings, while also opening up space for further research on religious change in other indigenous communities in Sabah.