Pura Girinatha is the largest Balinese Hindu temple in

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...

. It is located in the quarter Taibesi, in the south of the capital city of Dili, near the local market. The

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

is located on a small hill outside the city center, but is accessible by car.

History

Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also ...

has no traditional

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 ...

population. The temple was built during the

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 ...

n occupation and was intended for the Hindu immigrants of that time, who mainly came from Bali. The inauguration took place on 27 June 1987 by Governor of

Mário Viegas Carrascalão Mário Viegas Carrascalão (May 12, 1937 – May 19, 2017) was an East Timorese politician and diplomat. Carrascalão, a founder of the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) in 1974 and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 2000, served as the governor ...

. After the end of

the occupation ''The Occupation'' is a single-player adventure video game developed by White Paper Games and released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows on 5 March 2019. The game takes place in a single government building, in real-time over fou ...

, most Hindus left the country. In 2015, only 272 East Timorese profess

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 ...

. Direcção Nacional de Estatística
''Results of the 2015 Census''
accessed on 23 November 2016. Now the temple is quite run down,Sekaa Truna Truni Putra Sesana
''Pura di Timor Leste'', March 16, 2011
retrieved on November 24, 2015. although some Balinese from Indonesia and

East Timorese East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-wester ...

government has started efforts to revitalize the temple.

Gallery

Hindu Tempel Dili04.jpg, View of the temple Hindu Tempel Dili10.jpg 03 Hindutempel 2016-07-05.jpg Hindu Tempel Dili16.jpg Hindu Tempel Dili20.jpg

References

{{Dili, state=collapsed Religious buildings and structures in East Timor Hindu temples in Asia East Timor–India relations Religious buildings and structures completed in 1987 Balinese temples

History

Gallery

See also

References