Amazing News.....BALINESE CELEBRATE 3-DAYS OF LEARNING ABOUT VICTORY OF DHARMA OVER ADHARMA LIFESTYLE EVERY YEAR.....as understood by Balinese Hindui
Posted by Vishva News Reporter on October 27, 2009

 

File:Balinese dancers.jpg
g3g2
Lambang Bali
Balinese Motto:
Bali Dwipa Jaya
("Glorious Bali Island")
   
.........Balinese celebrate
3-day Galungan Holyday.....
.......a holyday to commemorate the victory of
Dharma (virtue) over Adharma (evil).....

(From blog.baliwww.com: Wednesday, October 14, 2009: by Sidarta Wijaya)

(PLEASE NOTE THE WORD "HOLYDAY" AS USED BY BALINESE IS NOT MISPELLED
BUT IS A COMPOUND OF TWO WORDS "HOLY" AND "DAY")



On Wednesday, 14 October 2009, Balinese celebrated Galungan Holyday, a holyday to commemorate the victory of Dharma (virtue) over Adharma (evil).

This holyday is considered the pinnacle of Balinese struggle to subdue the negative force of evil, and what is called evil here is the sad ripu (six internal enemies), they are:

     1.  kama (lust),
     2.  loba (greed),
     3.  krodha (anger),
     4.  mada (drunkeness),
     5.  moha (confusion) and
     6.  matsarya (envy).


It is an inward struggle, a struggle to free our mind from the influence of negative force that at the end leads us to do various bad deeds.

Though this struggle is carried out everyday but the ultimate battle occur during three-day period before Galungan, when three personifications of negative force come to the world successively, they are known as Kala-tiganing Galungan – which are:

    1.   Bhuta Galungan,
    2.   Bhuta Dunggulan and
    3.   Bhuta Amangkurat.

Bhuta Galungan

       The struggle begins on Sunday, when the first personification of negative force Bhuta Galungan comes to the world. On this day, Balinese celebrate the Penyekeban Galungan Holyday.

      The word “penyekeban” derived from the word “sekeb” which means “to cover up,” this word signifies the nature of enclosure or restraint.

      Sundarigama a sacred Balinese scripture describes this day as “den prayitna anjekung jnana nirmala, lamakane den kasurupan” which means “the day for self restrain in order not to be influenced by the evil force”.      

      Penyekeban day for Balinese is always a day for cultivating self restraint (as the name of this day suggest) since it is an essential weapon for fighting the Adharma.

Bhuta Dunggulan

      On Monday, the struggle is going to the higher level since the stronger personification of negative force, Bhuta Dunggulan, now mingles with the human being.




      Balinese celebrate this day as Penyajaan Galungan, some said that the word “penyajaan” is derived from the word “jaja” means cookies, but in the context of the struggle between Dharma and Adharma, the word “penyajaan” can also signify “activity to strengthen the determination.”

      For Balinese the best way to streghten the determination in fighting the negative forces is increased self-control through meditation as mentioned in the ancient text of Sundarigama, this text describes this day as “Pangastawaning sang ngamong yoga samadhi.” This means “the day for those who practice yoga and meditation”.

Bhuta Amangkurat

      On the Tuesday, the last day of this great battle, Bhuta Amangkurat (King of negative force) comes to the world to temp Balinese.

       Amangkurat derives from the word “Mangku” which means “king”, “lord” or “master”. Bhuta Amangkurat temps human with the lust for power over others. Balinese celebrate this day as Penampahan Galungan.

      The word “Penampahan Galungan” derives from the word “tampah” which means “to slaughter” and “galungan” which means victory.

      So Penampahan Galungan is a day for Balinese to slay their Sad Ripu (six internal enemies, they are: kama (lust), loba (greed), krodha (anger), mada (drunkeness), moha (confusion) and matsarya (envy) in order to achieve victory, that will be pompously celebrated on the Wednesday as Galungan.

I am very much indebted to Mr. I Nyoman Sadra for his valuable insight on the meaning of Penyekeban, Penyajaan, and Penampahan Galungan.

My appreciation is surely not enough; but unfortunately, I have nothing to offer than my indebtedness.

