The Boat Builder’s Blessing

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6, NIV.

One little island in Southeast Asia is home to a proud, Muslim fishing people. Islamic law is followed on the island, but some animistic beliefs are also mixed in with their Muslim faith. The boat blessing ceremony is a good example.

Whenever a new boat is to be built, the community gathers to bless the builders and materials. They believe this blessing will protect them from angry sea spirits. A woven mat is placed on the ground. Sticky rice, bananas, and coffee are placed on the mat as a food offering to the spirits. Then the oldest woman in the village dips a tree branch into a water bowl. She shakes the branch over the materials, sprinkling them with water. She repeats the process, this time sprinkling the builders with water.

After the sprinkling, Islamic prayers are chanted in a mixture of Arabic and their local trade language, but only those who are considered faithful may participate. As soon as the prayers are finished, work on the boat begins. This mixture of Islam with animism is not that unusual among the Muslim people groups of the Pacific Rim.

Pray that:

God will break through the barriers of Islam and animism to free these fishermen from the fear that holds them in bondage to sin.

Future boat building blessings will be given in the Name of Jesus, the Lord of Lords.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.