Three days in jail for Dutch backpacker who showed disrespect towards mountain

DutchNews.nl, June 12, 2015

Dutch backpacker Dylan Snel has been sentenced to three days in jail and a fine of around €1,200 for stripping naked on a Malaysian holy mountain. A Canadian brother and sister and an English girl received the same sentence, Dutch media say on Friday afternoon. 

Snel’s mother told Dutch reporters she was delighted at the news and that the sentence could have been worse. ‘We’ve already been checking out the tickets and perhaps he can leave as early as tomorrow morning,’ she said. 

The four had been held in custody since Tuesday and are expected to be released immediately. 

They were part of a group of Western backpackers arrested after photos emerged of them stripping naked on Mount Kinabalu 

A strong earthquake hit the mountain last Friday, killing 18 people. 

Six days later, Sabah state deputy chief minister, Joseph Pairin Kitingan, blamed the earthquake on travellers showing ‘disrespect to the sacred mountain’. A special ritual will now be conducted to ‘appease the mountain spirit’, the Daily Mail reports.

Dutchman Dylan Snel, Briton Eleanor Hawkins (maroon top) and 

Canadian Danielle Petersen (black top) are escorted from court in 

Kota Kinabalu on Friday. Photograph: Mohd Asraffirdauz Bin Abdullah/AP

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Popular Taipei temple goes green, bans burning of incense

Want China Times, CNA 2014-08-25

People worship in Xing Tian Temple, Taipei, Aug. 24. (Photo/Chao Shuang-chieh)

Xing Tian Temple, a popular worship site in Taipei, announced Sunday that from Aug. 26, it will remove its big incense burner and offering tables to save resources and help protect the environment.

The decision was made in line with rapid changes in the environment and the increasingly serious global warming — trends that temple managers said remind them of the need to make better use of resources and treat all beings with kindness and compassion.

Instead of offering cakes, fruit and flowers and burning incense, the temple suggested that believers show their respect to the deities by simply clapping their hands and praying sincerely.

When lining up for the shoujing (a kind of exorcism) ritual, believers are advised not to chat, eat or use cell phones but rather to pray in a devout manner.

Xing Tian Temple, also known locally as Enzugong, promotes public good through charitable work and seeks to enlighten people's hearts, enhance spirituality and create a harmonious society.

To achieve those goals, the temple works to promote the concept of true faith, foster self-examination and respect for the deities, and devote itself to enlightening believers.

Xing Tian Temple also provides religious services such as exorcism rituals, services of prayers for peace and explaining divination results.

Video: Honoring the Ancestors

Jakara Globe, BeritaSatu World,Jun 19, 2014

A small community in Bondowoso, East Java, has an annual tradition in time with the Islamic month of Sya’ban. The ritual is held to thank God for the harvest and honor their ancestors.

The village of Belimbing in the Klabang subdistrict of East Java’s Bondowoso holds a thanksgiving ritual every year during Sya’ban.

It is called Singo Ulung, combining the Javanese word for lion and part of the name of a village founder Ki Singo.

The ritual begins with several performances, including a lion dance that involves three characters playing the part of white lions.

The dances are followed by the village marching to Nagger, a location considered sacred by the locals.

The villagers carry various offerings with them such as rice, vegetables and fruit.

Before presenting these at Nangger, the village holds a prayer under the leadership of an elder/ to honor the ancestors so that the current leader may continue to protect the village and ensure its prosperity.

Ki Singo is said to have fled Blambangan, on the eastern tip of Java, along with his wife, Nyi Moena, and a friend, Ki Jasinga.

The three decided to settle in Belimbing and cleared the forest there for fields to cultivate crops.

Many others later joined the settlement, and Ki Singo became its first village head — honored to this day.

“We, the villagers of Belimbing, want the village to become even more prosperous in the future and have no obstacles,” Irwan, the village head of ceremonies said. “We are always holding this event in Nangger, an event that is to mark the birth of Belimbing village here.”

Len Dong: an ancient shaman dance for modern Vietnam?

Yahoo – AFP, Tran Thi Minh Ha, 13 June 2014

A "Len Dong" dancer performs with candles at a local temple in Hanoi

on March 25, 2014 (AFP Photo/Hoang Dinh Nam)

Hanoi (AFP) - The Vietnamese spirit medium dances in a trance, attacking invisible enemies with a sword as drums beat, musicians chant, and dozens of curious onlookers watch in amazement.

