Hinduism in Indonesia, as of the 2018 census, is practised by about 1.74% of the total population, and almost 87% of the population in
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
.
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
is one of the six official religions of
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. Hinduism came to Indonesia in the 1st-century through traders, sailors, scholars and priests. A
syncretic
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...
fusion of pre-existing Javanese
folk religion
In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized re ...
, culture and Hindu ideas, that from the 6th-century also synthesized
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
ideas as well, evolved as the Indonesian version of Hinduism. These ideas continued to develop during the
Srivijaya
Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th t ...
and
Majapahit empire
Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesia ...
s. About 1400 CE, these kingdoms were introduced to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
from coast-based Muslim traders, and thereafter Hinduism mostly vanished from many of the islands of Indonesia.
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
and
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. Though being a minority religion, the
Hindu culture
Hinduism () is an Indian religions, Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the Major religious groups, world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion ...
has influenced the way of life and day-to-day activities in Indonesia. Outside of Bali, many adherents of traditional indigenous religions identify as Hindus in order to gain official recognition.
History
The indigenous peoples of the
Indonesian Archipelago
The islands of Indonesia, also known as the Indonesian Archipelago ( id, Kepulauan Indonesia) or Nusantara, may refer either to the islands comprising the country of Indonesia or to the geographical groups which include its islands.
History ...
believed in
animism
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...
and dynamism, practices commonly shared among many tribal peoples around the world. In the case of the first Indonesians, they especially venerated and revered
ancestral spirits
The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of ...
; they developed a belief that certain individuals’ spiritual energy may inhabit (or be reincarnated in) various natural objects, beings and places, such as animals, insects, trees, plants, stones, forests, mountains, or any place deemed sacred. This unseen spiritual entity and
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
knowledge is identified by the ancient Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese as "
hyang
''Hyang'' ( Kawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese) is a representation of the Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology. This spiritual entity can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found ...
", which can mean either “
divine
Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine ...
” or “
ancestral
An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
”. In modern
Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
, "hyang" tends to be associated with the notion of
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
.
Arrival of Hinduism
Hindu influences reached the
Indonesian Archipelago
The islands of Indonesia, also known as the Indonesian Archipelago ( id, Kepulauan Indonesia) or Nusantara, may refer either to the islands comprising the country of Indonesia or to the geographical groups which include its islands.
History ...
as early as the first century.
Jan Gonda
Jan Gonda (14 April 1905 – 28 July 1991) was a Dutch Indologist and the first Utrecht professor of Sanskrit. He was born in Gouda, in the Netherlands, and died in Utrecht. He studied with Willem Caland at Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht (since 1990 U ...
, The Indian Religions in Pre-Islamic Indonesia and their survival in Bali, in , pp. 1-54 In tales like the "Kidung Harṣa Wijaya" one reads that "rata bhaṭṭāra Narasingha" supposedly was a scion in the lineage of Hari, and that Hari is another word for "Vishnu". Early translators of Kavi manuscripts misunderstood the "being a son of" and assumed that Vishnu actually had human offspring and so on. Here however we must conclude a belonging to a religious school of thought,
Vaisnavism
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
. Therefore, early Hinduism on Java, Bali, and Sumatra consisted of both main schools of Hinduism. Thus, historical evidence is not entirely unclear about the diffusion process of cultural and spiritual ideas from India. Java legends refer to Saka-era, traced to 78 CE. Stories from the
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
Epic have been traced in Indonesian islands to the 1st century; whose versions mirror those found in southeast Indian peninsular region (now
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
and southern
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
). The Javanese prose work ''
Tantu Pagelaran
Tantu Pagelaran or Tangtu Panggelaran is an Old Javanese manuscript written in the Kawi language that originated from the 15th century Majapahit period. The manuscript describes the mythical origin of Java island.
Legend of moving Meru to Java ...
'' of the 14th century, which is a collection of ancient tales, arts and crafts of Indonesia, extensively uses
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
words, Indian deity names and religious concepts. Similarly ancient '' Chandis'' (temples) excavated in Java and western Indonesian islands, as well as ancient inscriptions such as the 8th century
Canggal inscription
The Canggal inscription is a Sanskrit inscription dated to 732, discovered in the Gunung Wukir temple complex in Kadiluwih village, Salam, Magelang Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The inscription is written in the Pallava alphabet. The inscripti ...
discovered in Indonesia, confirm widespread adoption of
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
lingam iconography, his companion goddess
Parvati
Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...
,
Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...
,
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
,
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
,
Arjuna
Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...
, and other Hindu deities by about the middle to late 1st millennium AD. Ancient Chinese records of
Fa Hien
Faxian (法顯 ; 337 CE – c. 422 CE), also referred to as Fa-Hien, Fa-hsien and Sehi, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled by foot from China to India to acquire Buddhist texts. Starting his arduous journey about age 60, ...
on his return voyage from
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in 414 AD mention two schools of Hinduism in Java, while Chinese documents from 8th century refer to the Hindu kingdom of King Sanjaya as ''Holing'', calling it "exceedingly wealthy," and that it coexisted peacefully with Buddhist people and Sailendra ruler in
Kedu Plain
Kedu Plain, also known as Progo River valley, is the fertile volcanic plain that lies between the volcanoes Mount Sumbing and Mount Sundoro to the west, and Mount Merbabu and Mount Merapi to the east. It roughly corresponds to present-day Magelang ...
of the Java island.
The two major theories for the arrival of Hinduism in Indonesia include that South Indian sea traders brought Hinduism with them, and second being that Indonesian royalty welcomed Indian religions and culture, and it is they who first adopted these spiritual ideas followed by the masses. Indonesian islands adopted both Hindu and Buddhist ideas, fusing them with pre-existing native folk religion and Animist beliefs. In the 4th century, the kingdom of
Kutai
Kutai is a historical region in what is now known as East Kalimantan, Indonesia on the island of Borneo and is also the name of the native ethnic group of the region (known as ''Urang Kutai'' or "the Kutai people"), numbering around 300,000 who ...
in
East Kalimantan
East Kalimantan (Indonesian: ) is a province of Indonesia. Its territory comprises the eastern portion of Borneo. It had a population of about 3.03 million at the 2010 census (within the current boundary), 3.42 million at the 2015 census, and 3. ...
,
Tarumanagara
Tarumanagara or Taruma Kingdom or just Taruma is an early Sundanese Indianised kingdom, located in western Java, whose 5th-century ruler, Purnawarman, produced the earliest known inscriptions in Java, which are estimated to date from around ...
in
West Java
West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
, and Holing (
Kalingga
Kalingga ( jv, Karajan Kalingga; 訶陵 ''Hēlíng'' or 闍婆 ''She-pó / She-bó'' in Chinese sources) was a 6th-century Indianized kingdom on the north coast of Central Java, Indonesia. It was the earliest Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in Central ...
) in
Central Java
Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...
, were among the early Hindu states established in the region. Excavations between 1950 and 2005, particularly at the ''Cibuaya'' and ''
Batujaya
Batujaya is an archeological site located in the village of Batujaya, Karawang in West Java, Indonesia. Archaeologists suggest that the Batujaya temples might be the oldest surviving temple structures in Java and estimated that it was built dur ...
'' sites, suggests that
Tarumanagara
Tarumanagara or Taruma Kingdom or just Taruma is an early Sundanese Indianised kingdom, located in western Java, whose 5th-century ruler, Purnawarman, produced the earliest known inscriptions in Java, which are estimated to date from around ...
revered deity Wisnu (
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
) of Hinduism. Ancient Hindu kingdoms of Java built many square temples, named rivers on the island as Gomati and Ganges, and completed major
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
and infrastructure projects.
Several notable ancient Indonesian Hindu kingdoms were Mataram, famous for the construction of one of the world's largest Hindu temple complexes - the
Prambanan
Prambanan ( id, Candi Prambanan, jv, ꦫꦫꦗꦺꦴꦁꦒꦿꦁ, Rara Jonggrang) is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimūrti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the P ...
Singhasari
Singhasari ( jv, ꦏꦫꦠꦺꦴꦤ꧀ꦱꦶꦔ꧀ꦲꦱꦫꦶ, translit=Karaton Singhasari or , id, Kerajaan Singasari) was a Javanese Hindu kingdom located in east Java between 1222 and 1292. The kingdom succeeded the Kingdom of Kediri as ...
. Hinduism along with Buddhism spread across the archipelago. Numerous sastras and
sutra
''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...
s of Hinduism were translated into the
Javanese language
Javanese (, , ; , Aksara Jawa: , Pegon: , IPA: ) is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, Indonesia. There are also pockets of Javanese speakers on the northe ...