.......PLEASE KINDLY SHARE

   THIS NEWS WITH HUMANITY......

 
File:Indonesia provinces english.png
 

Bali is an Indonesian island located at the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of Indonesia's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island.

 

With a population recorded as 3,551,000 in 2009, the island is home to the vast majority of Indonesia's small Hindu minority. 93.18% of Bali's population adheres to Balinese Hinduism, while most of the remainder follow Islam. It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking and music.

 

PVAF is publishing this uniquely amazing news about the Balinese celebrating Galungan Holyday, a holyday to commemorate the victory of Dharma (virtue) over Adharma (evil).....because it is unique happening on this planet earth....This celebration is done with the fundamental essence of vEDik lifestyle phenomenon: to co-exist harmoniously  in the midst of 234 million Muslims...and most important and amazing aspect of the news story is the fundamental belief in Dharma and Adharma lifestyles with the knowledge of sad ripu... which are mentioned in all sNskRUt texts of 18 puraaAN and 108 upniSHD, mHaaBHaart and raamaayAN itihaas texts.... and all these forms part of the entire corpus of knowledge of life sciences and creation called vED...... 

Now to learn details of how this Galungan Holyday is celebrated on each of the 3 days...together with what Balinese understand of Balinese Hinduism.....please click on the next line to visit the next webpage of this news story.....


 ......NOW LEARN.....DAILY DETAILS OF CELBRATIONS OF
THE
3-day Galungan Holyday......
Galungan at Penglipuran Village


.......DAY ONE....

Penyekeban (The Beginning of a Battle)
on Sunday, 11 October 2009

(by ablteam)
    
3584972610_f1610fb342

Today, Redite Paing Dungulan, is the day of Panyekeban Galungan, According to Gregorian calendar falls on October 11, 2009. Here is previous article’s featuring that event:

Galungan, a Balinese celebration to commemorate the victory of Dharma (virtue) over Adharma (evil) will be celebrated on October 14, 2009. But there is always a battle precede the celebration of victory. The peak of battle between Dharma against Adharma begin three days before Galungan, on Sunday Paing wuku Dunggulan (based on traditional Pawukon cycle calendar). This day is called Penyekeban by Balinese. The word “penyekeban” derived from the word “sekeb” which means “to cover up,” this word signifies the nature of enclosure or restraint. Balinese believe that on this day, the avant garde of evil, Kala-tiganing Galungan (three personifications of negative force which are Bhuta Galungan, Bhuta Dunggulan and Bhuta Amangkurat) come to the world.

As mentioned by the Holy Scripture, they are the symbol of Sad Ripu (six internal enemies, they are: kama (lust), loba (greed), krodha (anger), mada (drunkeness), moha (confusion). In this case the battle is not a physical battle but a battle against our own negative qualities. Sundarigama a sacred Balinese scripture describes this day as “den prayitna anjekung jnana nirmala, lamakane den kasurupan” which means “the day for self restrain in order not to be influenced by the evil force”. Penyekeban day for Balinese is always a day for cultivating self restraint (as the name of this day suggest) since it is an essential weapon for fighting the Adharma.



Not only spiritual activity is observed, but there are many physical activities in relation with the preparation to celebrate the day of victory (Galungan) are performed today. Green bananas are sealed in huge clay pots upon which a small coconut husk fire burns. Lots of bananas are required for Galungan offerings, and this heat treatment ripens them quickly. On this day Balinese is also start to make cakes and keep the materials for Galungan day such as tape (a kind of Balinese snack that needs fermentation) to ripen. At short all implements needed to celebrate Galungan Holy Day are prepared today.

........DAY TWO......
Penyajaan Galungan (Day for Meditation)
on Monday, 12 October 2009

(by ablteam)

As its name suggest, the words “penyajaan” is derived from the word “jaja” which means “cookies. Various fried rice dough cookies are made for offering on Galungan (the day of victory). The creativity and patience of Balinese women are put into test when making these cookies since they usually have intricate pattern with different shapes and colors.

