Hinduism in Indonesia
Encyclopedia
Hinduism in Indonesia, also known by its formal Indonesian
name Agama Hindu Dharma, refers to Hinduism as practised in Indonesia
. According to the 2000 census Hindus consisted 1.79% of the total population (Down from 1.81% in 1990) with 88.05% in Bali (Down from 93.18% in 1990) and 5.89% in Central Kalimantan (Down from 15.75% in 1990). Every Indonesian citizen is required to be a registered member of one of the acknowledged religious communities (Islam
, Protestantism
, Catholicism
, Buddhism
, Hinduism
and Confucianism
). Laws are also being passed in the Indonesian constitution for a separate grouping for Indonesian Atheists.
and dynamism
, beliefs common to austronesian people
. Native pre-Hindu Buddhist Indonesia venerated and revered an ancestral spirit
; they also believe that some spirit
may inhabit certain places such as large trees, stones, forests, mountains, or any sacred places. This unseen spiritual entity that had supranatural power is identified by ancient Javanese and Balinese as "hyang
" that can mean either divine
or ancestral. In the modern Indonesian
, "hyang" tends to be associated with God
.
Hindu influences reached the Indonesian Archipelago as early as first century. In 4th century, the kingdom of Kutai
in East Kalimantan
, Tarumanagara
in West Java
, and Holing (Kalingga
) in Central Java
, were among the early Hindu states established in the region. Several notable ancient Indonesian Hindu kingdoms are Mataram
, famous for the construction of the majestic Prambanan
temple, followed by Kediri and Singhasari
. Since then Hinduism along with Buddhism spread across the archipelago and reached the peak of its influence in the 14th century. The last and largest among Hindu-Buddhist Javanese empires, Majapahit, influenced the Indonesian archipelago.
The sacred texts found in Agama Hindu Dharma are the Vedas
. They are the basis of Balinese Hinduism. Other sources of religious information include the Puranas and the Itihasa
(mainly Ramayana
and the Mahabharata
).
One of Hinduism's primary ethical concerns is the concept of ritual purity. Another important distinguishing feature, which traditionally helps maintain ritual purity, is the division of society into the traditional occupational groups, or varna of Hinduism: Brahmin
s (priests, brahmana in Indonesian
), Kshatriya
(ruler-warriors, satriya or "Deva" in Indonesian), Vaishya
(merchants-farmers, waisya in Indonesian), and Shudra
(commoners-servants, sudra in Indonesian). Like Islam and Buddhism, Hinduism was greatly modified when adapted to Indonesian society.
The caste system, although present in form, was never rigidly applied. The epics Mahabharata
(Great Battle of the Descendants of Bharata) and Ramayana
(The Travels of Rama), became enduring traditions among Indonesian believers, expressed in shadow puppet (wayang
) and dance performances.
The Indonesian government has recognized Hinduism as one of the country's five officially sanctioned, monotheistic religions. Partly as a result, followers of various tribal and animistic religions have identified themselves as Hindu in order to avoid harassment or pressure to convert to Islam or Christianity. Furthermore, Indonesian nationalists have laid great stress on the achievements of the Majapahit Empire
– a Hindu state – which has helped attract certain Indonesians to Hinduism. These factors have led to a certain resurgence of Hinduism outside of its Balinese stronghold.
. Balinese Hinduism lacks the traditional Hindu emphasis on cycles of rebirth and reincarnation, but instead is concerned with a myriad of hyang
s, the local and ancestral spirits. As with kebatinan, these deities are thought to be capable of good or harm. Balinese place great emphasis on dramatic and aesthetically satisfying acts of ritual propitiation of these spirits at temple sites scattered throughout villages and in the countryside.
Balinese temple
is called Pura, and unlike the common towering indoor India
n Hindu Temple
, the Hindu temple of Bali is designed as an open air worship place within enclosed walls, connected with series of intricately decorated gates to reach its compounds. Each of these temples has a more or less fixed membership; every Balinese belongs to a temple by virtue of descent, residence, or some mystical revelation of affiliation. Some temples are associated with the family house compound (also called banjar in Bali), others are associated with rice fields, and still others with key geographic sites.
Ritualized states of self-control (or lack thereof) are a notable feature of religious expression among the people, who for this reason have become famous for their graceful and decorous behavior. One key ceremony at a village temple, for instance, features a special performance of a dance-drama (a battle between the mythical characters Rangda
the witch (representing evil) and Barong
the lion or dragon (representing good)), in which performers fall into a trance and attempt to stab themselves with sharp knives.
Rituals of the life cycle are also important occasions for religious expression and artistic display. Ceremonies at puberty, marriage, and, most notably, cremation at death provide opportunities for Balinese to communicate their ideas about community, status, and the afterlife. (The tourist industry has not only supported spectacular cremation ceremonies among Balinese of modest means, but also has created a greater demand for them.)
A priest is not affiliated with any temple but acts as a spiritual leader and adviser to individual families in various villages scattered over the island. These priests are consulted when ceremonies requiring holy water are conducted. On other occasions, folk healers or curers may be hired.
were subject to considerable cultural influence from the Indian subcontinent
during the first and second millennia of the Common Era
. The earliest evidences of Hindu influences in Java can be found in 4th century Tarumanagara
inscriptions scaterred around modern Jakarta
and Bogor
. From 8th to 15th century many Hindu temples were built, including Prambanan
near Yogyakarta
, which has been designated a World Heritage Site
; and Hindu kingdoms flourished, of which the most important was Majapahit.
In the sixth and seventh centuries many maritime kingdoms arose in Sumatra and Java which controlled the waters in the Straits of Malacca and flourished with the increasing sea trade between China and India and beyond. During this time, scholars from India and China visited these kingdoms to translate literary and religious texts.
Majapahit was based in Central Java, from where it ruled a large part of what is now western Indonesia. The remnants of the Majapahit kingdom shifted to Bali
during the sixteenth century as Muslim
kingdoms in the western part of the island gained influence.
Hinduism has survived in varying degrees and forms on Java; in recent years, conversions to Hinduism have been on the rise, particularly in regions surrounding a major Hindu religious site, such as the Klaten
region near the Prambanan
temple. Certain ethnic groups, such as the Tenggerese
and Osing
s, are also associated with Hindu religious traditions.
people on the island of Lombok
are non-Muslim; their religion is a fusion of Hinduism and Buddhism with animism; it is considered Buddhist by the government.
