Indonesia's Hindu temples and history

A view of Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple in Java.

Some of the high relief religious sculptures at Prambanan. 

The terraces leading up to the top of the massive Borobudur temple.

Stupas line the top of the Borobudur temple and are the iconic image of Buddhism here.  While there may be Hindu influence and built under the reign of a Hindu kingdom, Borobudur is ultimately a buddhist temple. 

Borobudur sits outside the city of Yogyakarta and amidst a fantastic valley surrounded by tropical mountains.  The stupas outline is easily seen even at daybreak. 

Hindu temples are abundant in Bali.  This temple is outside the cultural city of Ubud in central Bali. 

Part of the highlight in visiting an Indonesian Hindu temple are the great relief sculptures everywhere. 

Arguably the most visited Hindu temple is the Pura Tanah Lot in southwest Bali.  Located on the water, the temple can have amazing photo opportunities at sunset and is relatively close to the main population centers of southern Bali.   

Indonesia is known as the largest Muslim nation on earth.  The country is the fourth most populous with 240 million people, and 87% of those citizens officially identifying themselves as Muslim (Indonesians are legally required to register with one of the six state sponsored religions).  However, at only 2% the Hindu religion is still a force and great reminder of the history and culture in Indonesia. 

Hinduism came to the archipelago islands nearly 2,000 years ago via the traders of India.  As the conventional wisdom of power and trade for Indonesia was that he who controls the Melaka strip (the section of sea between the island of Sumatra and peninsular Malaysia) controls the archipelago.  Traders came from India and brought the influence of Hinduism that would last from the time of Christ up until the 1500s.  This era brought about great temples such as Borobudur and Prambanan (both built in the 9^th century) and created one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia’s history.  The last great Hindu empire in Indonesia, the Majapahit, slowly lost control of Sumatra and the Melaka straight to a growing influence of Islam from India.  The Majapahit fled to the island of Bali where their influence is easily seen today.  While Hinduism and their great empire fell to Islam and other outside influences, they still hold a political power and context in modern Indonesia.

The tourism island of Bali practices Hinduism in a different context from the rest of the world.  Their temples have a much larger open space that is protected by concentric gates rather than a main door to an enclosed building.  Nearly every community has a temple and regardless of religious practice, every Balian belongs to a particular temple.  Furthermore, Balians focus on more spirits and “animists” beliefs than traditional Islam, and have a particular affinity for the atheistic aspects of their religion via sculptures and paintings.  This last point is probably a large contributing factor in why tourists come to Bali for cultural reasons (the beaches, surf, and parties are already well known there).  Traveling around several islands gives a much larger cultural understanding of the different practices of religion on this very populous country.