The following Penyekeban is Penyajaan Galungan, here is previous article:

Penyajaan Galungan for Balinese is always a day full of cookies, Bali is covered with cookies. As its name suggest, the words “penyajaan” is derived from the word “jaja” which means “cookies. Various fried rice dough cookies are made for offering on Galungan (the day of victory). The creativity and patience of Balinese women are put into test when making these cookies since they usually have intricate pattern with different shapes and colors. Heaps of cookies are everywhere, in traditional markets, in roadside stalls and of course every house compound is filled with half processed cookies.

Penyajaan GalunganPenyajaan Galungan

PHOTO ABOVE AND BELOW: As its name suggest, the words “penyajaan” is derived from the word “jaja” which means “cookies. Various fried rice dough cookies are made for offering on Galungan (the day of victory). The creativity and patience of Balinese women are put into test when making these cookies since they usually have intricate pattern with different shapes and colors.



Penyajaan GalunganPenyajaan GalunganPenyajaan Galungan

Penyajaan Galungan is also devoted for meditation and self control. Ancient lontar scripture, Sundarigama, describes this day as “Pangastawaning sang ngamong yoga samadhi.” This means “the day for those who practice yoga and meditation”. On this day the second personification of three evil forces (Bhuta Dunggulan) comes to the world to temp the human being. It is believed by Balinese that on this day, evil force (Bhuta Dunggulan) will temp humans with lust for power and control over someone else. For Balinese, self control and meditation are the ultimate weapons for fighting the temptation of the evil force.

 
.......DAY THREE.....
Penampahan Galungan
on Tuesday, 13 October 2009
(by ablteam)
Penampahan Galungan, is a day before Galungan (a Christmas for Balinese). The word “Penampahan Galungan” derives from the word “tampah” which means “to slaughter” and “galungan” which means victory. So Penampahan Galungan is a day for Balinese to slay their Sad Ripu (six internal enemies, they are: kama (lust), loba (greed), krodha (anger), mada (drunkeness), moha (confusion) in order to achieve victory.

penjor

For six months Balinese engage with the battle of Dharma (Virtue) versus Adharma (Evil), and Penampahan Galungan is the last day of this great battle. On this day, Bhuta Amangkurat (King of negative force) comes to the world to temp Balinese. Amangkurat derives from the word “Mangku” which means “king”, “lord” or “master”. Bhuta Amangkurat temps human with the lust for power over others. If we were not in alert and weak, it would succeed in tempting us. On this day Bhuta Yadnya (offering for demon or other negative force) is held in Catuspata, (the houseyard), offering is distributed based on urip (special number for five direction, 4 for north, 5 for east, 7 for south, 9 for west and 8 for center) and direction, dedicated to Sang Tiga Bhuta Galungan (Three Evil force of Galungan which are Bhuta Galungan, Bhuta Dunggulan and Bhuta Amangkurat) in order to placate them so they will not disturb the human life.

kelompokan

kelompokan, one component of banten

 

 banten

banten

 

 banten

banten

But Penampahan Galungan is not just a day for ultimate struggle Dharma (Virtue) versus Adharma (Evil) but also a preparation day. On this day, Balinese are seen to be busily preparing offerings and cooking for the next day. While the women of the household have been busy for days before creating beautifully woven ‘banten‘ (offerings made from young coconut fronds), the men usually wake up well before dawn to join with their neighbours to slaughter a pig unlucky enough to be chosen to help celebrate this occasion. Then the finely diced pork is mashed to a pulp with a grinding stone, and moulded onto sate sticks that have been already prepared by whittling small sticks of bamboo. Chickens may also be chosen from the collection of free-range chickens that roam around the house compound.

penampahan lawar
Lawar peparation on penampahan day

Lawar

Delicate combinations of various vegetables, herbs and spices are also prepared by the men.

sate

Diced pork is mashed to a pulp with a grinding stone, and moulded onto sate sticks that have been already prepared by whittling small sticks of bamboo.

Delicate combinations of various vegetables, herbs and spices are also prepared by the men to make up a selection of ‘lawar‘ dishes. While much of this cooking is for use in the offerings to be made at the family temple, by mid-morning, once all the cooking is done, it is time for the first of a series of satisfying feasts from what has been prepared. While the women continue to be kept busy with the preparations of the many offerings to be made at the family temple on the day of Galungan, the men also have another job to do this day, once the cooking is finished. A “penjor” the tall-artistically-decorated-bamboo-poles has to be made and stuck at every house-entrance adorn the along sides of the roads symbolizing prosperity.