Among the non-Balinese communities considered to be Hindu by the government are, for example, the Dayak
adherents of the Kaharingan
religion in Kalimantan Tengah, where government statistics counted Hindus as 15.8% of the population . Nationally, Hindus represented only around 2% of the population in the early 1990s.
Many Manusela
and Nuaulu
people of Seram
follow Naurus, a syncretism of Hinduism with animist and Protestant elements.
Similarly, the Tana Toraja
of Sulawesi
have identified their animistic religion as Hindu.
The Batak
of Sumatra have identified their animist traditions with Hinduism.
The Tamils of Sumatra and the Indians in Jakarta practice their own form of Hinduism which is similar to the Indian Hinduism, the Indians celebrating Hindu holidays more commonly found in India, such as Deepawali
Hari Raya Galungan – Galungan
occurs every 210 days and lasts for 10 days. It celebrates the coming of the gods and the ancestral spirits to earth to dwell again in the homes of their descendants. The festivities are characterized by offerings, dances and new clothes. The ancestors must be suitably entertained and welcomed, and prayers and offerings must be made for them. Families whose ancestors have not been cremated yet, but remain buried in the village cemetery, must make offerings at the graves. Kuningan
is the last day of the holiday, when the gods and ancestors depart until the next Galungan.
Hari Raya Saraswati – Saraswati
is the goddess of learning, science, and literature. She rules the intellectual and creative realm, and is the patron goddess of libraries and schools. Balinese Hindus believe that knowledge is an essential medium to achieve the goal of life as a human being, and so honor her. She is also celebrated because she succeeded in taming the wandering and lustful mind of her consort, Brahma
, who was preoccupied with the goddess of material existence, Shatarupa
. On this day no one is allowed to read or write, and offerings are made to the lontar (palm-leaf manuscripts), books, and shrines.
Saraswati Day is celebrated every 210-days on Saniscara Umanis Wuku Watugunung and marks the start of the new year according to the Balinese Pawukon calendar. Ceremonies and prayers are held at the temples in family compounds, villages and businesses from morning to noon. Prayers are also held in school or any other learning institution temples. Teachers and students abandon their uniforms for the day in place of bright and colourful ceremony gear, filling the island with color. Children bring fruit and traditional cakes to school for offerings at the temple.
Hari Raya Nyepi – Nyepi
is a Hindu Day of Silence or the Hindu New Year in the Balinese Saka calendar. The largest celebrations are held in Bali as well as in Balinese Hindu communities around Indonesia. On New Year's Eve the villages are cleaned, food is cooked for two days and in the evening as much noise is made as possible to scare away the devils. On the following day, Hindus do not leave their homes, cook or engage in any activity. Streets are deserted, and tourists are not allowed to leave hotel complexes.
Nyepi is determined using the Balinese calendar (see below), the eve of Nyepi falling on the night of the new moon whenever it occurs around March/April each year. Therefore, the date for Nyepi changes every year, and there is not a constant number of days difference between each Nyepi as there is for such days as Galungan and Kuningan. To find out when Nyepi falls in a given year, you will need information on the cycles of the moon for that year. Whenever the new moon falls between mid-March and mid-April, that night will be the night of great activity and exorcism island-wide, while the next day will be the day of total peace and quiet, where everything stops for a day.
traditions through the centuries of Islamic influence, under the banner of 'Javanist religion' (kejawen) or a non-orthodox 'Javanese Islam' (abangan
, cf. Geertz 1960), no more than a few isolated communities have consistently upheld Hinduism as the primary mark of their public identity. One of these exceptions are the people of the remote Tengger highlands (Hefner 1985, 1990) in the province of Eastern Java.
Religious identity became a life and death issue for many Indonesians around the same time as Hinduism gained recognition, in the wake of the violent anti-Communist purge of 1965-66 (Beatty 1999). Persons lacking affiliation with a state recognized-religion tended to be classed as atheists and hence suspected as communists.
Despite the inherent disadvantages of joining a national religious minority, a deep concern for the preservation of their traditional ancestor religions made Hinduism a more palatable option than Islam for several ethnic groups in the outer islands.
In the early seventies, the Toraja
people of Sulawesi
were the first to realize this opportunity by seeking shelter for their indigenous ancestor religion under the broad umbrella of 'Hinduism', followed by the Karo Batak of Sumatra
in 1977 (Bakker 1995).
In central and southern Kalimantan, a large Hindu movement has grown among the local indigenous Dayak
population which lead to a mass declaration of 'Hinduism' on this island in 1980. However, this was different to the Javanese case, in that conversions followed a clear ethnic division. Indigenous Dayak were confronted with a mostly Muslim population of government-sponsored (and predominantly Madurese) migrants and officials, and deeply resentful at the dispossession of their land and its natural resources.
Compared to their counterparts among Javanese Hindus, many Dayak leaders were also more deeply concerned about Balinese efforts to standardize Hindu ritual practice nationally; fearing a decline of their own unique 'Hindu Kaharingan' traditions and renewed external domination.
By contrast, most Javanese were slow to consider Hinduism at the time, lacking a distinct organization along ethnic lines and fearing retribution from locally powerful Islamic organizations like the Nahdatul Ulama (NU). The youth wing of the NU had been active in the persecution not only of communists but of 'Javanist' or 'anti-Islamic' elements within Sukarno's Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI) during the early phase of the killings (Hefner 1987). Practitioners of 'Javanist' mystical traditions thus felt compelled to declare themselves Muslims out of a growing concern for their safety.
's eventual successor, Suharto, adopted a distinctly nonsectarian approach in his so-called 'new order' (orde baru) regime. Old fears resurfaced, however, with Suharto's 'Islamic turn' in the 1990s. Initially a resolute defender of Javanist values, Suharto began to make overtures to Islam at that time, in response to wavering public and military support for his government.
A powerful signal was his authorization and personal support of the new 'Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals' (ICMI), an organization whose members openly promoted the Islamization of Indonesian state and society (Hefner 1997). Concerns grew as ICMI became the dominant civilian faction in the national bureaucracy, and initiated massive programs of Islamic education and mosque-building through the Ministry of Religion (departemen agama), once again targeting Javanist strongholds. Around the same time, there were a series of mob killings by Muslim extremists of people they suspected to have been practising traditional Javanese methods of healing by magical means.
