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Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms The Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms on Java were thriving kingdoms until the sixteenth century, and their legacies extend to architecture and other aspects of material culture. The earliest Buddhist kingdom in Indonesia, Srivijaya, was in South Sumatra. In the eighth century the political centre shifted to Central Java where a Hindu kingdom took root, followed by the Buddhist kingdom of the Sailendra dynasties. These kingdoms oversaw the building of the Borobudur temple and its representations of the life of the Buddha and the significant episodes in this journey. Superb bronze sculptures of the Buddha, including a head of the Buddha from the Candi Plaosan [4], are on display in this initial part of the exhibition.
The Sanjaya dynasty took control in the ninth century and is responsible for building the temple complex at Prambanan, not very far from Borobudur. The Mataram rulers were the next to acquire the control of Central Java but they were not to prosper for long. A volcanic eruption may have caused people to flee Central Java for East Java, from then on the political centre of the Javanese kingdom. The foundation of the Singasari state in the thirteenth century and its cultural expressions are to be seen in the display of the finest pieces of sculpture from this period. Except for the Batara Guru [5], most of the Hindu statues of the Candi Singasari [6] are in the exhibit.
The last great Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of Majapahit took shape in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It was the most powerful in the history of Indonesia, ruling as it did over a substantial part of what is now Indonesia. The extent of trade under the Majapahits was unprecedented, and coastal towns boasted of diverse communities. These were Chinese traders and craftsmen, Islamic and Hindu populations, all enjoying the benefits of this trade and economic growth. The material legacies of this kingdom bear witness to both Hindu and Buddhist forms of art and architecture.
The Majapahit kingdom began to crumble with the expansion of Malacca as a trading centre. Islamic and Chinese merchants were formidable competitors. Only on Bali has Hindu-Buddhism survived and continued to thrive until the present. << previous next >> < link to the show-case > | |