With all those activities Penampahan Galungan will be a very busy day for Balinese. But there will always a joy in Penampahan Galungan because on the next day, (Galungan the day of victory) will be a great blessing and festivity for all Balinese.
 
.......TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BELINES CULTURE AND LIFESTYLE PLEASE CLICK ON
EACH OF THE FOLLOWING RELATED TOPICS TO TODAY'S STORY.....
 
 
 
 

Hinduism in Bali and Indonesia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
  • This page was last modified on 10 October 2009 at 22:28.

Part of a series on
Hinduism

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History · Deities
Denominations
Mythology

Beliefs and practices

Philosophy · Dharma
Artha · Kama · Moksha
Karma · Samsara
Yoga · Bhakti · Maya
Puja · Temple

Vedas · Upanishads
Ramayana · Mahabharata
Bhagavad Gita · Puranas
Dharmasastra · others

Related topics

Hinduism by country
Gurus and saints
Reforms · Criticism
Calendar · Hindu law
Ayurveda · Jyotisha
Festivals · Glossary Persecution

Hindu swastika

The Hindu Balinese temple offering

Hinduism in Indonesia, also known by its formal Indonesian name Agama Hindu Dharma, refers to Hinduism as practised in Indonesia. It is practised by 93% of the population of Bali, but also in Sumatra, Java (especially by the Tenggerese people on the east), Lombok and Kalimantan. Only about 3% of Indonesian population is officially Hindu. In Java in particular, a substantial number of Muslims follow a non-orthodox, Hindu-influenced form of Islam commonly known as Kejawen/Agama Jawa and Abangan Islam. Partly due to the fact that every Indonesian citizen is required to be a registered member of one of the six acknowledged religious communities (Islam, Christianity [i.e. Protestantism or Catholicism], Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism). Inspired by the Hindu Javanese past, several hundred thousand Javanese converted to Hinduism in the 1960s and 1970s. When the adherents of the ethnic religions Aluk To Dolo (Sa'dan Toraja) and Kaharingan (Ngaju, Luangan) claimed official recognition of their traditions, the Ministry of Religion classified them as Hindu variants in 1968 and 1980. The Parisada Hindu Dharma changed its name to Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia in 1984, in recognition of its national influence spearheaded by Gedong Bagus Oka.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] History

At the peak of its influence in the 14th century the last and largest among Hindu Javanese empires, Majapahit, reached far across the Indonesian archipelago. This accomplishment is interpreted in modern nationalist discourses as an early historical beacon of Indonesian unity and nationhood, a nation with Java still at its center.

That the vast majority of contemporary Javanese and Indonesians are now Muslims is the outcome of a process of subsequent Islamization. Like Hinduism before it, Islam first advanced into the archipelago along powerful trade networks, gaining a firm foothold in Java with the rise of early Islamic polities along the northern coast. Hinduism finally lost its status as Java's dominant state religion during the 15th and early 16th century, as the new sultanates expanded and the great Hindu empire Majapahit collapsed. Even then, some smaller Hindu polities persisted; most notably the kingdom of Blambangan in eastern Java, which remained intact until the late 18th century.

[edit] General beliefs and practices

Acintya is the Supreme God in Balinese Hinduism.

Practitioners of Agama Hindu Dharma share many common beliefs, which include:

  • A belief in one supreme being called 'Ida Sanghyang Widi Wasa', 'Sang Hyang 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, which also holds that the different forms of God, Vishnu, Siva are different aspects of the same Supreme Being. Lord Shiva is also worshipped in other forms such as "Batara Guru" and "Maharaja Dewa" (Mahadeva) are closely identified with the Sun in local forms of Hinduism or Kebatinan, and even in the genie lore of Muslims.[1]/a>
  • AA belief in the Trimurti, consisting of:
  • A belief in all of the other Hindu gods and goddesses (Dewa and Bharata)

The sacred texts found in Agama Hindu Dharma are the Vedas. Only two of the Vedas reached Bali in the past, and they are the basis of Balinese Hinduism. Other sources of religious information include the Puranas and the Itihasa (mainly Ramayana/a> and the Mahabharata).