, and expressed in art form. Rishi
Agastya
Agastya ( kn, ಅಗಸ್ತ್ಯ, ta, அகத்தியர், sa, अगस्त्य, te, అగస్త్యుడు, ml, അഗസ്ത്യൻ, hi, अगस्त्य) was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the I ...
, for example, is described as the principal figure in the 11th century Javanese text ''Agastya parva''; the text includes
purana
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
s, and a mixture of ideas from the
Samkhya
''Samkhya'' or ''Sankya'' (; Sanskrit सांख्य), IAST: ') is a Dualism (Indian philosophy), dualistic Āstika and nāstika, school of Indian philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, ''purusha, puruṣa' ...
and
Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...
schools of Hinduism. The Hindu-Buddhist ideas reached the peak of their influence in the 14th century. The last and largest among the Hindu-Buddhist Javanese empires,
Majapahit
Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was ba ...
, influenced the
Indonesian archipelago
The islands of Indonesia, also known as the Indonesian Archipelago ( id, Kepulauan Indonesia) or Nusantara, may refer either to the islands comprising the country of Indonesia or to the geographical groups which include its islands.
History ...
.
Hinduism in the colonial era
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
Muslim traders of the
Shafi'i
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
fiqh
''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh.
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...
, as well as Sufi Muslim traders from India,
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
and
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
brought Islam to Indonesia.Gerhard Bowering et al. (2012), The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought, Princeton University Press, , pp. xvi The earliest known mention of a small Islamic community midst the Hindus of Indonesia is credited to
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
, about 1297 AD, whom he referred to as a new community of Moorish traders in Perlak. Four diverse and contentious Islamic Sultanates emerged in north Sumatra (
Aceh
Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...
), south Sumatra, west and central Java, and in southern Borneo (
Kalimantan
Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo.
In 2019, ...
).
These Sultanates declared Islam as their state religion and fought against each other as well as the Hindus and other non-Muslims. In some regions, Indonesian people continued their old beliefs and adopted a syncretic version of Islam. In other cases, Hindus and Buddhists left and concentrated as communities in islands that they could defend. Hindus of eastern Java, for example, moved to
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
and neighboring small islands. While this era of religious conflict and inter-Sultanate warfare was unfolding, and new power centers were attempting to consolidate regions under their control, European colonialism arrived.James Fox, Indonesian Heritage: Religion and ritual, Volume 9 of Indonesian heritage, Editor: Timothy Auger, The Indonesian archipelago was soon dominated by the Dutch colonial empire. The Dutch colonial empire helped prevent inter-religious conflict, and it slowly began the process of excavating, understanding and preserving Indonesia's ancient Hindu-Buddhist cultural foundations, particularly in Java and western islands of Indonesia.
Hinduism in the modern era
After Indonesia gained its independence from Dutch colonial rule, it officially recognized only monotheistic religions under pressure from political Islam. Further, Indonesia required an individual to have a religion to gain full Indonesian citizenship rights, and officially Indonesia did not recognize Hindus. It considered Hindus as ''orang yang belum beragama'' (people without religion), and as those who must be converted. In 1952, the Indonesian Ministry of Religion declared Bali and other islands with Hindus as needing a systematic campaign of proselytization to accept Islam. The local government of Bali, shocked by this official national policy, declared itself an autonomous religious area in 1953. The Balinese government also reached out to India and former Dutch colonial officials for diplomatic and human rights support. A series of student and cultural exchange initiatives between Bali and India helped formulate the core principles behind
Balinese Hinduism
Balinese Hinduism ( id, Agama Hindu Dharma; Agama Tirtha; Agama Air Suci; Agama Hindu Bali) is the form of Hinduism practised by the majority of the population of Bali.McDaniel, June (2013), A Modern Hindu Monotheism: Indonesian Hindus as ‘P ...
Upanishad
The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...
,
Puranas
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
,
Itihasa
Itihasa () refers to the collection of written descriptions of important events in Hinduism. It includes the Mahabharata, the Puranas and the Ramayana. The Mahabharata includes the story of the Kurukshetra War and preserves the traditions of ...
). In particular, the political self-determination movement in Bali in mid 1950s led to a non-violent passive resistance movement and the joint petition of 1958 which demanded Indonesian government recognize Hindu Dharma. This joint petition quoted the following Sanskrit mantra from Hindu scriptures,
The petition's focus on the "undivided one" was to satisfy the constitutional requirement that Indonesian citizens have a monotheistic belief in one God. The petitioners identified ''Ida Sanghyang Widhi Wasa'' as the undivided one. In the Balinese language this term has two meanings: the Divine ruler of the Universe and the Divine Absolute Cosmic Law. This creative phrase met the monotheistic requirement of the Indonesian Ministry of Religion in the former sense, while the latter sense of its meaning preserved the central ideas of
dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
in ancient scripts of Hinduism. In 1959, Indonesian President
Sukarno
Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967.
Sukarno was the leader of ...
supported the petition and a Hindu-Balinese Affairs section was officially launched within the Ministry of Religion.
Indonesian politics and religious affairs went through turmoil from 1959 to 1962, with Sukarno dissolving the Konstituante and weakening the impact of communist movement in Indonesia along with political Islam. Nevertheless, officially identifying their religion as
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
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. Between 1966 and 1980, along with Balinese Hindus, large numbers of Indonesians in western Java, as well as parts of South
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
, North Sumatra, Central and South Kalimantan officially declared themselves to be Hindus. They politically organized themselves to press and preserve their rights. The largest of these organizations, Parisada Hindu Dharma Bali, changed its name to
Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia
Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia (''Indonesian Hindu Dharma Society'') is a major reform movement and organization that assisted in the revival of Hinduism in Indonesia. It was started in 1959 by Ida Bagus Mantra and led by Gedong Bagus Oka.
Cr ...
(PHDI) in 1986, reflecting subsequent efforts to define Hinduism as a national rather than just a Balinese concern.
While Hindus in Bali, with their large majority, developed and freely practiced their religion, in other islands of Indonesia they suffered discrimination and persecution by local officials as these Hindus were considered as those who had left Islam, the majority religion. However, the central government of Indonesia supported the Hindus. In the 1960s, Hinduism was an umbrella also used by Indonesians whose faith was Buddhism and Confucianism, but when neither of these two were officially recognized. Furthermore, Hindu political activists of Indonesia worked to protect people of those faiths under rights they had gained at the Indonesian Ministry of Religion.
To gain official acceptance and their rights in a Muslim-dominated country, Hinduism in Indonesia was politically forced to adapt. Currently
Hindu Dharma
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global pop ...
is one of the five officially recognized monotheistic religions in Indonesia.
Folk religions and animists with a deep concern for the preservation of their traditional ancestor religions declared their religion to be Hinduism, considering it a more flexible option than Islam or Christianity, in the outer islands. In the early seventies, the
Toraja
The Torajans are an ethnic group indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 1,100,000, of whom 450,000 live in the regency of Tana Toraja ("Land of Toraja"). Most of the population is Chri ...
people of
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
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 is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
in 1977. 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 from the Javanese case, in that conversions followed a clear ethnic division. Indigenous Dayak were confronted with a mostly 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
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
' 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
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
like the
Nahdatul Ulama
Nahdlatul Ulama (, , NU) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership estimates range from 40 million (2013) to over 95 million (2021), making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU also is a charitable body funding sch ...
(NU).
Several native tribal peoples with beliefs such as
Sundanese
Sundanese may refer to:
* Sundanese people
* Sundanese language
* Sundanese script
Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...
Sunda Wiwitan
(from su, ᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ ᮝᮤᮝᮤᮒᮔ᮪, Sunda Wiwitan, aboriginal Pasundan) Sunda Wiwitan is a folk religion and ancient beliefs adhered to by the Sundanese (including Baduy people, Bantenese, Cirebonese) in the western part of Java. ...
,
Toraja
The Torajans are an ethnic group indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 1,100,000, of whom 450,000 live in the regency of Tana Toraja ("Land of Toraja"). Most of the population is Chri ...
n Aluk To Dolo, and
Batak
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, ...
Malim, with their own unique syncretic faith, have declared themselves as Hindus in order to comply with Indonesian law, while preserving their distinct traditions with differences from mainstream Indonesian Hinduism dominated by the Balinese. These factors and political activity has led to a certain resurgence of Hinduism outside of its Balinese stronghold.
In February 2020,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Joko Widodo
Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), popularly known as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who is the 7th and current president of Indonesia. Elected in July 2014, he was the first Indonesian president not to come from an elite ...
issued a presidential regulation elevating the status of Hindu Dharma State Institute in Denpasar, Bali into the country's first Hindu state university, named I Gusti Bagus Sugriwa State Hindu University. This institution of Hindu higher study started out as a state academy for teachers of Hindu religion in 1993, before being converted into the Hindu Religion State College in 1999, and then into the Hindu Dharma State Institute in 2004.