In terms of their political affiliation, many contemporary Javanists and recent converts to Hinduism had been members of the old PNI, and have now joined the new nationalist party of Megawati Sukarnoputri
. Informants from among this group portrayed their return to the 'religion of Majapahit' (Hinduism) as a matter of nationalist pride, and displayed a new sense political self-confidence.
The Parisada Hindu Dharma changed its name to Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia in 1984, in recognition of its national influence spearheaded by Gedong Bagus Oka
. One of several new Hindu temples in eastern Java is Pura Mandaragiri Sumeru Agung, located on the slope of Mt. Semeru
, Java's highest mountain. When the temple was completed in July 1992, with the generous aid of wealthy donors from Bali
, only a few local families formally confessed to Hinduism. A pilot study in December 1999 revealed that the local Hindu
community now has grown to more than 5000 households.
Similar mass conversions have occurred in the region around Pura Agung Blambangan, another new temple, built on a site with minor archaeological remnants attributed to the kingdom of Blambangan, the last Hindu polity on Java.
A further important site is Pura Loka Moksa Jayabaya (in the village of Menang near Kediri), where the Hindu king and prophet Jayabaya is said to have achieved spiritual liberation (moksa).
A further Hindu
movement in the earliest stages of development was observed in the vicinity of the newly completed Pura Pucak Raung (in the Eastern Javanese district of Glenmore), which is mentioned in Balinese literature as the place where the Hindu saint Maharishi Markandeya gathered followers for an expedition to Bali
, whereby he is said to have brought Hinduism to the island in the fifth century AD.
An example of resurgence around major archaeological remains of ancient Hindu temple sites was observed in Trowulan
near Mojokerto. The site may be the location of the capital of the Hindu empire Majapahit. A local Hindu movement is struggling to gain control of a newly excavated temple building which they wish to see restored as a site of active Hindu
worship. The temple is to be dedicated to Gajah Mada, the man attributed with transforming the small Hindu
kingdom of Majapahit into an empire.
In Karanganyar region in Central Java, the renovated 14th century Cetho temple on the slope of Mount Lawu
has become the center of Javanese Hinduism and gain patronage of Balinese temples and royal houses.
A new temple is being built East of Solo (Surakarta
) It is a Hindu temple that has miniatures of 50 sacred sites around the world. It is also an active kundalini yoga meditation centre teaching the sacred javanese tradition of sun and water meditation. There are many westerners as well as javanese joining in.
Although there has been a more pronounced history of resistance to Islamization in East Java, Hindu communities are also expanding in Central Java (Lyon 1980), for example in Klaten
, near the ancient Hindu monuments of Prambanan
. Today Prambanan temple stages various Hindu annual ceremonies and festivals such as Galungan and Nyepi.
In West Java
, a Hindu temple Pura Parahyangan Agung Jagatkartta was built on the slope of Mount Salak
near the historic site of ancient Sunda Kingdom
capital, Pakuan Pajajaran
in modern Bogor
. The temple dubbed as the largest Balinese Hindu temple ever built outside Bali, and was meant as the main temple for Balinese
Hindu population in Greater Jakarta region. However because the temple stood in Sundanese sacred place, and also host a shrine dedicated to Sundanese famous king; Prabu Siliwangi
, the site has gain popularity among locals
that wish to reconnect their ties with the ancestors.
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
name Agama Hindu Dharma, refers to Hinduism as practised in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. According to the 2000 census Hindus consisted 1.79% of the total population (Down from 1.81% in 1990) with 88.05% in Bali (Down from 93.18% in 1990) and 5.89% in Central Kalimantan (Down from 15.75% in 1990). Every Indonesian citizen is required to be a registered member of one of the acknowledged religious communities (Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
). Laws are also being passed in the Indonesian constitution for a separate grouping for Indonesian Atheists.
History
The natives of Indonesian Archipelago practiced an indigenous animismAnimism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
and dynamism
Dynamism (metaphysics)
Dynamism is a metaphysical concept conceived by Gottfried Leibniz and developed into a full system of cosmology. Dynamism in metaphysical cosmology explains the material world in terms of active, pointlike forces, with no extension but with action at a distance...
, beliefs common to austronesian people
Austronesian people
The Austronesian-speaking peoples are various populations in Oceania and Southeast Asia that speak languages of the Austronesian family. They include Taiwanese aborigines; the majority ethnic groups of East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Madagascar, Micronesia, and Polynesia,...
. Native pre-Hindu Buddhist Indonesia venerated and revered an ancestral spirit
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
; they also believe that some spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
may inhabit certain places such as large trees, stones, forests, mountains, or any sacred places. This unseen spiritual entity that had supranatural power is identified by ancient Javanese and Balinese as "hyang
Hyang
Hyang is an unseen spiritual entity that has supernatural power in ancient Indonesian mythology. This spirit can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found in Sunda Wiwitan, Kejawen, and Balinese Hinduism. In modern Indonesian this term tends to be...
" that can mean either divine
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
or ancestral. In the modern Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
, "hyang" tends to be associated with God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
.
Arrival of Buddhism and Hinduism
Kutai
Kutai is the traditional name of a historic region in East Kalimantan in Indonesia on Borneo, a Dayak people of the region with a language of the same name and their historic states. Today the name is preserved in the names of three regencies in East Kalimantan, the Kutai Kartanegara Regency, the...
in East Kalimantan
East Kalimantan
East Kalimantan is the second largest Indonesian province, located on the Kalimantan region on the east of Borneo island. The resource-rich province has two major cities, Samarinda and Balikpapan...
, Tarumanagara
Tarumanagara
Tarumanagara or Taruma Kingdom or just Taruma is an early Sundanese Indianized kingdom, whose fifth-century ruler, Purnavarman, produced the earliest known inscriptions on Java island...
in West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
, and Holing (Kalingga
Kalingga
Kalingga or Holing was an Indianized kingdom on the north coast of Central Java, Indonesia. The exact location of kingdom's capital is unknown, it is thought to be somewhere between present-day Pekalongan and Jepara. Kalingga existed between the 6th and 7th century...
) in Central Java
Central Java
Central Java is a province of Indonesia. The administrative capital is Semarang. It is one of six provinces on the island of Java.This province is the province of high Human Development in Indonesia and its Points Development Index countries is equivalent to Lebanon. The province of Central Java...