One of Hinduism's primary ethical concerns is the concept of ritual purity. Another important distinguishing feature, which traditionally helps maintain ritual purity, is the division of society into the traditional occupational groups, or varna (literally, color) of Hinduism: Brahmins (priests, brahmana in Indonesian), Kshatriya (ruler-warriors, satriya or "Deva"[1] in Indonesian), Vaishya (merchants-farmers, waisya in Indonesian), and Shudra (commoners-servants, sudra in Indonesian). Like Islam and Buddhism, Hinduism was greatly modified when adapted to Indonesian society.

The caste system, although present in form, was never rigidly applied. The epics Mahabharata (Great Battle of the Descendants of Bharata) and Ramayana (The Travels of Rama), became enduring traditions among Indonesian believers, expressed in shadow puppet (wayang) and dance performances./p>

TThe Indonesian government has recognized Hinduism as one of the country's five officially sanctioned, monotheistic religions. Partly as a result, followers of various tribal and animistic religions have identified themselves as Hindu in order to avoid harassment or pressure to convert to Islam or Christianity. Furthermore, Indonesian nationalists have laid great stress on the achievements of the Majapahit Empire – a Hindu state – which has helped attract certain Indonesians to Hinduism. These factors have led to a certain resurgence of Hinduism outside of its Balinese stronghold./p>

[edit] Hinduism in Bali

The Balinese Om symbol

Balinese Hinduism is deeply interwoven with art and ritual, and is less closely preoccupied with scripture, law, and belief than Islam in Indonesia.. Balinese Hinduism lacks the traditional Hindu emphasis on cycles of rebirth and reincarnation, but instead is concerned with a myriad of local and ancestral spirits. As with kebatinan, these deities are thought to be capable of harm. Balinese place great emphasis on dramatic and aesthetically satisfying acts of ritual propitiation of these spirits at temple sites scattered throughout villages and in the countryside. Each of these temples has a more or less fixed membership; every Balinese belongs to a temple by virtue of descent, residence, or some mystical revelation of affiliation. Some temples are associated with the family house compound (also called banjar in Bali), others are associated with rice fields, and still others with key geographic sites. Ritualized states of self-control (or lack thereof) are a notable feature of religious expression among the people, who for this reason have become famous for their graceful and decorous behavior. One key ceremony at a village temple, for instance, features a special performance of a dance-drama (a battle between the mythical characters Rangda the witch (representing evil) and Barong the lion or dragon (representing good)), in which performers fall into a trance and attempt to stab themselves with sharp knives.

Rituals of the life cycle are also important occasions for religious expression and artistic display. Ceremonies at puberty, marriage, and, most notably, cremation at death provide opportunities for Balinese to communicate their ideas about community, status, and the afterlife. (The tourist industry has not only supported spectacular cremation ceremonies among Balinese of modest means, but also has created a greater demand for them.)

 

A priest is not affiliated with any temple but acts as a spiritual leader and adviser to individual families in various villages scattered over the island. These priests are consulted when ceremonies requiring holy water are conducted. On other occasions, folk healers or curers may be hired.

[edit] Javanese Hinduism

Both Java and Sumatra were subject to considerable cultural influence from the Indian subcontinent during the first and second millennia of the Common Era.. Many Hindu temples were built, including Prambanan near Yogyakarta, which has been designated a World Heritage Site; and Hindu kingdoms flourished, of which the most important was Majapahit.

 

In the sixth and seventh centuries many maritime kingdoms arose in Sumatra and Java which controlled the waters in the Straits of Malacca and flourished with the increasing sea trade between China and India and beyond. During this time, scholars from India and China visited these kingdoms to translate literary and religious texts.

Majapahit was based in Central Java, from where it ruled a large part of what is now western Indonesia. The remnants of the Majapahit kingdom shifted to Bali during the sixteenth century as Muslim kingdoms in the western part of the island gained influence.