General beliefs and practices
The general beliefs and practices of ''Agama Hindu Dharma'' are a mixture of ancient traditions and contemporary pressures placed by Indonesian laws that permit only monotheist belief under the national ideology of ''panca sila''. Traditionally, Hinduism in Indonesia had a pantheon of deities and that tradition of belief continues in practice; further, Hinduism in Indonesia granted freedom and flexibility to Hindus as to when, how and where to pray. However, officially, Indonesian government considers and advertises Indonesian Hinduism as a monotheistic religion with certain officially recognized beliefs that comply with its national ideology. Indonesian school text books describe Hinduism as having one supreme being, Hindus offering three daily mandatory prayers, and Hinduism as having certain common beliefs that in part parallel those of Islam. Scholars contest whether these Indonesian government recognized and assigned beliefs reflect the traditional beliefs and practices of Hindus in Indonesia before Indonesia gained independence from Dutch colonial rule.
Some of these officially recognized Hindu beliefs include:
*A belief in one supreme being called 'Ida Sanghyang Widi Wasa', 'Sang
Hyang
''Hyang'' ( Kawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese) is a representation of the Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology. This spiritual entity can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found ...
Tunggal', or ' Sang Hyang Acintya'. 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
Smartism
The ''Smarta'' tradition ( sa, स्मार्त), also called Smartism, is a movement in Hinduism that developed and expanded with the Puranas genre of literature. It reflects a synthesis of four philosophical strands, namely Mimamsa, A ...
, which also holds that the different forms of God,
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
, Siva are different aspects of the same Supreme Being. Lord Shiva is also worshiped in other forms such as "Batara Guru" and "Maharaja Dewa" (
Mahadeva Mahadeva may refer to:
Religion
*Mahadeva, a title of the Hindu god Shiva
** Parashiva, a form of Shiva
** Parameshwara (god), a form of Shiva
*Para Brahman, a Hindu deity
*Adi-Buddha, in Buddhism, the "First Buddha" or the "Primordial Buddha"
*M ...
) are closely identified with the Sun in local forms of Hinduism or Kebatinan, and even in the
genie
Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources)
– are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mytho ...
lore of Muslims.
*A belief in the
Trimurti
The Trimūrti (; Sanskrit: त्रिमूर्ति ', "three forms" or "trinity") are the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified as a triad of de ...
, consisting of:
**
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
, the creator.
**Wisnu or
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
, the preserver.
**Çiwa or
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
, the destroyer.
*A belief in all of the other Hindu gods and goddesses (
Hyang
''Hyang'' ( Kawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese) is a representation of the Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology. This spiritual entity can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found ...
, Dewata and Batara-Batari).
The sacred texts found in ''Agama Hindu Dharma'' are the
Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
and
Upanishad
The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...
s. They are the basis of Indian and Balinese Hinduism. Other sources of religious information include the Universal Hindu
Purana
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
s and the
Itihasa
Itihasa () refers to the collection of written descriptions of important events in Hinduism. It includes the Mahabharata, the Puranas and the Ramayana. The Mahabharata includes the story of the Kurukshetra War and preserves the traditions of ...
(mainly ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'' and the ''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
''). The epics ''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
'' and ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'' became enduring traditions among Indonesian believers, expressed in shadow puppet (''
wayang
, also known as ( jv, ꦮꦪꦁ, translit=wayang), is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as . Perfor ...
'') and dance performances. As in India, Indonesian Hinduism recognizes four paths of spirituality, calling it ''Catur Marga''. These are bhakti mārga (path of devotion to deities), jnana mārga (path of knowledge), karma mārga (path of works) and raja mārga (path of meditation). Bhakti marga has the largest following in Bali. Similarly, like Hindus in India, Balinese Hindus believe that there are four proper goals of human life, calling it ''Catur Purusartha'' -
dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
(pursuit of moral and ethical living),
artha
''Artha'' (; sa, अर्थ; Tamil: ''poruḷ'' / ''பொருள்'') is one of the four aims of human life in Indian philosophy.James Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Rosen Publishing, New York, , pp 55–56 T ...
(pursuit of wealth and creative activity),
kama
''Kama'' (Sanskrit ) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsकाम, kāmaMonier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 271, see 3rd column Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, sexual ...
(pursuit of joy and love) and
moksha
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...
(pursuit of self-knowledge and liberation).
Forms of Hinduism
Balinese Hinduism
Balinese Hinduism is an amalgamation of Indian religions and indigenous animist customs that existed in Indonesian archipelago before the arrival of Islam and later Dutch colonialism. It integrates many of the core beliefs of Hinduism with arts and rituals of Balinese people. In contemporary times, Hinduism in Bali is officially referred by Indonesian Ministry of Religion as ''Agama Hindu Dharma'', but traditionally the religion was called by many names such as Tirta, Trimurti, Hindu, Agama Tirta, Siwa, Buda, and Siwa-Buda. The terms Tirta and Trimurti emanate from Indian Hinduism, corresponding to Tirtha (pilgrimage to spirituality near holy waters) and Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) respectively. As in India, Hinduism in Bali grew with flexibility, featuring a diverse way of life. It includes many of the Indian spiritual ideas, cherishes legends and myths of Indian
Purana
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
s and Hindu Epics, as well as expresses its traditions through unique set of festivals and customs associated with a myriad of
hyang
''Hyang'' ( Kawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese) is a representation of the Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology. This spiritual entity can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found ...
s - the local and ancestral spirits, as well as forms of animal sacrifice that are not common in India.
Balinese Hindu temple
The
Balinese temple
A pura is a Balinese Hindu temple, and the place of worship for adherents of Balinese Hinduism in Indonesia. Puras are built in accordance to rules, style, guidance and rituals found in Balinese architecture. Most puras are found on the island o ...
is called ''Pura''. These temples are designed on square
Hindu temple
A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...
plan, 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 affiliation. Some house 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. In rural highlands of Bali, ''banua'' (or ''wanwa'', forest domain) temples in each ''desa'' (village) are common. The island of Bali has over 20,000 temples, or about one temple for every 100 to 200 people. Temples are dedicated to local spirits as well as to deities found in India; for example, Saraswati, Ganesha, Wisnu, Siwa, Parvati, Arjuna, and others. The temple design similarly amalgamate architectural principles in Hindu temples of India and regional ideas.
Each individual has a family deity, called Kula dewa, who resides in the temple called the family temple that the individual and his family patronize. Balinese Hindu follow a 210-day calendar (based on rice crop and lunar cycles), and each temple celebrates its anniversary once every 210 days (the calendar is known as
Pawukon calendar
The Pawukon is a 210-day calendar that has its origins in the Hindu religion in Bali, Indonesia. The calendar consists of 10 different concurrent weeks of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 days. On the first day of the year it is the first day of ...
). Unique rituals and festivals of Balinese Hindus, that are not found in India, include those related to death of a loved one followed by cremations, cockfights, tooth filings, Nyepi and Galungan. Each temple anniversary, as well as festivals and family events such as wedding include flowers, offerings, towering bamboos with decoration at the end and a procession. These are celebrated by the community with prayers and feast. Most festivals have a temple as venue, and they are often occasions for prayers, celebration of arts and community. Some traditions, in contrast, involve animist rituals such as ''caru'' (animal blood sacrifice) such as ''Tabuh Rah'' (lethal cockfighting) or killing of an animal to appease ''buta kala'' (spirits of the earth) - however, the animal sacrifices are conducted outside the premises of a temple.
Balinese Hindu art
Dance, music, colorful ceremonial dresses and other arts are a notable feature of religious expression among Balinese Hindus. As in India, these expressions celebrate various mudra to express ideas, grace, decorum and culture. Dance-drama is common. Various stories are expressed. For example, one involves a battle between the mythical characters
Rangda
Rangda is the demon queen regnant, queen of the Leyaks in Bali, according to traditional Balinese mythology. Terrifying to behold, the child-eating Rangda leads an army of evil Witchcraft, witches against the leader of the forces of good — ...
the witch (representing adharma, something like disorder) and Barong the protective spirit represented with a lion mask (representing
dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
), in which performers fall into a trance, the good attempts to conquer evil, the dancers express the idea that good and evil exists within each individual, and that conquering evil implies ejecting evil from oneself. Balinese paintings are notable for their highly vigorous yet refined, intricate art that resembles baroque folk art with tropical themes. The dance-drama regularly ends undecided, neither side winning, because the primary purpose is to restore balance and recognize that the battle between dharma and adharma (good and evil) is within each person and a never ending one. Barong, or
dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
, is a major symbolic and ritual paradigm found in various festivities, dances, arts and temples.
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.
