'Perang Topat' celebration of interfaith harmony

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, West Lombok

Hundreds of Hindus and Muslims celebrated the Perang Topat ritual Saturday at the Lingsar temple in Lingsar village, West Lombok.

The people perform the traditional ritual as an expression of their gratitude to God for a bountiful harvest. The ritual also demonstrates the harmonious relationship between Hindus and Muslims in the region.

The site of the ritual itself is a monument of interfaith harmony. The inner sanctum of the temple houses places of worship for both religions. The Hindu Pura Gaduh stands in the same place as the Kemaliq, a sacred structure for the native Sasak people, who converted to Islam.

The Lingsar temple, some nine kilometers northeast of West Nusa Tenggara's capital, Mataram, was constructed in 1759 by Anak Agung Anglurah Karangasem, who was ruler of the eastern Balinese kingdom of Karangasem, which annexed West Lombok after a successful military expedition

The annual Perang Topat is held in the temple's outer courtyard in line with the full moon of the seventh month and in conjunction with the Hindu festival to commemorate the temple's founding.

"Maybe in the whole world it is only in Lingsar that we can find a religious festival being celebrated by followers of two different faiths," the Kemaliq custodian, Suparman Taufik, said.

Prior to the ritual, the Hindus and Muslims prepare their respective offerings. They mostly comprise cakes, fruit and two buffaloes.

"The cow is a sacred animal to the Hindus, while the pig is haram (forbidden under Islamic law), so the buffalo is a good compromise. Actually, it is an ancient tradition that in the Lingsar temple we are not allowed to present any offerings made of beef or pork," he said.

The most important offering in the ritual is thousands of topat, rice boiled in plaited young coconut leaves.

After the presentation of offerings, the first topat was thrown by West Nusa Tenggara Deputy Police Chief Snr. Comr. Lalu Supratman.

The committee members then distributed more than 2,500 topat to the awaiting crowds, who, as is customary, then started throwing the topat at each other.

The ensuing perang (war) was a noisy and joyous affair.

"It is said that if you get hit during the ritual, your luck will get better. This is the only war in which the participants want to get hit," said a visitor, Budi.

After the ritual, the Hindus and Muslims staged a three-night vigil at the temple.