Indian Temples of Sumatra

For the devout and pious Indian (or Indian Indonesian), the province of Sumatra is like comfort food. Replete with Indian temples of bewildering variety and preferences, Sumatra offers spiritual solace to seekers on a daily basis and draws them on festive occasions.

There are more about 70 Indian temples of varying sizes and importance in Sumatra. In North Sumatra alone there are 40 of them. Given the size of the Indian origin population in Sumatra, estimated between 100,000-125,000, it may not be incorrect to say that there are more Indian temples in North Sumatra per person than in India itself.

Opinions may be divided as to how Hinduism came to Indonesia - one theory attributes it to South Indian sea traders, scholars and priests bringing it with them to Sumatra, Java and Bali in 1st century AD. The other theory is that the then existing Indonesian Royalty actually invited Indian priests to bring their spiritual ideas and culture. However, the former theory is widely considered as valid. But whatever the theory, it should be remembered that there already existed a Javanese tradition based on certain Hindu and Buddhist ideas in Indonesia, which made it easier for Indian culture, spiritualism and ideas to fuse seamlessly into the pre-existing Javanese folk religions, traditions and animistic belief system.

The advent of early Indian settlers led to creation of early Kingdoms of Indonesia in 4th century such as the Kutai in East Kalimantan, Tarumanagara in West Java and Holing (Kalingg) in Central Java. Traces of the Indian Tamil communes have existed in North Sumatra for centuries. This is evidenced by the discovery of a corroded stone in Lobu Tua(Barus) in 1873.

The Madras Epigraphy Report 1891-1892 by E. Hultzsch, a British government epigrapher points to the fact that Tamil influence in Sumatra existed from very ages. Although the stone was found in a broken state, the text records that the inscription on the stone dates back to 1088 AD. It would be safe to say that Tamil language was being used in public documents in the 11th century in parts of Sumatra.

Excavations made between 1960 and 2005 at the Cibuaya and Batujaya sites unearthed the Tarumanagara revered deity Wisnu (Vishnu). Ancient Hindu Kingdoms of Java built many square Hindu temples and named local rivers on the island as Gomati and Ganges. These ideas continued to develop during the era of Srivijaya Empires in Sumatra.

Later Indian Kingdoms like the Singhasari (1222-1292); Majapahit kingdom (1293-1429);the kingdom of Medang (Old Mataram), Sriwaja Empire, the invasion of powerful Hindu kings like the Cholas and Pandavas, all boosted and encouraged the building and preservation of Indian Hindu temples in various parts of Indonesia.

However, it is widely reckoned that the tradition of Indian temple building took a firm foothold in parts of Indonesia around the 8th century, when the first Shiva Hindu priests arrived in Bali after travelling through Myanmar, Cambodia, Sumatra and Java in their search for a place similar to their homeland of Mahabalipuram, an area near today's Chennai in India.

In Indonesia, there are three types of Hindu temples-the ‘Candi’ which is the Javanese style, Puras of Bali and Kuils which is the traditional Hindu temple of Sumatra. The architectural features of the Indian temples in Indonesia differ widely among various ethnic groups. For instance, Balinese Hindu temples do not have a Gopuram adorning the top of the temple, unlike the Hindu temples in South India, where a Gopuram is a prominent feature.

Another distinction is that while Indian temples in India are primarily indoor places of worship, Balinese temples are designed as open air structures enclosed within a walled compound that are adorned by decorated roofed gates. However, the Indian temples in Sumatra follow the structure of the South Indian temples.

Today Sumatra boasts of the largest congregation of traditional South Indian temples. Built by early Indian settlers, mainly from Thanjavur in 1850-60s, the Mariamman, Kartikeya & Shiva temples in Binjai, 40 kms from Medan, today serves as important places of worship to 6000 Indians in North Sumatra and happens to be one of the oldest structures to be built.

