Traces of Hinduism on Mount Lawu

Rabu, 17 Maret 2010 - 15:50 WIB

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VIVAnews - Hinduism-inspired houses, such as the ones with temple stone-decorated gates, have become part of the view from the foot of Mount Lawu in Karanganyar regency, Central Java.

If we go closer to the top of Cetho Temple, which is one of the main temples, we could smell the strong scent of incense that is usually used for praying.

Most people in Ngargoyoso sub district in the foot of Mount Lawu have chosen to embrace Hindusm. It is safe to say that 99 percent of the populations are Hindus.

“It’s indeed a Hindu village. Ninety-nine percent of the people are Hindus. There are dozens or even hundreds of Hindu families here”, one of the Hindu residents, Sugeng Karyanta told VIVAnews.

Therefore, there are not many mosques seen in the area. On the other hand, temples could be found anywhere, as they are the place where the Hindus go to pray. “In this district, there are about 15 temples,” Karyanta said.

The Hindu village apparently has their own history. It has existed since the end of fourteenth century. The history is related to the story of Majapahit king, Brawijaya V or Bhre Kertabumi.

“It all began when Brawijaya V was running away from his own son, Raden Patah, who wanted to turn his father into becoming a Muslim. Brawijaya went to a remote area, which is the foot of Mount Lawu, 1,500 meters above sea level, to make him difficult to be found,” Karyanta said, opening the story.

Brawijaya V later built several temples to pray. One of them is the Cetho Temple. “Cetho is believed to be one of the sacred temples. The Hindus often pray in the temple, which adopts the concept of multilevel constructions,” he added.

The village has been there for 7 centuries and the people were passing on Hinduism beliefs to their offspring. “We celebrate the big days together. For the upcoming Seclusion, we’ll start the ceremony on March 14 to 16, “ he said.

However, the Hinduism culture in Mount Lawu is different from the one in Bali.

“Since we’re living in Java, assimilation between Javanese culture and Hinduism is inevitable. That’s what distinguishes us from the Hindus in Bali. One of the differences can be found in the offerings we use in the prayers. We include some Javanese offerings and several goods from Banten as a form of adjustment to Javanese culture,” Karyanta said.