, were among the early Hindu states established in the region. Several notable ancient Indonesian Hindu kingdoms are Mataram
Mataram Kingdom
The Medang or Mataram Kingdom was a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that flourished between the 8th and 10th centuries CE. It was based in Central Java, and later in East Java. Established by King Sanjaya, the founder of the Sanjaya dynasty, the kingdom was ruled by the Sailendra and Sanjaya families...
, famous for the construction of the majestic Prambanan
Prambanan
Prambanan is a ninth century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator , the Sustainer and the Destroyer...
temple, followed by Kediri and Singhasari
Singhasari
Singhasari was a kingdom located in east Java between 1222 and 1292. The kingdom succeeded Kingdom of Kediri as the dominant kingdom in eastern Java.-Foundation:...
. Since then Hinduism along with Buddhism spread across the archipelago and reached the peak of its influence in the 14th century. The last and largest among Hindu-Buddhist Javanese empires, Majapahit, influenced the Indonesian archipelago.
General beliefs and practices
Practitioners of Agama Hindu Dharma share many common beliefs, which include:- A belief in one supreme being called 'Ida Sanghyang Widi Wasa', 'Sang HyangHyangHyang is an unseen spiritual entity that has supernatural power in ancient Indonesian mythology. This spirit can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found in Sunda Wiwitan, Kejawen, and Balinese Hinduism. In modern Indonesian this term tends to be...
Tunggal', or 'Sang Hyang AcintyaAcintyaAcintya, also Atintya , also Tunggal is the supreme god of Hinduism as practiced in Indonesia , and most of all in the island of Bali, equivalent to the concept of Brahman...
'. God Almighty in the Torajanese culture of Central Sulawesi is known as "Puang Matua" in Aluk to dolo belief. - A belief that all of the gods are manifestations of this supreme being. This belief is the same as the belief of SmartismSmartismSmarta Sampradaya is a liberal or nonsectarian denomination of the Vedic Hindu religion which accept all the major Hindu deities as forms of the one Brahman, in contrast to Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism, the other three major Hindu sects, which revere Vishnu, Shiva, and Shakti,...
, which also holds that the different forms of God, VishnuVishnuVishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
, SivaShivaShiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
are different aspects of the same Supreme Being. Lord Shiva is also worshipped in other forms such as "Batara Guru" and "Maharaja Dewa" (MahadevaShivaShiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
) are closely identified with the Sun in local forms of Hinduism or Kebatinan, and even in the genieGenieJinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
lore of Muslims. - A belief in the TrimurtiTrimurtiThe Trimurti is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahmā the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Śhiva the destroyer or transformer," These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" or...
, consisting of:- Brahma, the creator
- Wisnu or VishnuVishnuVishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
, the preserver - Ciwa or ShivaShivaShiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, the destroyer
- A belief in all of the other Hindu gods and goddesses (HyangHyangHyang is an unseen spiritual entity that has supernatural power in ancient Indonesian mythology. This spirit can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found in Sunda Wiwitan, Kejawen, and Balinese Hinduism. In modern Indonesian this term tends to be...
, Dewata and Batara-Batari)
The sacred texts found in Agama Hindu Dharma are the Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
. They are the basis of Balinese Hinduism. Other sources of religious information include the Puranas and the Itihasa
Itihasa
Itihasa as defined by Amarakosha refers to purvavritta, i.e. events of the past. In the Vedic age, those portions of the Brahmanas which narrated events of bygone days were known as itihasa and had some ritualistic importance...
(mainly Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
and the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
).
One of Hinduism's primary ethical concerns is the concept of ritual purity. Another important distinguishing feature, which traditionally helps maintain ritual purity, is the division of society into the traditional occupational groups, or varna of Hinduism: Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
s (priests, brahmana in Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
), Kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
(ruler-warriors, satriya or "Deva" in Indonesian), Vaishya
Vaishya
Vaishya is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order. According to Vedic tradition, this caste primarily comprises merchants, farmers, cattle-herders and artisans.-Duties of Vaishyas:...
(merchants-farmers, waisya in Indonesian), and Shudra
Shudra
Shudra is the fourth Varna, as prescribed in the Purusha Sukta of the Rig veda, which constitutes society into four varnas or Chaturvarna. The other three varnas are Brahmans - priests, Kshatriya - those with governing functions, Vaishya - agriculturalists, cattle rearers and traders...
(commoners-servants, sudra in Indonesian). Like Islam and Buddhism, Hinduism was greatly modified when adapted to Indonesian society.
The caste system, although present in form, was never rigidly applied. The epics Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
(Great Battle of the Descendants of Bharata) and Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
(The Travels of Rama), became enduring traditions among Indonesian believers, expressed in shadow puppet (wayang
Wayang
Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...
) and dance performances.
The Indonesian government has recognized Hinduism as one of the country's five officially sanctioned, monotheistic religions. Partly as a result, followers of various tribal and animistic religions have identified themselves as Hindu in order to avoid harassment or pressure to convert to Islam or Christianity. Furthermore, Indonesian nationalists have laid great stress on the achievements of the Majapahit Empire
Majapahit Empire
Majapahit was a vast archipelagic empire based on the island of Java from 1293 to around 1500. Majapahit reached its peak of glory during the era of Hayam Wuruk, whose reign from 1350 to 1389 marked by conquest which extended through Southeast Asia. His achievement is also credited to his prime...
– a Hindu state – which has helped attract certain Indonesians to Hinduism. These factors have led to a certain resurgence of Hinduism outside of its Balinese stronghold.
Hinduism in Bali
Balinese Hinduism is deeply interwoven with art and ritual, and is less closely preoccupied with scripture, law, and belief than Islam in IndonesiaIslam in Indonesia
Islam is the dominant religion in Indonesia, which also has a larger Muslim population than any other country in the world, with approximately 202.9 million identified as Muslim as of 2009....
. Balinese Hinduism lacks the traditional Hindu emphasis on cycles of rebirth and reincarnation, but instead is concerned with a myriad of hyang
Hyang
Hyang is an unseen spiritual entity that has supernatural power in ancient Indonesian mythology. This spirit can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found in Sunda Wiwitan, Kejawen, and Balinese Hinduism. In modern Indonesian this term tends to be...
s, the local and ancestral spirits. As with kebatinan, these deities are thought to be capable of good or harm. Balinese place great emphasis on dramatic and aesthetically satisfying acts of ritual propitiation of these spirits at temple sites scattered throughout villages and in the countryside.