Civil servant by day and practitioner of traditional spiritual possession rituals when the mood takes her, Nguyen Thi Hoa is clad in a richly embroidered red robe as she performs a Len Dong ceremony at a private Hanoi temple.

"I have no idea what I've been doing," Hoa told AFP after the five-hour performance, which involved at least 15 costume changes.

A "Len Dong" dancer performs as attendees

 watch at a local temple in Hanoi on March

25, 2014 (AFP Photo/Hoang Dinh Nam)

"I could not believe I had smoked like a chimney and drunk like a fish," the normally teetotal 52-year-old said.

"Could you tell me what I told you to do?" Hoa, who is not a professional Len Dong shaman and only undertakes the rituals when the spirits move her, asked friends who had watched the entire performance.

Len Dong, which uses musical invocations to lure spirits to possess mediums and communicate with others, has been performed in Vietnam for centuries.

Practitioners and attendees -- people can donate to help cover the costs of a Len Dong performance without having to directly participate -- usually turn to the ancient ritual to ease stress or hoping for help from the spirits with romantic or professional problems.

For decades, Len Dong was restricted by French colonial and Vietnamese communist leaders, but the tradition is enjoying a flurry of popularity since restrictions were relaxed a decade or so ago -- and some say it is a useful vent for stressed citizens.

Old cure for new ills?

Six years ago, Hoa began suffering from insomnia, lack of appetite and tiredness. Conventional doctors could not rid her of her ills.

A "Len Dong" dancer performs as

attendees watch at a local temple in

Hanoi on March 25, 2014 (AFP Photo/

Hoang Dinh Nam)

On the advice of a friend, she visited a Len Dong practitioner, who told her to try performing the spirit possession ritual herself.

"To my surprise, my health started improving at once," she said, adding that she started seeing positive changes at work as well.

Len Dong is an ancient Vietnamese custom which involves "calling the spirits of the dead into the bodies of the living to connect past and present," one of the main research books on the topic says.

Musicians play traditional songs to help the shaman enter a trance. Multiple assistants help the shaman to change costumes or prepare offerings -- from chickens to "ChocoPie" snack cakes -- for the altar.

During the ceremony -- an auspicious date for the event is carefully picked in advance by the shaman -- the practitioner will seemingly drift in and out of a trance, singing, chanting and dancing to the minimalist, rhythmic music.

"It's not just the insane dancing of people who have lost their dignity," said cultural researcher Ngo Duc Thinh.

The practise of Len Dong can help people under intense stress or suffering from low-level psychological disorders, Thinh, a renowned professor of Vietnamese culture at a top state research institute, said.

"They practice Len Dong to rid themselves of their problems and return to their normal life," the professor, who has spent more than three decades studying Len Dong, told AFP.

A "Len Dong" dancer performs with

 incense sticks at a local temple in

Hanoi on March 25, 2014 (AFP

Photo/Hoang Dinh Nam)

"As society develops, spiritual pressures multiply. Stress becomes more serious -- and this creates more chances for Len Dong," according to Thinh.

Social stigma

Hoa practices Len Dong at least twice a year.

"I don't dare tell my mother as she would say I was crazy," said the bureaucrat, who spends around 40 million dong (nearly $2,000) to put on each performance.

Her work colleagues, mostly communist party members, are also not aware of her Len Dong practice -- the ritual has at times been considered heresy, and was totally banned until the 1980s by the communists, although rituals continued in secret.

"I received several warnings from police, asking me to stop my practice," said a professional Len Dong practitioner, speaking on condition of anonymity about that period of time.

Even now, practicing Len Dong can carry a government fine of around $250 which aims to prevent private for-profit practitioners rather than genuine Len Dong devotees like Hoa.

"The government tried to ban it, but they in fact have failed. It's impossible to ban Len Dong," researcher Thinh said.

Votive paper horses, used as offerings,

 are placed outside a Hanoi temple while a

 "Len Dong" dancer performs on March 25,

2014 (AFP Photo/Hoang Dinh Nam)

But it might be necessary to regulate it, some experts say.

Len Dong practitioners usually offer their services at temples between Vietnam's lunar new year -- usually around late January -- to the end of the third lunar month in April.

Since restrictions on the practice were lifted, business is booming and some newly wealthy Vietnamese are willing to pay up to $50,000 for a Len Dong service.

The trouble is, it is hard for people to tell the difference between genuine Len Dong practitioners and con artists.

"Several practitioners, who have only some ability, have used that to cheat people for money," one practitioner told AFP.

