A statue of Christ hung sacrosanct at Mgr. Aerts Cemetery in Langgur, southeast Maluku. In front of it, around 1,500 neatly dressed people were assembled on a plot of land more than half a hectare in area. Rain was falling, hitting the sago palm and plastic roofs of the simple tents that protected the congregation. It was humid, and there was a faint aroma of damp earth mixed with the scent of sea spray from the beach.

It was there, from Thursda