Balinese temple
Pura (Balinese temple)
A pura is a Balinese Hindu temple. and the place of worship for the adherents of Balinese Hinduism in Indonesia. Most of the puras are found on the island of Bali, as Hinduism is the predominant religion in the island; however many puras exist in other parts of Indonesia where there are significant...
is called Pura, and unlike the common towering indoor India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Hindu Temple
Hindu temple
A Mandir, Devalayam, Devasthanam, or a Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism...
, the Hindu temple of Bali is designed as an open air worship place within enclosed walls, connected with series of intricately decorated gates to reach its compounds. Each of these temples has a more or less fixed membership; every Balinese belongs to a temple by virtue of descent, residence, or some mystical revelation of affiliation. Some temples are associated with the family house compound (also called banjar in Bali), others are associated with rice fields, and still others with key geographic sites.
Ritualized states of self-control (or lack thereof) are a notable feature of religious expression among the people, who for this reason have become famous for their graceful and decorous behavior. One key ceremony at a village temple, for instance, features a special performance of a dance-drama (a battle between the mythical characters Rangda
Rangda
Rangda is the demon queen of the leyaks in Bali, according to traditional Balinese mythology. Terrifying to behold, the child-eating Rangda leads an army of evil witches against the leader of the forces of good — Barong.- Description :...
the witch (representing evil) and Barong
Barong (mythology)
Barong is a character in the mythology of Bali. He is the king of the spirits, leader of the hosts of good, and enemy of Rangda in the mythological traditions of Bali. Banas Pati Rajah is the fourth "brother" or spirit child that accompanies a child throughout life. Banas Pati Rajah is the spirit...
the lion or dragon (representing good)), in which performers fall into a trance and attempt to stab themselves with sharp knives.
Rituals of the life cycle are also important occasions for religious expression and artistic display. Ceremonies at puberty, marriage, and, most notably, cremation at death provide opportunities for Balinese to communicate their ideas about community, status, and the afterlife. (The tourist industry has not only supported spectacular cremation ceremonies among Balinese of modest means, but also has created a greater demand for them.)
A priest is not affiliated with any temple but acts as a spiritual leader and adviser to individual families in various villages scattered over the island. These priests are consulted when ceremonies requiring holy water are conducted. On other occasions, folk healers or curers may be hired.
Javanese Hinduism
Both Java and SumatraSumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
were subject to considerable cultural influence from the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
during the first and second millennia of the Common Era
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
. The earliest evidences of Hindu influences in Java can be found in 4th century Tarumanagara
Tarumanagara
Tarumanagara or Taruma Kingdom or just Taruma is an early Sundanese Indianized kingdom, whose fifth-century ruler, Purnavarman, produced the earliest known inscriptions on Java island...
inscriptions scaterred around modern Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
and Bogor
Bogor
Bogor is a city on the island of Java in the West Java province of Indonesia. The city is located in the center of the Bogor Regency , 60 kilometers south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta...
. From 8th to 15th century many Hindu temples were built, including Prambanan
Prambanan
Prambanan is a ninth century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator , the Sustainer and the Destroyer...
near Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (city)
Yogyakarta is a city in the Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia. It is renowned as a centre of classical Javanese fine art and culture such as batik, ballet, drama, music, poetry, and puppet shows. Yogyakarta was the Indonesian capital during the Indonesian National Revolution from 1945 to...
, which has been designated a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
; and Hindu kingdoms flourished, of which the most important was Majapahit.
In the sixth and seventh centuries many maritime kingdoms arose in Sumatra and Java which controlled the waters in the Straits of Malacca and flourished with the increasing sea trade between China and India and beyond. During this time, scholars from India and China visited these kingdoms to translate literary and religious texts.
Majapahit was based in Central Java, from where it ruled a large part of what is now western Indonesia. The remnants of the Majapahit kingdom shifted to Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
during the sixteenth century as Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
kingdoms in the western part of the island gained influence.
Hinduism has survived in varying degrees and forms on Java; in recent years, conversions to Hinduism have been on the rise, particularly in regions surrounding a major Hindu religious site, such as the Klaten
Klaten
Klaten is a regency in Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is Klaten.-Geograpy:Klaten borders on Boyolali Regency in the North, Sukoharjo Regency and Wonogiri Regency in the East, and Special Region of Yogyakarta to the South and West...
region near the Prambanan
Prambanan
Prambanan is a ninth century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator , the Sustainer and the Destroyer...
temple. Certain ethnic groups, such as the Tenggerese
Tenggerese
The Tenggerese are the descendants of the Majapahit princes. Their population of roughly 600,000 is centered in thirty villages in the isolated Tengger mountains within the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East-Central Java....
and Osing
Osing
The Osing are a community living in the eastern salient of Java island in Indonesia, in the easternmost part of East Java province. They are the descendants of the people of the ancient principality of Blambangan, whose rulers remained Hindu until they were forced to convert to Islam by the Dutch...
s, are also associated with Hindu religious traditions.
Hinduism elsewhere in the archipelago
The Bodha sect of SasakSasak
The Sasak live mainly on the island of Lombok, Indonesia, numbering around 2.6 million . They are related to the Balinese in language and race, although the Sasak are predominantly Muslim while the Balinese are Hindu....
people on the island of Lombok
Lombok
Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east...
are non-Muslim; their religion is a fusion of Hinduism and Buddhism with animism; it is considered Buddhist by the government.
Among the non-Balinese communities considered to be Hindu by the government are, for example, the Dayak
Dayak people
The Dayak or Dyak are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily...
adherents of the Kaharingan
Kaharingan
Kaharingan, is a folk religion professed by many Dayaks in Kalimantan, Indonesia.The word Kaharingan means life, and this belief system includes a concept of a supreme deity—although this may be the result of the need to conform to the idea of "One Supreme God" , which is the first principle of the...
religion in Kalimantan Tengah, where government statistics counted Hindus as 15.8% of the population . Nationally, Hindus represented only around 2% of the population in the early 1990s.