Hinduism has survived in varying degrees and forms on Java; in recent years, conversions to Hinduism have been on the rise, particularly in regions surrounding a major Hindu religious site, such as the Klaten region near the Prambanan temple. Certain ethnic groups, such as the Tenggerese and Osings, are also associated with Hindu religious traditions.

[ Hinduism elsewhere in the archipelago

TThe Bodha sect of Sasak people on the island of Lombok are non-Muslim; their religion is a fusion of Hinduism and Buddhism with animism; it is considered Buddhist by the government.

 

Among the non-Bali communities considered to be Hindu by the government are, for example, the Dayak adherents of the Kaharingan religion in Kalimantan Tengah, where government statistics counted Hindus as 15.8 % of the population as of 1995[update]. Nationally, Hindus represented only around 2 % of the population in the early 1990s.

 

Many Manusela and Nuaulu people of Seram follow Naurus, a syncretism of Hinduism with animist and Protestant elements.

 

Similarly, the Tana Toraja of Sulawesi have identified their animistic religion as Hindu.

 

The Batak of Sumatra have identified their animist traditions with Hinduism.

 

The Tamils of Sumatra and the Indians in Jakarta practice their own from of Hinduism, the Indians celebrating Hindu holidays more commonly found in India, such as Deepawali[2]

[edit] Hindu holidays in Indonesia

Hari Raya Galungan - Galungan Celebrates the coming of the gods and the ancestral spirits to earth to dwell again in the homes of the descendants. The festivities are characterized by offerings, dances and new clothes.

Hari Raya Saraswati - Saraswati Balinese Hindu belief that knowledge is an essential medium to achieve the goal of life as a human being. This day celebrates Saraswati in Bali, a special day devoted to the Goddess of learning, science and literature. Saraswati rules the intellectual and creative realm, and is the patron saint of libraries and schools. For Balinese Hindus, she is celebrated as she succeeded in taming the wandering and lustful mind of her consort, Brahma, who was preoccupied with the goddess of material existence, Shatarupa. On this day no one is allowed to read or write, and offerings are made to the lontar (palm-leaf scripts), books and shrines.

 

Saraswati Day is celebrated every 210-days on Saniscara Umanis Wuku Watugunung and marks the start of the new year according to the Balinese Pawukon calendar. Ceremonies and prayers are held at the temples in family compounds, villages and businesses from morning to noon. Prayers are also held in school or any other learning institution temples. Teachers and students abandon their uniforms for the day in place of bright and colourful ceremony gear, filling the island with color. Children bring fruit and traditional cakes to school for offerings at the temple[2].

 

Hari Raya Nyepi - Nyepi is a Hindu Day of Silence or the Hindu New Year in the Balinese Saka calendar. The largest celebrations are held in Bali as well as in Balinese Hindu communities around Indonesia. On New Year's Eve the villages are cleaned, food is cooked for two days and in the evening as much noise is made as possible to scare away the devils. On the following day, Hindus do not leave their homes, cook or engage in any activity. Streets are deserted, and tourists are not allowed to leave hotel complexes.

 

Nyepi (Balinese New Year) is also determined using the Balinese calendar (see below), the eve of Nyepi falling on the night of the new moon whenever it occurs around March/April each year. Therefore, the date for Nyepi changes every year, and there is not a constant number of days difference between each Nyepi as there is for such days as Galungan and Kuningan. To find out when Nyepi falls in a given year, you will need information on the cycles of the moon for that year. Whenever the new moon falls between mid-March and mid-April, that night will be the night of great activity and exorcism island-wide, while the next day will be the day of total peace and quiet, where everything stops for a day.

 Political context

While many Javanese have retained aspects of their indigenous and Hindu traditions through the centuries of Islamic influence, under the banner of 'Javanist religion' (kejawen) or a non-orthodox 'Javanese Islam' (abangan, cf. Geertz 1960), no more than a few isolated communities have consistently upheld Hinduism as the primary mark of their public identity. One of these exceptions are the people of the remote Tengger highlands (Hefner 1985, 1990) in the province of Eastern Java.