Balinese Hindu society
Scholars dispute the degree and nature of social stratification in medieval and contemporary Balinese Hindu society. The social structure consisted of ''catur wangsa'' (four varnas) - ''
brahmana
The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within ea ...
'' (priests), ''
satriya
''Sattriya'' ( as, সত্ৰীয়া), or ''Sattriya Nritya'', is a major Indian classical dance. This dance was initially created as part of Bhaona which are performances of '' Ankiya Nat'', one-act plays, originally created by Sankard ...
'' or "Deva" (warriors), '' waisya'' (merchants), and '' sudra'' (farmers, artisans, commoners). There is no historical or contemporary cultural record of untouchables in Balinese Hindu society. The wangsa - termed castes by some accounts, classes by other accounts - were functional, not hierarchical nor segregated in Hindu society of Bali or Java. Further, there was social mobility - people could change their occupation and caste if they wished to. Among the interior highlands of Bali, the desa (villages) have had no wangsa, the social status and profession of a person has been mutable, and marriages not endogamous.Thomas Anton Reuter (2002), Custodians of the Sacred Mountains: Culture and Society in the Highlands of Bali, University of Hawaii Press, , Chapter 1 Historical inscriptions suggest Balinese Hindu kings and village chiefs have come from all sections of its society - priests, warriors, merchants and artisans.
Hinduism in Java
Both
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
and
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
were subject to considerable cultural influence from the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
. The earliest evidences of Hindu influences in Java can be found in 4th century
Tarumanagara
Tarumanagara or Taruma Kingdom or just Taruma is an early Sundanese Indianised kingdom, located in western Java, whose 5th-century ruler, Purnawarman, produced the earliest known inscriptions in Java, which are estimated to date from around ...
inscriptions scattered around modern
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
and
Bogor
Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.Straits of Malacca
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connec ...
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.From the 4th to the 15th century, Java had many Hindu kingdoms, such as Tarumanagara,
Kalingga
Kalingga ( jv, Karajan Kalingga; 訶陵 ''Hēlíng'' or 闍婆 ''She-pó / She-bó'' in Chinese sources) was a 6th-century Indianized kingdom on the north coast of Central Java, Indonesia. It was the earliest Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in Central ...
Sunda Sunda may refer to:
Europe
* Sunda, Faroe Islands
India
* Sunda (asura), an asura brother of Upasunda
* Sunda (clan), a clan (gotra) of Jats in Haryana and Rajasthan, India
Southeast Asia
* Sundanese (disambiguation)
** Sundanese people ...
,
Singhasari
Singhasari ( jv, ꦏꦫꦠꦺꦴꦤ꧀ꦱꦶꦔ꧀ꦲꦱꦫꦶ, translit=Karaton Singhasari or , id, Kerajaan Singasari) was a Javanese Hindu kingdom located in east Java between 1222 and 1292. The kingdom succeeded the Kingdom of Kediri as ...
and
Majapahit
Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was ba ...
. This era is popularly known as the Javanese Classical Era, during which Hindu-Buddhist literature, art and architecture flourished and were incorporated into local culture under royal patronage. During this time, many Hindu temples were built, including 9th century
Prambanan
Prambanan ( id, Candi Prambanan, jv, ꦫꦫꦗꦺꦴꦁꦒꦿꦁ, Rara Jonggrang) is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimūrti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the P ...
near
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...
, which has been designated a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. Among these Hindu kingdoms, Majapahit kingdom was the largest and the last significant Hindu kingdom in
Indonesian history
The history of Indonesia has been shaped by geographic position, its natural resources, a series of human migrations and contacts, wars of conquest, the spread of Islam from the island of Sumatra in the 7th century AD and the establishment of ...
. Majapahit was based in East Java, from where it ruled a large part of what is now Indonesia. The remnants of the Majapahit kingdom shifted to
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
during the sixteenth century after a prolonged war by and territorial losses to Islamic sultanates.Jean Gelman Taylor, Indonesia: Peoples and Histories, Yale University Press, , pp. 21-83 and 142-173
The heritage of Hinduism left a significant impact and imprint in Javanese and
Sundanese
Sundanese may refer to:
* Sundanese people
* Sundanese language
* Sundanese script
Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...
art and culture. The
wayang
, also known as ( jv, ꦮꦪꦁ, translit=wayang), is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as . Perfor ...
puppet performance as well as
wayang wong
''Wayang wong'', also known as ''wayang orang'' (literally "human ''wayang''"), is a type of classical Javanese and Balinese dance theatrical performance with themes taken from episodes of the '' Ramayāna'' or '' Mahabharāta''. Performances ...
dance and other Javanese and Sundanese classical dances are derived from episodes of Hindu epics
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
and
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
. Although the vast majority of Javanese and Sundanese now identify as Muslim, these art forms still survive. Hinduism has survived in varying degrees and forms on Java. Certain ethnic groups in Java, such as the Tenggerese and Osing, are also associated with Hindu religious traditions.
Tengger Hindus of Java
The Tengger community follows a Hindu tradition stretching back to the
Majapahit Empire
Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesia ...
. There are strong similarities between the Hinduism in
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
and the Tengger variety; both are called
Hindu Dharma
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global pop ...
. However, the Tengger variety does not have a caste system and the Tengger people's traditions are based on those originating from the
Majapahit
Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was ba ...
era. For the Tengger,
Mount Bromo
The Bromo ( jv, ꦧꦿꦩ), or Mount Bromo ( jv, ꦒꦸꦤꦸꦁꦧꦿꦩ Pegon: , Gunung Bromo) is an active somma volcano and part of the Tengger mountain range, Tengger mountains, in East Java, Indonesia. At it is not the highest pea ...
(
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
) is believed to be a holy mountain. Every year the Tengger hold a ritual known as Yadnya Kasada.
Osing Hindus of Java
In spite of the Dutch attempts to propagate Islam and Christianity among the Osings, some of them still stuck to their old beliefs. Today Hinduism still exists among the Osing population. The Osings share a similar culture and spirit with the Balinese, and the Hindus celebrate ceremonies like Nyepi. Just like the
Balinese people
The Balinese people ( id, suku Bali; ban, ᬳᬦᬓ᭄ᬩᬮᬶ, anak Bali) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Indonesian island of Bali. The Balinese population of 4.2 million (1.7% of Indonesia's population) live mostly on the ...
, the Osing people also share the
puputan
''Puputan'' is a Balinese term for a mass ritual suicide in preference to facing the humiliation of surrender. It originally seems to have meant a last desperate attack against a numerically superior enemy.: "The Balinese term ''puputan'' comes f ...
tradition. The Osing people differs from the
Balinese people
The Balinese people ( id, suku Bali; ban, ᬳᬦᬓ᭄ᬩᬮᬶ, anak Bali) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Indonesian island of Bali. The Balinese population of 4.2 million (1.7% of Indonesia's population) live mostly on the ...
in terms of social stratification. The Osing people does not practice
caste system
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
like the
Balinese people
The Balinese people ( id, suku Bali; ban, ᬳᬦᬓ᭄ᬩᬮᬶ, anak Bali) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Indonesian island of Bali. The Balinese population of 4.2 million (1.7% of Indonesia's population) live mostly on the ...
, even though they are Hindus.
Hinduism elsewhere in the archipelago
Among the non-Balinese communities considered to be Hindu by the government are, for example, the Dayak adherents of the
Kaharingan
''Kaharingan'' is an indigenous animistic folk religion of the Katingan, Lawangan, Ma'anyan, Ngaju, and Ot Danum people native to the Central Kalimantan region in Indonesia.
The word means something like ''Way of the life'', and this belief ...
religion in
Kalimantan Tengah
Central Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Tengah) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. Its provincial capital is Palangka Raya and in 2010 its population was over 2.2 million, while the 20 ...
, where government statistics counted Hindus as 15.8% of the population . Many Manusela and
Nuaulu
The Nuaulu, Naulu or Nunuhai are a tribe located in Seram, Maluku, Indonesia.