Many Manusela
Manusela
The Manusela population of over 9,000 is centered in the Manusela mountains of North Seram, Maluku, Indonesia.They are also found along Teluti Bay in south Seram, which suggests their name of their tribe....
and Nuaulu
Nuaulu
The Nuaulu or Naulu are a tribe located in Seram, Maluku, Indonesia.-Description:The Nuaulu are divided into two groups, namely the northern and the southern groups. Numbering at a total of 2500 people, they live in the Amahai district of Central Seram...
people of Seram
Seram
Seram is an island in the Maluku province of Indonesia. It is located north of Ambon Island. The chief port/town is Masohi.- Geography and geology :...
follow Naurus, a syncretism of Hinduism with animist and Protestant elements.
Similarly, the Tana Toraja
Tana Toraja
Tana Toraja Regency is a regency of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, home of Toraja ethnic group people. The local government seat is in Makale, where the center of Toraja culture is in Rantepao...
of Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
have identified their animistic religion as Hindu.
The Batak
Batak (Indonesia)
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The term is used to include the Toba, Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Angkola and Mandailing, each of which are distinct but related groups with distinct, albeit related, languages and...
of Sumatra have identified their animist traditions with Hinduism.
The Tamils of Sumatra and the Indians in Jakarta practice their own form of Hinduism which is similar to the Indian Hinduism, the Indians celebrating Hindu holidays more commonly found in India, such as Deepawali
Hindu holidays in Indonesia
Galungan
Galungan is a Balinese holiday that occurs every 210 days and lasts for 10 days. Kuningan is the last day of the holiday. Galungan means "When the Dharma is winning." During this holiday the Balinese gods visit the Earth and leave on Kuningan....
occurs every 210 days and lasts for 10 days. It celebrates the coming of the gods and the ancestral spirits to earth to dwell again in the homes of their descendants. The festivities are characterized by offerings, dances and new clothes. The ancestors must be suitably entertained and welcomed, and prayers and offerings must be made for them. Families whose ancestors have not been cremated yet, but remain buried in the village cemetery, must make offerings at the graves. Kuningan
Kuningan
Kuningan is a city in eastern West Java, Indonesia, between Cirebon and Tasikmalaya, about 200 km east of Jakarta. The area is near Mount Cereme/Ciremai , the highest mountain in West Java. The mountain is located in the western part of the region. The eastern part is a valley...
is the last day of the holiday, when the gods and ancestors depart until the next Galungan.
Hari Raya Saraswati – Saraswati
Saraswati
In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....
is the goddess of learning, science, and literature. She rules the intellectual and creative realm, and is the patron goddess of libraries and schools. Balinese Hindus believe that knowledge is an essential medium to achieve the goal of life as a human being, and so honor her. She is also celebrated because she succeeded in taming the wandering and lustful mind of her consort, Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
, who was preoccupied with the goddess of material existence, Shatarupa
Shatarupa
In Hindu mythology, when Brahma was creating the universe, he made a female deity known as Shatarupa . According to the Matsya Purana, Shatarupa was known by different names, including Satarupa, Sarasvati, Sandhya, or Brahmi.Hindu mythology uses her story to explain Brahma's four heads...
. On this day no one is allowed to read or write, and offerings are made to the lontar (palm-leaf manuscripts), books, and shrines.
Saraswati Day is celebrated every 210-days on Saniscara Umanis Wuku Watugunung and marks the start of the new year according to the Balinese Pawukon calendar. Ceremonies and prayers are held at the temples in family compounds, villages and businesses from morning to noon. Prayers are also held in school or any other learning institution temples. Teachers and students abandon their uniforms for the day in place of bright and colourful ceremony gear, filling the island with color. Children bring fruit and traditional cakes to school for offerings at the temple.
Hari Raya Nyepi – Nyepi
Nyepi
Nyepi is a Balinese "Day of Silence" that is commemorated every Isakawarsa according to Bali's calendar . It is a day of silence, fasting, and meditation. The day following Nyepi is also celebrated as New year.Observed from 6 a.m. until 6 a.m...
is a Hindu Day of Silence or the Hindu New Year in the Balinese Saka calendar. The largest celebrations are held in Bali as well as in Balinese Hindu communities around Indonesia. On New Year's Eve the villages are cleaned, food is cooked for two days and in the evening as much noise is made as possible to scare away the devils. On the following day, Hindus do not leave their homes, cook or engage in any activity. Streets are deserted, and tourists are not allowed to leave hotel complexes.
Nyepi is determined using the Balinese calendar (see below), the eve of Nyepi falling on the night of the new moon whenever it occurs around March/April each year. Therefore, the date for Nyepi changes every year, and there is not a constant number of days difference between each Nyepi as there is for such days as Galungan and Kuningan. To find out when Nyepi falls in a given year, you will need information on the cycles of the moon for that year. Whenever the new moon falls between mid-March and mid-April, that night will be the night of great activity and exorcism island-wide, while the next day will be the day of total peace and quiet, where everything stops for a day.
Political context
While many Javanese have retained aspects of their indigenous and HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
traditions through the centuries of Islamic influence, under the banner of 'Javanist religion' (kejawen) or a non-orthodox 'Javanese Islam' (abangan
Abangan
Abangan refers to the population of Javanese Muslims who practice a more syncretic version of Islam than the more orthodox santri. The term, apparently derived from the Javanese word for red, was first developed by Clifford Geertz but the meaning has since shifted. Abangan are more inclined to...
, cf. Geertz 1960), no more than a few isolated communities have consistently upheld Hinduism as the primary mark of their public identity. One of these exceptions are the people of the remote Tengger highlands (Hefner 1985, 1990) in the province of Eastern Java.
Official recognition
Officially identifying their religion as Hinduism was not a legal possibility for Indonesians until 1962, when it became the fifth state-recognized religion. This recognition was initially sought by Balinese religious organizations and granted for the sake of Bali, where the majority were Hindu. The largest of these organizations, Parisada Hindu Dharma Bali, changed its name to P.H.D. Indonesia (PHDI) in 1964, reflecting subsequent efforts to define Hinduism as a national rather than just a Balinese concern (Ramstedt 1998).Religious identity became a life and death issue for many Indonesians around the same time as Hinduism gained recognition, in the wake of the violent anti-Communist purge of 1965-66 (Beatty 1999). Persons lacking affiliation with a state recognized-religion tended to be classed as atheists and hence suspected as communists.
Despite the inherent disadvantages of joining a national religious minority, a deep concern for the preservation of their traditional ancestor religions made Hinduism a more palatable option than Islam for several ethnic groups in the outer islands.