[edit] Official recognition

Officially identifying their religion as Hinduism was not a legal possibility for Indonesians until 1962, when it became the fifth state-recognized religion. This recognition was initially sought by Balinese religious organizations and granted for the sake of Bali, where the majority were Hindu. The largest of these organizations, Parisada Hindu Dharma Bali, changed its name to P.H.D. Indonesia (PHDI) in 1964, reflecting subsequent efforts to define Hinduism as a national rather than just a Balinese affair (Ramstedt 1998).

Religious identity became a life and death issue for many Indonesians around the same time as Hinduism gained recognition, namely in the wake of the violent anti-Communist purge of 1965-66 (Beatty 1999). Persons lacking affiliation with a state recognized-religion tended to be classed as atheists and hence as communist suspects.

 

Despite the inherent disadvantages of joining a national religious minority, a deep concern for the preservation of their traditional ancestor religions made Hinduism a more palatable option than Islam for several ethnic groups in the outer islands.

 

In the early seventies, the Toraja people of Sulawesi were the first to realize this opportunity by seeking shelter for their indigenous ancestor religion under the broad umbrella of 'Hinduism', followed by the Karo Batak of Sumatra in 1977 (Bakker 1995).

 

In central and southern Kalimantan, a large Hindu movement has grown among the local indigenous Dayak population which lead to a mass declaration of 'Hinduism' on this island in 1980. However, this was different to the Javanese case, in that conversions followed a clear ethnic division. Indigenous Dayak were confronted with a mostly Muslim population of government-sponsored (and predominantly Javanese) migrants and officials, and deeply resentful at the dispossession of their land and its natural resources.

 

Compared to their counterparts among Javanese Hindus, many Dayak leaders were also more deeply concerned about Balinese efforts to standardize Hindu ritual practice nationally; fearing a decline of their own unique 'Hindu Kaharingan' traditions and renewed external domination.

 

By contrast, most Javanese were slow to consider Hinduism at the time, lacking a distinct organization along ethnic lines and fearing retribution from locally powerful Islamic organizations like the Nahdatul Ulama (NU). The youth wing of the NU had been active in the persecution not only of communists but of 'Javanist' or 'anti-Islamic' elements within Sukarno's Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI) during the early phase of the killings (Hefner 1987). Practitioners of 'Javanist' mystical traditions thus felt compelled to declare themselves Muslims out of a growing concern for their safety.

[edit] Under Suharto's Rule

The initial assessment of having to abandon 'Javanist' traditions in order to survive in an imminent Islamic state proved incorrect. President Sukarno's eventual successor, Suharto, adopted a distinctly nonsectarian approach in his so-called 'new order' (orde baru) regime. Old fears resurfaced, however, with Suharto's 'Islamic turn' in the 1990s. Initially a resolute defender of Javanist values, Suharto began to make overtures to Islam at that time, in response to wavering public and military support for his government.

 

A powerful signal was his authorization and personal support of the new 'Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals' (ICMI), an organization whose members openly promoted the Islamization of Indonesian state and society (Hefner 1997). Concerns grew as ICMI became the dominant civilian faction in the national bureaucracy, and initiated massive programs of Islamic education and mosque-building through the Ministry of Religion (departemen agama), once again targeting Javanist strongholds. Around the same time, there were a series of mob killings by Muslim extremists of people they suspected to have been practicing traditional Javanese methods of healing by magical means.

 

In terms of their political affiliation, many contemporary Javanists and recent converts to Hinduism had been members of the old PNI, and have now joined the new nationalist party of Megawati Sukarnoputri. Informants from among this group portrayed their return to the 'religion of Majapahit' (Hinduism) as a matter of nationalist pride, and displayed a new sense political self-confidence.

[edit] In a Social Context

A common feature among new Hindu communities in Java is that they tend to rally around recently built temples (pura) or around archaeological temple sites (candi) which are being reclaimed as places of Hindu worship.

 

One of several new Hindu temples in eastern Java is Pura Mandaragiri Sumeru Agung, located on the slope of Mt. Semeru, Java's highest mountain. When the temple was completed in July 1992, with the generous aid of wealthy donors from Bali, only a few local families formally confessed to Hinduism. A pilot study in December 1999 revealed that the local Hindu community now has grown to more than 5000 households.