Description
The tribe name 'Nuaulu' means head atersof the Nua River, which is the ancestral homeland of the Nuaulu people. In the late 19th century or early 20th cen ...
people of
Seram
Seram (formerly spelled Ceram; also Seran or Serang) is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Island's historical importance. It is located just north of the smaller Ambon Island and a few other adjacent is ...
follow ''Naurus'', a syncretism of Hinduism with animist and Protestant elements.Indonesia: Religious Freedoms Report 2010 US State Department (2011), Quote: "The Ministry of Religious Affairs estimates that 10 million Hindus live in the country and account for approximately 90 percent of the population in Bali. Hindu minorities also reside in Central and East Kalimantan, the city of Medan (North Sumatra), South and Central Sulawesi, and Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara). Hindu groups such as Hare Krishna and followers of the Indian spiritual leader Sai Baba are present in small numbers. Some indigenous religious groups, including the "Naurus" on Seram Island in Maluku Province, incorporate Hindu and animist beliefs, and many have also adopted some Protestant teachings." Similarly, the Torajans of
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
have identified their animistic religion ''Aluk To Dolo '' as Hindu. The
Batak
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, ...
of Sumatra have identified their animist traditions with Hinduism. Among the minority
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
ethnic group, Tamils, Malayalis, Telugus and Punjabis of Medan, Sumatra and the Sindhis 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
Deepavali
Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali (IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is on ...
and
Thaipusam
Thaipusam or Thaipoosam (Tamil: தைப்பூசம், ''taippūcam'' ?), is a festival celebrated by the Hindu Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of ''Thai'' (January/February), usually coinciding with Pushya star, kno ...
Sasak
The Sasak people live mainly on the island of Lombok, Indonesia, numbering around 3.6 million (85% of Lombok's population). They are related to the Balinese in language and ancestry, although the Sasak are predominantly Muslim while the Bali ...
people on the island of
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. It is rou ...
are non-Muslim; their religion is a fusion of Hinduism and Buddhism with animism; it is considered Buddhist by the government. In parts of
Samarinda
Samarinda is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The city lies on the banks of the Mahakam River with a land area of . Samarinda ranks first on East Kalimantan Human dev ...
and
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. It is rou ...
especially
Cakranegara
Mataram ( Indonesian: ''Kota Mataram'') is a city and the capital of the Indonesian province of West Nusa Tenggara. The city is surrounded on all the landward sides by (but is not administratively contained within) West Lombok Regency and lies ...
,
Nyepi
Nyepi is a Balinese "Day of Silence" that is commemorated every ''Isakawarsa'' (Saka new year) according to the Balinese calendar (in 2023, it falls on March 22). It is a Balinese celebration mainly celebrated in Bali, Indonesia. Nyepi, a publi ...
is celebrated.
A majority of the population on the small island of Tanimbar Kei practices a variant of the Hindu religion, which involves a form of ancestral worship. The island of Tanimbar Kei is not part of Tanimbar, as the name might suggest, but is one of the
Kai Islands
The Kai Islands (also Kei Islands) of Indonesia are a group of islands in the southeastern part of the Maluku Islands, located in the province of Maluku (province), Maluku. The Moluccas have been known as the Spice Islands due to regionally sp ...
. As of 2014, it is inhabited by ca. 600 people.
Demographics
The Hindu organisation Ditjen Bimas Hindu (DBH) carries out periodic surveys through its close connections with Hindu communities throughout Indonesia. In 2012 its studies stated that there are 10,267,724 Hindus in Indonesia. The PHDI (
Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia
Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia (''Indonesian Hindu Dharma Society'') is a major reform movement and organization that assisted in the revival of Hinduism in Indonesia. It was started in 1959 by Ida Bagus Mantra and led by Gedong Bagus Oka.
Cr ...
) along with other some other religious minority groups claim that the government undercounts non-Muslims in census recording. The 2018 census recorded the number of Hindus at 4,646,357 with some 80% of them residing in the Hindu heartland of Bali.
Outside
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
, Hindus form a majority in
Tosari
Tosari is a village in the Tengger Mountains of East Java, Indonesia. It is near Pasuruan and is on a route to nearby Mount Bromo. The Tosari Sanitorium was advertised in a 1919 brochure.Pasuruan Regency
Pasuruan Regency ( id, Kabupaten Pasuruan) is a regency in East Java, province of Indonesia. The capital of this regency is Bangil. It had a population of 1,512,468 at the 2010 Census and 1,605,969 at the 2020 Census. This total excludes the pop ...
in
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
Parigi Moutong Regency
Parigi Moutong Regency is a regency of Central Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 6,231.85 km2 and had a population of 413,588 at the 2010 Census and 440,015 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 443,170. Th ...
in
Central Sulawesi
Central Sulawesi (Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,635,009 for ...
, Mappak (50%) in
Tana Toraja Regency
Tana Toraja ( 'Toraja Land' in Toraja language) is a landlocked regency ('' kabupaten'') of South Sulawesi Province of Indonesia, and home to the Toraja ethnic group. It covers an area of and had a population of 221,081 at the 2010 census and 28 ...
in
South Sulawesi
South Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Selatan) is a province in the southern peninsula of Sulawesi. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital is Makassar. The province is bordered by Central Sula ...
. Significant Hindu population is also found in Torue (41%) and Sausu (30%) districts in
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
; Tomoni Timur (35%), Angkona (27%), Simbuang (36%) and Tellulimpo E (40%) districts in
South Sulawesi
South Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Selatan) is a province in the southern peninsula of Sulawesi. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital is Makassar. The province is bordered by Central Sula ...
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. It is rou ...
.
Official Census (2018)
According to the 2018 census, there were a total of 4,646,357 Hindus in Indonesia, compared to the 4,012,116 Hindus in 2010 census. The percentages of Hinduism in Indonesia increased from 1.69% in 2010 to 1.74% in 2018 in 8 years respectively.
Official Census (2010)
According to the 2010 Census, there were a total of 4,012,116 Hindus in Indonesia, compared to 3,527,758 Hindus in 2000 Census. While the absolute number of Hindus increased, the relative percentage of Hindus in Indonesia decreased from 2000 to 2010 because of lower birth rates among the Hindu population compared to the Muslim population. The average number of births per Hindu woman varied between 1.8 and 2.0 among various islands, while for the Muslim population it varied between 2.1 and 3.2 per woman.
Official Census (2000)
According to the 2000 census,
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
made up 1.79% of the total Indonesian population. Bali had the highest concentration of Hindus with 88.05% of its population professing Hinduism agama. The percentage of Hindus in the total population declined from the 1990 census, and this is largely attributed to lower birth rates and immigration of Muslims from Java into provinces with high Hindu populations. In Central
Kalimantan
Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo.
In 2019, ...
there has been progressive settlement of Madurese from Madura. The details are given below:
Hindu holidays in Indonesia
* Hari Raya 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
Kuningan ( su, ᮊᮥᮔᮤᮍᮔ᮪) is a town and district located in eastern West Java, Indonesia, between Cirebon
Cirebon (, formerly rendered Cheribon or Chirebon in English) is a port city on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of ...
is the last day of the holiday, when the gods and ancestors depart until the next Galungan.
* Hari Raya Saraswati is dedicated to 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 ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
, who was preoccupied with the goddess of material existence,
Shatarupa
Shatarupa ( sa, शतरूपा, Śatarūpā, she of a hundred forms) is the daughter of the creator deity, Brahma. According to ''Brahma Purana'', Shatarupa is regarded as the first woman to be created by Brahma, marrying Manu, the first m ...
. On this day, offerings are made to the lontar (
palm-leaf manuscripts
Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia reportedly dating back to the 5th century BCE. Their use began in South Asia and sp ...
), 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
The Pawukon is a 210-day calendar that has its origins in the Hindu religion in Bali, Indonesia. The calendar consists of 10 different concurrent weeks of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 days. On the first day of the year it is the first day of ...
calendar. Ceremonies and prayers are held at the temples in family compounds, educational institutions and temples, villages, and businesses from morning to noon. Teachers and students replace their uniforms for the day with bright and colorful ceremonial clothing, filling the island with color. Children bring fruit and traditional cakes to school for offerings at the temple.
* Hari Raya 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. The day following Nyepi night, everything stops for a day except emergency services such as ambulances. Nyepi is determined using the Balinese calendar, 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. Nyepi night is a night of community gathering and burning of effigies island-wide (similar to Karthikai in South India), while the next day is the day of total peace and quiet.
Social life
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
Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia (''Indonesian Hindu Dharma Society'') is a major reform movement and organization that assisted in the revival of Hinduism in Indonesia. It was started in 1959 by Ida Bagus Mantra and led by Gedong Bagus Oka.
Cr ...
'' changed its name to ''
Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia
Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia (''Indonesian Hindu Dharma Society'') is a major reform movement and organization that assisted in the revival of Hinduism in Indonesia. It was started in 1959 by Ida Bagus Mantra and led by Gedong Bagus Oka.
Cr ...
'' in 1984, in recognition of its national influence spearheaded by Gedong Bagus. 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 Blambangan Kingdom was the last Javanese Hindu kingdom that flourished between the 13th and 18th centuries, based in the eastern corner of Java. The capital was at Banyuwangi. It had a long history of its own, developing contemporaneously ...
, 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
Jayabhaya or Jayabaya ( Javanese spelled: Ratu Jayabaya) was the Javanese King of the Kediri Kingdom in East Java, Indonesia which ruled around 1135-1159 CE. With the title of ''abhiseka'' used is Sri Maharaja Sang Mapanji Jayabhaya Sri Warmesw ...
is said to have achieved spiritual liberation (
moksa
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologica ...