In the early seventies, the Toraja
Toraja
The Toraja are an ethnic group indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 650,000, of which 450,000 still live in the regency of Tana Toraja . Most of the population is Christian, and others are Muslim or have local animist beliefs known as aluk...
people of Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
were the first to realize this opportunity by seeking shelter for their indigenous ancestor religion under the broad umbrella of 'Hinduism', followed by the Karo Batak of Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
in 1977 (Bakker 1995).
In central and southern Kalimantan, a large Hindu movement has grown among the local indigenous Dayak
Dayak people
The Dayak or Dyak are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily...
population which lead to a mass declaration of 'Hinduism' on this island in 1980. However, this was different to the Javanese case, in that conversions followed a clear ethnic division. Indigenous Dayak were confronted with a mostly Muslim population of government-sponsored (and predominantly Madurese) migrants and officials, and deeply resentful at the dispossession of their land and its natural resources.
Compared to their counterparts among Javanese Hindus, many Dayak leaders were also more deeply concerned about Balinese efforts to standardize Hindu ritual practice nationally; fearing a decline of their own unique 'Hindu Kaharingan' traditions and renewed external domination.
By contrast, most Javanese were slow to consider Hinduism at the time, lacking a distinct organization along ethnic lines and fearing retribution from locally powerful Islamic organizations like the Nahdatul Ulama (NU). The youth wing of the NU had been active in the persecution not only of communists but of 'Javanist' or 'anti-Islamic' elements within Sukarno's Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI) during the early phase of the killings (Hefner 1987). Practitioners of 'Javanist' mystical traditions thus felt compelled to declare themselves Muslims out of a growing concern for their safety.
Under Suharto's Rule
The initial assessment of having to abandon 'Javanist' traditions in order to survive in an imminent Islamic state proved incorrect. President SukarnoSukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
's eventual successor, Suharto, adopted a distinctly nonsectarian approach in his so-called 'new order' (orde baru) regime. Old fears resurfaced, however, with Suharto's 'Islamic turn' in the 1990s. Initially a resolute defender of Javanist values, Suharto began to make overtures to Islam at that time, in response to wavering public and military support for his government.
A powerful signal was his authorization and personal support of the new 'Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals' (ICMI), an organization whose members openly promoted the Islamization of Indonesian state and society (Hefner 1997). Concerns grew as ICMI became the dominant civilian faction in the national bureaucracy, and initiated massive programs of Islamic education and mosque-building through the Ministry of Religion (departemen agama), once again targeting Javanist strongholds. Around the same time, there were a series of mob killings by Muslim extremists of people they suspected to have been practising traditional Javanese methods of healing by magical means.
In terms of their political affiliation, many contemporary Javanists and recent converts to Hinduism had been members of the old PNI, and have now joined the new nationalist party of Megawati Sukarnoputri
Megawati Sukarnoputri
In this Indonesian name, the name "Sukarnoputri" is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name "Megawati"....
. Informants from among this group portrayed their return to the 'religion of Majapahit' (Hinduism) as a matter of nationalist pride, and displayed a new sense political self-confidence.
In a Social Context
A common feature among new Hindu communities in Java is that they tend to rally around recently built temples (pura) or around archaeological temple sites (candi) which are being reclaimed as places of Hindu worship.The Parisada Hindu Dharma changed its name to Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia in 1984, in recognition of its national influence spearheaded by Gedong Bagus Oka
Gedong Bagus Oka
Gedong Bagus Oka was a prominent Hindu reformer and philosopher in Indonesia. She was one of the foremost authorities on Agama Hindu Dharma and started the Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia movement in the 1980s.-Early life:...
. One of several new Hindu temples in eastern Java is Pura Mandaragiri Sumeru Agung, located on the slope of Mt. Semeru
Semeru
Semeru, or Mount Semeru , is a volcano located in East Java, Indonesia. It is the highest mountain on the island of Java...
, Java's highest mountain. When the temple was completed in July 1992, with the generous aid of wealthy donors from Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, only a few local families formally confessed to Hinduism. A pilot study in December 1999 revealed that the local Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
community now has grown to more than 5000 households.
Similar mass conversions have occurred in the region around Pura Agung Blambangan, another new temple, built on a site with minor archaeological remnants attributed to the kingdom of Blambangan, the last Hindu polity on Java.
A further important site is Pura Loka Moksa Jayabaya (in the village of Menang near Kediri), where the Hindu king and prophet Jayabaya is said to have achieved spiritual liberation (moksa).
A further Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
movement in the earliest stages of development was observed in the vicinity of the newly completed Pura Pucak Raung (in the Eastern Javanese district of Glenmore), which is mentioned in Balinese literature as the place where the Hindu saint Maharishi Markandeya gathered followers for an expedition to Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, whereby he is said to have brought Hinduism to the island in the fifth century AD.
An example of resurgence around major archaeological remains of ancient Hindu temple sites was observed in Trowulan
Trowulan
Trowulan is a village in Mojokerto, in the Indonesian province of East Java. It is surrounded by an archaeological site covering approximately 100 square kilometres. It has been suggested it was the site of the eponymous capital city of the Majapahit Empire, which is described by Mpu Prapanca in...
near Mojokerto. The site may be the location of the capital of the Hindu empire Majapahit. A local Hindu movement is struggling to gain control of a newly excavated temple building which they wish to see restored as a site of active Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
worship. The temple is to be dedicated to Gajah Mada, the man attributed with transforming the small Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
kingdom of Majapahit into an empire.
In Karanganyar region in Central Java, the renovated 14th century Cetho temple on the slope of Mount Lawu
Mount Lawu
Mount Lawu, or Gunung Lawu, is a massive compound stratovolcano straddling the border between East Java and Central Java, Indonesia. The north side is deeply eroded and the eastern side contains parasitic crater lakes and parasitic cones. A fumarolic area is located on the south flank at 2,550 m...
has become the center of Javanese Hinduism and gain patronage of Balinese temples and royal houses.
A new temple is being built East of Solo (Surakarta
Surakarta
Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...
) It is a Hindu temple that has miniatures of 50 sacred sites around the world. It is also an active kundalini yoga meditation centre teaching the sacred javanese tradition of sun and water meditation. There are many westerners as well as javanese joining in.
Although there has been a more pronounced history of resistance to Islamization in East Java, Hindu communities are also expanding in Central Java (Lyon 1980), for example in Klaten
Klaten
Klaten is a regency in Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is Klaten.-Geograpy:Klaten borders on Boyolali Regency in the North, Sukoharjo Regency and Wonogiri Regency in the East, and Special Region of Yogyakarta to the South and West...