Similar mass conversions have occurred in the region around Pura Agung Blambangan, another new temple, built on a site with minor archaeological remnants attributed to the kingdom of Blambangan, the last Hindu polity on Java.

 

A further important site is Pura Loka Moksa Jayabaya (in the village of Menang near Kediri), where the Hindu king and prophet Jayabaya is said to have achieved spiritual liberation (moksa).

A further Hindu movement in the earliest stages of development was observed in the vicinity of the newly completed Pura Pucak Raung (in the Eastern Javanese district of Glenmore), which is mentioned in Balinese literature as the place where the Hindu saint Maharishi Markandeya gathered followers for an expedition to Bali, whereby he is said to have brought Hinduism to the island in the fifth century AD.

An example of resurgence around major archaeological remains of ancient Hindu temple sites was observed in Trowulan near Mojokerto. The site may be the location of the capital of the legendary Hindu empire Majapahit. A local Hindu movement is struggling to gain control of a newly excavated temple building which they wish to see restored as a site of active Hindu worship. The temple is to be dedicated to Gajah Mada, the man attributed with transforming the small Hindu kingdom of Majapahit into an empire.

 

A new temple is being built East of Solo (Surakarta) It is a Hindu temple that has miniatures of 50 sacred sites around the world. It is also an active kundalini yoga meditation centre teaching the sacred javanese tradition of sun and water meditation. There are many westerners as well as javanese joining in.

Although there has been a more pronounced history of resistance to Islamization in East Java, Hindu communities are also expanding in Central Java (Lyon 1980), for example in Klaten, near the ancient Hindu monuments of Prambanan.

[edit] In an Economic Context

[edit] Census 2000

According to the 2000 census Hindus consisted 1.79% of the total population(Down from 1.81% in 1990) with 88.05% in Bali (Down from 93.18% in 1990) and 5.89% in Central Kalimantan (Down from 15.75% in 1990,). The decline in Bali is largely attributed to a lower birth rate and immigration of Muslims from Java. In Central Kalimantan there has been progressive settlement of Madurese from Madura although this somewhat halted following communal violence in 2001.[3] The details are given below:

Province (2000 Cen)  ? Hindus ? Total  ?  % Hindu  ?
North Sumatera 18,907 11,429,919 0.17%
West Sumatera 0 4,220,318 0.00%
Riau 4,385 4,676,025 0.09%
Jambi 410 2,386,866 0.02%
South Sumatera 17,874 6,756,564 0.26%
Bengkulu 2,033 1,396,687 0.15%
Lampung 95,458 6,631,686 1.44%
Bangka Belitung Islands 76 945,682 0.01%
DKI Jakarta 19,331 8,482,068 0.23%
West Java 8,177 35,279,182 0.02%
Central Java 28,677 30,775,846 0.09%
D.I. Yogyakarta 2,746 3,026,209 0.09%
East Java 92,930 34,456,897 00.27%
Banten 5,498 7,967,473 0.07%
Bali 2,740,314 3,112,331 88.05%
Nusa Tenggara Barat 115,297 3,805,537 3.03%
Nusa Tenggara Timur 5,698 3,904,373 0.15%
West Kalimantan 2,914 3,721,368 0.08%
Central Kalimantan 105,256 1,785,875 5.89%
South Kalimantan 6,288 2,956,784 0.21%
East Kalimantan 3,221 2,414,989 0.13%
North Sulawesi 10,994 1,972,813 0.56%
Central Sulawesi 99,443 2,053,167 4.84%
South Sulawesi 87,660 7,759,574 1.13%
Southeast Sulawesi 52,103 1,755,193 2.97%
Gorontalo 0 833,720 0.00%
Irian Jaya 2,068 2,094,803 0.10%
Indonesia 3,527,758 196,601,949 1.79%

[4]

IIt should be noted that the Indonesian government had previously classified the approximately 600,000 Tenggerese of East Java as Buddhists, even though the core of their religious practice is Hindu.

 

As of 2008, The Ministry of Religious Affairs estimates that there are around 10 million Hindus in the country.[5]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

External links

 

 



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