).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
Balinese literature refers to the oral and written Balinese language literature of the people of Bali, an island in Indonesia. It is generally divided into two periods: ''purwa'', or traditional; and ''anyar'', or modern.
Periodisation
There are ...
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
Trowulan is an archaeological site in Trowulan (subdistrict), Trowulan Subdistrict, Mojokerto Regency, in the Indonesian province of East Java. It includes approximately 100 square kilometres and has been theorized to be the site of the eponymo ...
near Mojokerto. The site may be the location of the capital of the Hindu empire
Majapahit
Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was ba ...
. 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
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
worship. The temple is to be dedicated to
Gajah Mada
Gajah Mada (c. 1290 – c. 1364), also known as JirnnodharaMunandar, 2010: 77 was, according to Old Javanese manuscripts, poems, and inscriptions, a powerful military leader and '' Mahapatih'' (the approximate equivalent of a modern Prime ...
, the man attributed with transforming the small
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
kingdom of
Majapahit
Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was ba ...
into an empire.In Karanganyar region in Central Java, the renovated 14th century
Cetho
Ceto ( id, Candi Ceto) is a fifteenth-century Javanese-Hindu temple that is located on the western slope of Mount Lawu ( elev. 1495 m above sea level) on the border between Central and East Java provinces.
Cetho is one of several temples built ...
temple on the slope of
Mount Lawu
The Lawu ( jv, ꦭꦮꦸ), or Mount Lawu ( jv, ꦒꦸꦤꦸꦁꦭꦮꦸ, 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 s ...
has become the center of Javanese Hinduism and gain patronage of Balinese temples and royal houses. A ne temple is being built East of Solo (
Surakarta
Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoh ...
). It is a Hindu temple that has miniatures of 50 sacred sites around the world. It is also an active kundalini yoga meditation center 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
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...
in
East Java
East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...
, Hindu communities are also expanding in Central Java (Lyon 1980), for example in
Klaten
Klaten Regency ( jv, ꦏ꧀ꦭꦛꦺꦤ꧀, Klathèn) is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency in Central Java province in Indonesia. It covers an area of 655.56 km2 and had a population of 1,130,047 at the 2010 Census and 1,260,506 at the 2020 ...
, near the ancient Hindu monuments of
Prambanan
Prambanan ( id, Candi Prambanan, jv, ꦫꦫꦗꦺꦴꦁꦒꦿꦁ, Rara Jonggrang) is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimūrti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the P ...
. Today the Prambanan temple stages various annual Hindu ceremonies and festivals such as Galungan and Nyepi.
In
West Java
West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
, a Hindu temple
Pura Parahyangan Agung Jagatkarta
Pura Parahyangan Agung Jagatkarta ("the perfect divine nature") or often referred to simply as Pura Parahyangan is a Hindu temple of Nusantara located in Ciapus village, Tamansari subdistrict, Bogor Regency, West Java, Indonesia.
The temple comp ...
was built on the slope of
Mount Salak
Mount Salak ( id, Gunung Salak, su, Gunung Salak) is an eroded volcano in West Java, Indonesia. It has several satellite cones on its southeast flank and the northern foot, along with two additional craters at the summit. Mount Salak has been e ...
near the historic site of ancient
Sunda Kingdom
The Sunda Kingdom ( su, , Karajaan Sunda, ) was a Sundanese Hindu kingdom located in the western portion of the island of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Centra ...
capital,
Pakuan Pajajaran
Pakuan Pajajaran (or ᮕᮊᮥᮝᮔ᮪ᮕᮏᮏᮛᮔ᮪/ Dayeuh Pakuan/Pakwan or Pajajaran) was the fortified capital city of Sunda Kingdom. The location is roughly corresponds to modern Bogor city in West Java, Indonesia, approximately around t ...
in modern
Bogor
Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.Balinese Hindu population in the
Greater Jakarta
The Jakarta metropolitan area or Greater Jakarta, known locally as Jabodetabek (an acronym of Jakarta–Bogor–Depok–Tangerang–Bekasi), and sometimes extended to Jabodetabekjur (with the acronym extended to include part of Cianjur Regency) ...
region. However, because the temple stands in a Sundanese sacred place, and also hosts a shrine dedicated to the famous Sundanese king,
Prabu Siliwangi
King Siliwangi was the ruler of the Kingdom of Pajajaran in West Java from 1482 to 1521. He was a member of the Sunda royal family and was the son of King Jayabaya and Queen Tribuana Tungga Dewi. Siliwangi was a skilled military leader and under ...
, the site has gained popularity among
locals
Locals Technology Inc., also referred to as locals.com, is a creator crowdfunding site cofounded by Dave Rubin and Assaf Lev. It started in 2019 and is based in Miami.
The site was founded after Rubin and Jordan Peterson left Patreon in response ...
who wish to reconnect their ties with their ancestors.
Tourism
The predominantly Hindu island of Bali is the largest tourist draw in Indonesia. Next to natural beauty, the temple architecture, the elaborate Hindu festivals, rich culture, colorful art and vivid dances are the main attractions of Balinese
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
. As a result, tourism and hospitality services are flourishing as one of the most important sources of income and generation of Balinese economy. The high tourist activity in Bali is in contrast with other provinces in Indonesia where the Hindu population is not significant or is absent.
The
Government of Indonesia
The term Government of Indonesia ( id, Pemerintah Indonesia) can have a number of different meanings. At its widest, it can refer collectively to the three traditional branches of government – the executive branch, legislative branch and ju ...
also invests and focuses on the Ancient sites and buildings of Hindu religion, along with Buddhist ones.
Culture
Before
Islamization of Indonesia
The history of the arrival of Islam in Indonesia is somewhat unclear. One theory states that Islam arrived directly from Arabia as early as the 9th century, during the time of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates. Another theory credits Sufi trav ...
, the art and culture of
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
was deepely affected by the
Hindu culture
Hinduism () is an Indian religions, Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the Major religious groups, world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion ...
Indonesian Muslims
Islam is the largest religion in Indonesia, with 86.7% of the Indonesian population identifying themselves as Muslim in a 2018 survey. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim-majority country, with approximately 231 million adherents.
In te ...
and
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, especially in
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
,
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
and other islands follows the culture and traditions like that of
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
. There are many well known and often visited
Hindu temples in Indonesia
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, many of them are present in the islands are a good places for worship and tourism.
Pura Taman Saraswati
Pura Taman Saraswati, officially Pura Taman Kemuda Saraswati, also known as the Ubud Water Palace, is a Balinese Hindu temple in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. The pura is dedicated to the goddess Sarasvati. Pura Taman Saraswati is notable for its lotus ...
, dedicated to the goddess
Sarasvati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a god ...
,
Ubud
Ubud is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali in Ubud District, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency. Promoted as an arts and culture centre, it has developed a large tourism industry. ...
,
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
.
File:Ubud, Pura Taman Saraswati (6827593602).jpg, A Candi in
Ubud
Ubud is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali in Ubud District, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency. Promoted as an arts and culture centre, it has developed a large tourism industry. ...
.
File:Prambanan Complex 1.jpg,
Prambanan
Prambanan ( id, Candi Prambanan, jv, ꦫꦫꦗꦺꦴꦁꦒꦿꦁ, Rara Jonggrang) is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimūrti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the P ...
, the largest Hindu temple compound in Indonesia.
File:011 Pura Majapahit Linga and Yoni (25595649557).jpg,
Lingam
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...
in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, in a temple.
File:Kuta Bali Indonesia Pura-Jagatnatha-02.jpg, Pura Jagat Natha.
The
Hindu temple
A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...
structure and architecture in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
differs from the rest part of the world and has also quite diversity among them also. The temples structures in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
can be classified in 3 ways:
# '' Candi'', the Javanese ancient Hindu temple. (This type of temple structure and architecture is mostly founded in
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
Pura
Pura may refer to:
Places
* Pura, Kushtagi, a village in Koppal district, Karnataka, India
* Pura, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province, Iran
* Pura, Tarlac, a municipality in the Philippines
* Pura, Switzerland, a municipality in Ticino, Swit ...
'', the Balinese temples. (A Pura is a
Balinese temple
A pura is a Balinese Hindu temple, and the place of worship for adherents of Balinese Hinduism in Indonesia. Puras are built in accordance to rules, style, guidance and rituals found in Balinese architecture. Most puras are found on the island o ...
mandir
A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...
'', the Indian Hindu temples. (It is normal temple with a Gopuram and is like temples like elsewhere).