, near the ancient Hindu monuments of Prambanan
Prambanan
Prambanan is a ninth century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator , the Sustainer and the Destroyer...
. Today Prambanan temple stages various Hindu annual ceremonies and festivals such as Galungan and Nyepi.
In West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
, a Hindu temple Pura Parahyangan Agung Jagatkartta was built on the slope of Mount Salak
Mount Salak
Mount Salak is an eroded volcanic range in West Java, Indonesia. Several satellite cones occur on the southeast flank and on the northern foot. Two craters are found at the summit. Mount Salak has been the site of a geothermal exploration.. The name Salak is come from salak fruit.- See also :*...
near the historic site of ancient Sunda Kingdom
Sunda Kingdom
The Sunda Kingdom was a Hindu kingdom located on the western part of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering areas of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Central Java...
capital, Pakuan Pajajaran
Pakuan Pajajaran
Pakuan Pajajaran was a capital city of Sunda kingdom. In this city, king Prabu Susuktunggal established a palace called "Sri Bimapunta Narayana Madura Suradipati"....
in modern Bogor
Bogor
Bogor is a city on the island of Java in the West Java province of Indonesia. The city is located in the center of the Bogor Regency , 60 kilometers south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta...
. The temple dubbed as the largest Balinese Hindu temple ever built outside Bali, and was meant as the main temple for Balinese
Balinese people
The Balinese population of 3.0 million live mostly on the island of Bali, making up 89% of the island's population. There are also significant populations on the island of Lombok, and in the eastern-most regions of Java The Balinese population of 3.0 million (1.5% of Indonesia's population) live...
Hindu population in Greater Jakarta region. However because the temple stood in Sundanese sacred place, and also host a shrine dedicated to Sundanese famous king; Prabu Siliwangi
King Siliwangi
Siliwangi is a legendary great king of the Sunda kingdom in West Java. The kingdom flourished between 669 to 1759 AD. He brought the kingdom greatness and prosperity. Some accounts of his life are taken from the Pantun Sunda oral tradition that describe his reign as a glorious era for the Sundanese...
, the site has gain popularity among locals
Sundanese people
The Sundanese are an ethnic group native to the western part of the Indonesian island of Java. They number approximately 31 million, and are the second most populous of all the nation's ethncities. The Sundanese are predominantly Muslim...
that wish to reconnect their ties with the ancestors.
Census 2000
According to the 2000 census Hindus consisted 1.79% of the total population (Down from 1.81% in 1990) with 88.05% in Bali (Down from 93.18% in 1990) and 5.89% in Central Kalimantan (Down from 15.75% in 1990,). The decline in Bali is largely attributed to a lower birth rate and immigration of Muslims from Java. In Central Kalimantan there has been progressive settlement of Madurese from Madura. The details are given below:| Province (2000 Cen) | Hindus | Total | % Hindu |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Sumatera | 18,907 | 11,429,919 | 0.17% |
| West Sumatera | 0 | 4,220,318 | 0.00% |
| Riau | 4,385 | 4,676,025 | 0.09% |
| Jambi | 410 | 2,386,866 | 0.02% |
| South Sumatera | 17,874 | 6,756,564 | 0.26% |
| Bengkulu | 2,033 | 1,396,687 | 0.15% |
| Lampung | 95,458 | 6,631,686 | 1.44% |
| Bangka Belitung Islands | 76 | 945,682 | 0.01% |
| DKI Jakarta | 19,331 | 8,482,068 | 0.23% |
| West Java | 8,177 | 35,279,182 | 0.02% |
| Central Java | 28,677 | 30,775,846 | 0.09% |
| D.I. Yogyakarta | 2,746 | 3,026,209 | 0.09% |
| East Java | 92,930 | 34,456,897 | 0.27% |
| Banten | 5,498 | 7,967,473 | 0.07% |
| Bali | 2,740,314 | 3,112,331 | 88.05% |
| Nusa Tenggara Barat | 115,297 | 3,805,537 | 3.03% |
| Nusa Tenggara Timur | 5,698 | 3,904,373 | 0.15% |
| West Kalimantan | 2,914 | 3,721,368 | 0.08% |
| Central Kalimantan | 105,256 | 1,785,875 | 5.89% |
| South Kalimantan | 6,288 | 2,956,784 | 0.21% |
| East Kalimantan | 3,221 | 2,414,989 | 0.13% |
| North Sulawesi | 10,994 | 1,972,813 | 0.56% |
| Central Sulawesi | 99,443 | 2,053,167 | 4.84% |
| South Sulawesi | 87,660 | 7,759,574 | 1.13% |
| Southeast Sulawesi | 52,103 | 1,755,193 | 2.97% |
| Gorontalo | 0 | 833,720 | 0.00% |
| Irian Jaya | 2,068 | 2,094,803 | 0.10% |
| Indonesia | 3,527,758 | 196,601,949 | 1.79% |
Census 2009
The latest census in 2009 saw a triple-fold increase in the number of Hindus throughout Indonesia, particularly in Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi islands, where more than a million adherents were recorded on each island. Bali is still home to the largest Hindu community in the country. A total of 10.14 million Hindus were recorded that year.See also
- Balinese mythologyBalinese mythologyBalinese mythology is the traditional mythology of the people of the Indonesian island of Bali, before the majority adoption of Hinduism.Balinese mythology is mainly a kind of animism with some widely-known characters and deities...
(indigenous Bali traditions and religion) - Hindu Agamas
- HinduismHinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
- List of Hindu temples in the world
- Religion in IndonesiaReligion in IndonesiaThe first principle of Indonesia's ideology states that Pancasila: "belief in the one and only God". A number of different religions are practiced in the country, and their collective influence on the country's political, economical and cultural life is significant. As of 2011, the population was...
External links
- Hinduism in Indonesia
- Hindu Council UK: "Great Expectations: Hindu Revival Movements in Java and other parts of Indonesia" by Thomas Reuter
- Agnihoma.org Hindu Resources and Community in Indonesia
- Hindu-raditya.com
- desaadat.com
- Mediahindu.net
- The Hinduization of Indonesia Reconsidered – The Far Eastern Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 1. (Nov., 1951), pp. 17–30.
- http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71341.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2006