 

Mariamman Koil, Binjai (Photo: Raghu Gururaj)

Mariamman Temple Binjai (Photo: Raghu Gururaj)

Shiva Kuil Binjai (Photo Raghu Gururaj)

The Mariamman temple in Medan city is one of the oldest Hindu temples in Indonesia. Built in 1884 by early Tamil settlers and traders and located in 'Little India' area, it is a meeting point for people of Indian descent during festive season. This temple was built by co-operative efforts of the early Tamil settlers in Medan, who were workers at plantation companies in North Sumatra. 

In the initial years, the temple was administered by the elders of the Indian community such as Sami Rangga Naiker, Somasundaram Vaithiyar and Ramasamy Vaithiyar, who donated handsomely not only for the construction of this temple, but also for running it. The temple has three chambers which houses several statues of Lord Vishnu, Siva and Brahma and some unique ornaments.

Mariamman Temple, Medan, built in 1884 (Photo: Google)

Inside of the Mariamman Temple, Medan (photo: Raghu Gururaj)

The local authorities of Sumatra actively support the celebration of major Indian festivals like Diwali, Thaipusam, Pongal and Navaratri by the Indian Indonesians. In particular, Thaipusam is celebrated with much devotion by the Tamil community in Medan who gather at Little India (Kampung Madras) to accompany a 125 year old chariot or Radhoo through the street leading upto the Mariamman temple. The Kavadi Attam (dance) can be witnessed even to this day, along with the traditional practices like the carrying a pot of milk, mortification of the skin through piercing of the tongue or cheeks with vel skewers (spears).

The Balaji temple on the outskirts of Medan is one of the modern structures. The construction of Shri Balaji Venkateshwara Koil was based on the demand of the Indian Hindu community who live around the temple, who felt the need for a place of worship. Built about 20 years ago, this temple is modelled on the Tirupati temple in India and some local Indians even refer to it as the mini-Tirupati, though it does not measure up to the Indian version in any way. Even today, the daily ceremonies are conducted by a priest from India. This temple has benefited a great deal from donations received from Indian origin people in Malaysia and Singapore.

 

Balaji Temple, Medan (Photo: Raghu Gururaj)

 

The Sitti Vinayagar, Hanuman and Ganesha Temples of Medan draw devotees all through the festive seasons.

 

Sitti Vinayaka Kuil, Medan (Photo: Google)

     

Hanuman Kuil, Medan (Photo: Google)

The Balaputradewa Museum, Palembang, West Sumatra has as one of its collections, a statue of Ganesha dated back from Sriwijaya Kingdom (7th-13th Century).

The Palani Andawer Koil (temple) in Banda Aceh City in Aceh Province has been in existence since 1600s. However, it fell into disuse and disrepair till the 2000s. This small temple was rebuilt by the local government with the contributions from received from Hindu communities in Malaysia and India. The Aceh Government officially inaugurated this temple in 2012 after the 2004 tsunami. Today this is the only place of worship in Aceh province for Hindus. Like in other parts of Indonesia, Hindu believers in the sharia-based region of Aceh Darussalam province continue to practice their traditions to this day. This Lord Murugan temple is flourishing today and thronged by Acehnese of Tamil-Indian descent and other Hindu devotees.

What is interesting to note that traditional Hindu practices such as the piercing of cheeks with metal rods during the rituals to mark the Panguni Uthiram festival, playing of Indian percussion instruments as the flower covered status of Lord Muruga is carried around in a procession on the roads of Banda Aceh or the breaking of coconuts on the road as a tribute, continue to be practiced to this day.

 

Palani Andawer Kuil, Banda Aceh, Aceh Province (Photo: Google)

During such processions and festivities held outside the temple premises, even some Indonesia muslims join which is exotic for them. But what is paradoxical is that while several other Hindu temples were quietly converted into Mosques and for other multi purpose uses over the years across Indonesia, local governments have been known to allot lands to local Hindu communities to build new temples, such as the one granted in Jakarta for an upcoming large Murugan Temple Complex.

 

What distinguishes the Indian temples in Sumatra from the South Indian temples are the vibrant colours painted on them. It is clear that these temples drew inspiration and financial support from similar temples built across South east Asia, particularly in Singapore and Malaysia.