Symbolism
The
Hindu culture
Hinduism () is an Indian religions, Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the Major religious groups, world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion ...
and practices insipires many modern symbols and has crucial role in
Indonesian history
The history of Indonesia has been shaped by geographic position, its natural resources, a series of human migrations and contacts, wars of conquest, the spread of Islam from the island of Sumatra in the 7th century AD and the establishment of ...
and also in present scenario.
* The National emblem of Indonesia is called
Garuda Pancasila
The national emblem or coat of arms of Indonesia is called ''Garuda Pancasila''. The main part is the Garuda with a heraldic shield on its chest and a scroll gripped by its legs. The shield's five emblems represent '' Pancasila'', the five prin ...
.
Garuda
Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...
, the discipled carrier or vehicle (
vahana
''Vahana'' ( sa, वाहन, or animal vehicle, literally "that which carries, that which pulls") denotes the being, typically an animal or mythical, a particular Hindus, Hindu God is said to use as a vehicle. In this capacity, the vahana ...
) of Lord
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
, appears in many ancient
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
temples of ancient Indonesia. ''Garuda Pancasila'' was designed by
Sultan Hamid II
Sultan Hamid II (born Syarif Abdul Hamid Alkadrie; 12 July 1913 – 30 March 1978) was the eighth Sultan of Pontianak and the only President of the State of West Kalimantan from 1946 to its disestablishment in 1950. He was the eldest son of ...
from
Pontianak
Pontianak or Khuntien is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded first as a trading port on the island of Borneo, occupying an area of 118.31 km2 in the delta of the Kapuas River at a point where it is joined by ...
, supervised by
Sukarno
Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967.
Sukarno was the leader of ...
, and was adopted as the national emblem on 11 February 1950. The
Garuda Indonesia
Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia, headquartered at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. A successor of KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, it is a member of SkyTeam and the second-largest airline of Indonesia after Lion Air, operat ...
, the national
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
of
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
is said to be insipired from the same
Garuda
Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...
.
*There are many names of
Indonesians
Indonesians (Indonesian: ''orang Indonesia'') are citizens or people originally from Indonesia, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. There are more than 1,300 ethnicities in Indonesia, making it a multicultural archipelagic coun ...
, including
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
and
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
have
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
or
Hindu deities
Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. The terms and epithets for deities within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Ishvari, Bhagavān and Bhagavati.
The deities of Hinduism have evolved ...
names, such as Wisnu, Surya, etc.
Notable Hindus
Monarchs
*
Kudungga
Kudungga (read: ''"Ku-ṇḍu-ṅga"'', honorific title: Maharaja Kudungga Anumerta Devavarman) was the founder of the Kutai Martadipura kingdom who ruled around the year 350 AD or 4th century AD. Kudungga first ruled the kingdom of Kutai Marta ...
*
Mulavarman
Sri Mulavarman Nala Dewa (spelled Mulawarman in Indonesian), was the king of the Kutai Martadipura Kingdom located in eastern Borneo around the year 400 CE. What little is known of him comes from the seven Yupa inscriptions found at a sanctuary ...
*
Purnawarman
Purnawarman or Purnavarman is the 5th-century king of Tarumanagara, a Hindu Indianized kingdom, located in modern-day West Java, Jakarta and Banten provinces, Indonesia. Purnawarman reigned during the 5th century, and during his reign he create ...
*
Adityawarman
Adityawarman (formal regnal name Maharajadiraja Srīmat Srī Udayādityawarma Pratāpaparākrama Rājendra Maulimāli Warmadewa. ) was a king of Malayapura Suvarnabhumi, and is the successor of the Mauli dynasty based on central Sumatra. He was ...
*
Airlangga
Airlangga (also spelled Erlangga), regnal name Rakai Halu Sri Lokeswara Dharmawangsa Airlangga Anantawikramottunggadewa (born 1000/02 in Bali, Indonesia – died 1049 in Java), was the only raja of the Kingdom of Kahuripan. The Kingdom was ...
*
Anak Wungsu Anak Wungsu was the youngest brother of Airlangga, who succeeded him as the ruler of Bali and Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and t ...
Anusapati
Anusapati, Anushanatha, or Anushapati, is the second king of Singhasari, an Indianized Hindu kingdom located in east Java between 1222 and 1248.
He was the son of Tunggul Ametung, the first husband of Ken Dedes. Anushapati assassinated Ken Arok ...
*
Arjayadengjayaketana
Queen Arjayadengjayaketana of Bali was a ruler of that island in 1200.
She was a member of Jaya Dynasty ( Warmadewa dynasty) and successor of King Jayapangus, who was maybe her father.
Arjayadengjayaketana was likely a mother of King Haji Ekaj ...
*
Ken Arok
Ken Arok (or Ken Angrok), Rajasa (died c. 1227), was the founder and first ruler of Singhasari (also spelled Singosari), a medieval Indianized Hindu–Buddhist kingdom in the East Java area of Indonesia. He is considered the founder of the Rajas ...
*
Balitung
Sri Maharaja Rakai Watukura Dyah Balitung Sri Dharmodaya Mahasambu was the king of the Kingdom of Mataram. He reigned circa 899–911. His territories included Central Java, East Java, and Bali. In 907 he created the Mantyasih inscription (also kn ...
*
Dalem Baturenggong
Dalem Baturenggong, also called Waturenggong or Enggong, was a King ( Dalem) of Bali who is believed to have reigned in the mid 16th century. He is in particular associated with the golden age of the Balinese kingdom of Gelgel, with political ex ...
*
Dalem Ketut
Dalem Ketut was a king ( Dalem) of Bali who ruled at an uncertain time during the age of the Javanese Majapahit Empire (1293-c. 1527). While first a vassal ruler under the Majapahit kings, he later emerged as the king of a separate island realm. ...
*
Dalem Samprangan
Dalem Samprangan was a king of Bali who governed under the suzerainty of the Javanese Majapahit Empire (1293-c. 1527), and belonged to a dynasty of immigrants from Java. The exact dating of his reign is unclear; the sources point at either the s ...
*
Dharmawangsa Dharmawangsa , stylized regnal name Sri Maharaja Isyana Dharmawangsa Teguh Anantawikramottunggadewa (died 1016) of the Isyana dynasty, was the last raja of the Kingdom of Mataram, who reigned from 990 to 1016 CE. He also known by his posthumous name ...
*
Hayam Wuruk
Hayam Wuruk (Sanskrit: हयम् वुरुक्, Kawi: ꦲꦪꦩ꧀ꦮꦸꦫꦸꦏ꧀) (1334–1389), also called Rajasanagara, Pa-ta-na-pa-na-wu, or Bhatara Prabhu after 1350, was a Javanese Hindu emperor from the Rajasa Dynasty and th ...
*
Isyana Tunggawijaya Isyana stylized as Sri Isyana Tunggawijaya was a queen regnant of Mataram Kingdom, in East Java, that ruled since 947 CE. She co-reigned with her spouse, Sri Lokapala. The Isyana dynasty, established by her father, Mpu Sindok that ruled Java circa t ...
*
Jayabaya
Jayabhaya or Jayabaya ( Javanese spelled: Ratu Jayabaya) was the Javanese King of the Kediri Kingdom in East Java, Indonesia which ruled around 1135-1159 CE. With the title of ''abhiseka'' used is Sri Maharaja Sang Mapanji Jayabhaya Sri Warmesw ...
*
Jayakatwang
Jayakatwang (died 1293) was the king of short lived second Kingdom of Kediri (also known as Gelang-gelang Kingdom) of Java, after his overthrow of Kertanegara, the last king of Singhasari. He was eventually defeated by Raden Wijaya, Kertanegara's ...
*
Jayanegara
Jayanegara or Jayanagara (formal regnal name Sri Maharaja Wiralandagopala Sri Sundarapandya Dewa Adhiswara, or Sri Sundarapandyadevadhisvara Vikramottungadeva, also known as Kala Gemet), Prince of Kediri in 1295, reigned from 1309 to 1328, was a J ...
*
Jayapangus
Jayapangus (r. 1178–81) was a king of Bali. He is known through his inscriptions, some of them related to taxes.
Biography
He was a descendant of the famous ruler Airlangga.Barski, p.34
Jayapangus was maybe a father of Queen Arjayadengjayak ...
*
Samara Vijayatunggavarman
Samara Vijayatunggavarman was the Maharaja of Srivijaya from 1045 CE.
Evidence
Srivijaya was thought to be destroyed by Chola during the attack in 1025. However, in 1966, a Sri Lanka archaeologist named S. Puranavitana discovered two inscription ...
*
Sanjaya of Mataram
Sanjaya (, ) (AD 716 – 746) was the founder of Mataram Kingdom during the eighth century. His name was revealed in the Sanskrit Canggal inscription carved in a stone found at Gunung Wukir temple that stood on Wukir or Ukir hill (about hi ...
Siliwangi Siliwangi may refer to various people and institutions in the past and present of West Java, Indonesia:
* King Siliwangi (1482), eponymous ruler of Pajajaran Kingdom, a fifteenth century kingdom in West Java, centered in modern Bogor
* Siliwangi D ...
*
Mpu Sindok Śrī Mahārāja Rake Hino Dyaḥ Siṇḍok Śrī Īśānawikrama Dharmottuṅgadewawijaya (also known as Dyah Sindok, Mpu Sindok or Sindok) was the last king of the Sanjaya dynasty who ruled the Mataram Kingdom, Kingdom of Mataram from Central Ja ...
*
Sri Baduga Maharaja Sri Baduga Maharaja (Sundanese: ) or Sang Ratu Jayadewata (born 1401) was the great king of the Hindu Sunda kingdom in West Java, reigned 1482 to 1521 from his capital in Pakuan Pajajaran. He brought his kingdom greatness and prosperity.
King Jaya ...
*
Śri Wijaya Mahadewi Śri Wijaya Mahadewi of Bali (floruit 983), was a queen regnant of the Kingdom of Bali in 983-989.
She is attested from the Gobleg inscription, in which she granted her gave permission to the residents of Air Tabar to become the guardian of the Ind ...
*
Suhita
Suhita or Soheeta (died 1447), was a Javanese queen regnant and the sixth monarch of the Majapahit empire, ruling from 1429 to 1447. She was the daughter of Wikramawardhana, her predecessor, by a concubine who was the daughter of Wirabhumi, who ...
*
Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung
Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung ( Old Spelling: Ide Anak Agoeng Gde Agoeng; 21 July 1921 – 22 April 1999), alternatively spelled too as Ida Anak Agung Gde Agung, was an Indonesian ethnic- Balinese politician, historian, and National Hero, who was th ...
Religious leaders
*
Ratu Bagus
Ratu Bagus (November 1949 - August 12, 2021) was an Indonesian guru based in Bali, who developed a technique of Shaking Meditation, which he called "Bio-energy Shaking Meditation." He was said to transmit healing energy through his touch and p ...
Jayabaya
Jayabhaya or Jayabaya ( Javanese spelled: Ratu Jayabaya) was the Javanese King of the Kediri Kingdom in East Java, Indonesia which ruled around 1135-1159 CE. With the title of ''abhiseka'' used is Sri Maharaja Sang Mapanji Jayabhaya Sri Warmesw ...
Mangku Muriati Mangku Muriati (born in 1967) is a traditional-style Balinese painter and priestess from Kamasan village near Klungkung, Bali, Indonesia.
Mangku Muriati, born in 1967, paints in traditional Balinese form, known as Kamasan-style, where the aesthetic ...
*
Dang Hyang Nirartha
Danghyang Nirartha, also known as Pedanda Shakti Wawu Rauh, was a Shaivite religious figure in Bali and a Hindu traveler during the 16th century. He was the founder of the Shaivite priesthood in Bali.Pringle, p 65
Early life
Nirartha came to Ba ...
Ketut Wiana Ketut Wiana is a prominent Hindu scholar in Indonesia. He is one of the foremost authorities on Agama Hindu Dharma.
Judgements
He urged Balinese to not sacrifice turtles in puja and to follow Indonesian regulations on protecting the Sea Turtles, ...
Modern-day Hindus
*
Happy Salma
Happy Salma (born January 4, 1980) is an Indonesian actress, also known as producer of theatre performances and jewelry entrepreneur. She is one of the most influential figures in Asia, according to the Tatler Malaysia in 2020.
Career
Literatu ...
*
Ade Rai
Ade Rai (born I Gusti Agung Kusuma Yudha Rai; 6 May 1970) is an Indonesian professional natural bodybuilder and he also competed in amateur body building championships like SEA Games and Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, ...
*
Manoj Punjabi
Manoj Punjabi (born 7 December 1972) is an Indonesian film and television producer. He is the CEO & Founder of MD Entertainment, the biggest production house in Indonesia and the only national film company listed on the Indonesia Stock Exhange ( ...
*
Raam Punjabi Raam Jethmal Punjabi ( sd, رام ڄيٺمل پنجابي) is an Indian-Indonesian media magnate and president of Cinema of Indonesia#1990s, Multivision Plus. In 2001, due to his production of soap operas, he was referred to as "Indonesia's own soa ...
Sri Prakash Lohia
Sri Prakash Lohia (born 11 August 1952) is an Indian-born Indonesian billionaire businessman, and the founder and chairman of Indorama Corporation, a diversified petrochemical and textile company.
Lohia hails from India, but has spent the maj ...
*
I Wayan Koster
I Wayan Koster (born 20 October 1962) is an Indonesian politician who is the 10th governor of Bali. Before becoming governor, he was a member of the People's Representative Council representing the province.
A three-term parliamentarian represent ...
*
Dewa Budjana
I Dewa Gede Budjana (born August 30, 1963) is an Indonesian guitarist, songwriter and composer. He is the lead guitarist and songwriter of the band Gigi. Budjana's style changed dramatically to jazz as he got to know John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny ...
*
Sukmawati Sukarnoputri
Diah Mutiara Sukmawati Sukarnoputri (born 26 October 1951) is the third daughter of Indonesia’s founding president Sukarno and his wife Fatmawati. Sukmawati is the younger sister of former Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri and politician ...
See also
*
Acintya
Acintya (from Sanskrit: अचिन्त्य, "the inconceivable", "the unimaginable"), also known as Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa ( Balinese: "The Divine Order") and Sang Hyang Tunggal ("The Divine Oneness"), is the Supreme God of Indonesian Hin ...
*
Balinese Hinduism
Balinese Hinduism ( id, Agama Hindu Dharma; Agama Tirtha; Agama Air Suci; Agama Hindu Bali) is the form of Hinduism practised by the majority of the population of Bali.McDaniel, June (2013), A Modern Hindu Monotheism: Indonesian Hindus as ‘P ...
*
Candi of Indonesia
A candi () is a Hindu or Buddhist temple in Indonesia, mostly built during the ''Zaman Hindu-Buddha'' or " Hindu-Buddhist period" between circa the 4th and 15th centuries.
The ''Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia'' defines a ''candi'' as an ancient s ...
*
Hinduism in Java
Hinduism has historically been a major religious and cultural influence in Java. In recent years, it has also been enjoying something of a resurgence, particularly in the eastern part of the island.
History
Both Java and Sumatra were subject t ...
*
Hinduism in Southeast Asia
Hinduism in Southeast Asia had a profound impact on the region's Culture of Southeast Asia, cultural development and its History of Southeast Asia, history. As the Brahmic scripts, Indic scripts were introduced from India, people of Southeast ...
*
Dewi Sri
Dewi Sri or Shridevi (Javanese language, Javanese: ꦢꦺꦮꦶꦱꦿꦶ, Balinese language, Balinese: ᬤᬾᬯᬶᬲ᭄ᬭᬶ, Dewi Sri)(Sundanese language, Sundanese: ᮑᮄ ᮕᮧᮠᮎᮤ ᮞᮀᮠᮡᮀ ᮃᮞᮢᮤ, Nyai Pohaci Sanghyang ...
*
Hinduism in Bali
Hinduism in Indonesia, as of the 2018 census, is practised by about 1.74% of the total population, and almost 87% of the population in Bali. Hinduism is one of the six official religions of Indonesia. Hinduism came to Indonesia in the 1st-cen ...
*
List of Hindu empires and dynasties
Indian empires rose to power following the birth of Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism in the Indian subcontinent. The period of the Gupta Empire under Samudragupta is sometimes attributed to as the Golden Age of India.
List
The following list enumera ...
*
Hyang
''Hyang'' ( Kawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese) is a representation of the Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology. This spiritual entity can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found ...
List of Hindu temples in Indonesia
This is a list of Hindu temples and their remains in Indonesia. Indonesia has been part of Indosphere of Greater India where sanskritization and Hinduism spread across Indonesia.Mark Juergensmeyer and Wade Clark Roof, 2012Encyclopedia of Global Re ...
*
Religion in Indonesia
Several different religions are practised in Indonesia and in practice the country is a secular state.
Indonesia is officially a presidential republic and a unitary state. Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim populationFrederick, Wil ...
*
Sanskritization
Sanskritisation (or Sanskritization) is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek 'upward' mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or upper ...
*
Trisandya
The Trisandya (from sa, त्रिसन्ध्या पूज, Trisandhyā Puja (Hinduism), Puja, lit=three-cusp prayer) is a commonly-used prayer in Hinduism in India, Indian Hinduism and Balinese Hinduism. It is uttered three times each ...