"That makes people confused -- they can't differentiate between real and fake Len Dong."

Tai chi practitioners in Yunyang, Chongqing. (File
photo/Xinhua)

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"Soul Communication" - Feb 22-23, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version Part 1, Text version Part 2)

“…  Spiritual Survival

Let me take you back a bit. How many lifetimes have you slogged through old energy? Slogged through it? You picked yourself up and the old energy of the planet knocked you back. This is a metaphor of the old soul awakening to the realization of divine purpose for itself and the planet, only to be ignored, or worse, to be "found out" and then feared.

Old soul, it seemed that you just get started on a spiritual path and it kills you. You come back again and then you're enlisted in a war and it kills you again. You come back, you awaken; you become even shamanic, and it kills you for being enlightened. How many lifetimes has it been where all you can do is hold your own and try to survive in a world of very old, dark thinking? Survival becomes a word that means something completely different to the old soul. High consciousness in an old energy is like a square peg in a round hole, and this is what the old soul is used to.

Dear ones, this is ending - all of it - and this was the prophecy of the indigenous of the planet for this time. Here you are, ready for it. But the planet is not going to suddenly become higher in consciousness, dear ones. Instead, the systems around you and the energy around you are going to start getting easier, making it far easier to survive for those like you. There will be far less resistance and more openness of many people than ever before. This is the beginning of a very slow shift.

This also means that it's going to be easier for you to balance. We've used this "balance" word over and over. Many times, those in esoteric belief systems go into certain Human life categories because it's pure survival. It's easy for you to be a hermit, speaking even to my partner. If you don't have to show your light, it's easier. In the past if you showed your light, you were hunted! You understand what I'm saying, don't you? For when you open the door and the light spills out, everybody looks at you because you are different. What's wrong with this picture? In the past, it has meant your demise. This is what is changing. But it's hard to forget it. …”

Indonesian Island Sees Future in Age-Old Horseback Battle

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Angela Dewan, Apr 02, 2014

Sumbanese tribesmen participate in the annual ‘pasola’ festival, a ritual
 mock battle on horseback in Ratenggaro village located in Indonesia’s island
of Sumba. (AFP Photo)

Ratenggaro, East Nusa Tenggara. Two teams of tribesmen on horseback charge at each other hurling bamboo spears in a thousand-year-old ritual on the Indonesian island of Sumba aimed at producing a prosperous rice harvest.

Spectators, their mouths reddened from chewing betel nut, scream them on from the sidelines of the show in Ratenggaro village, reaching for their machetes when a rider is struck at close range and the referee calls foul play.

The annual pasola — which comes from the word “spear” in a local tribal language — takes place over four weeks in February and March in western Sumba, an island in the center of the sprawling Indonesian archipelago.

Traditionally it was a barely disguised form of human sacrifice in which tribesmen would aim to spill each other’s blood onto the fields. It has evolved into a mock-up of such battles and people are not usually badly hurt, although accidental deaths do occasionally occur.

The spectacle attracts few foreign tourists — only around 10 were at the recent pasola in Ratenggaro and up to 100 normally attend larger ones. But now officials are hoping to use it to boost the economy of the desperately poor island, which is dependent on subsistence rice and corn farming and woven rattan goods that yield few profits.

“It’s a major attraction and has huge potential for development,” said Bona Fantura Rumat, from the tourism board of East Nusa Tenggara province, which includes Sumba.

Despite its pristine beaches, azure seas and traditional villages, last year Sumba attracted around 2,500 tourists — compared to more than three million who visited the nearby resort island of Bali. Rumat said plans are afoot to promote the pasola more, improve infrastructure by building better roads and start flights to more destinations in Indonesia to make Sumba easier to reach, as well as to Darwin in northern Australia.

Adapting tradition

The ritual itself has already been adapted to make it more palatable to visitors.

In the past it would typically end with a field drenched in human and horse blood, and it was a great honor for local villagers to die while taking part. At the recent Ratenggaro pasola, no one reported much more than a scratch and the villagers now use blood solely from sacrificed animals, instead of a mix of human and animal blood as they did in the past.

Before the pasola, men in a darkened hut chopped off the heads of chickens, draining their blood into buckets as a mystic chanted. A dog and pig whose blood had already been drained were roasted on a fire, to be shared and eaten after the festivities.

The spears have also been blunted and metal tips removed. In Ratenggaro, policemen armed with rifles ensured that no one was hacked to death — although a minor punch-up still ensued.

There have also been changes in the planning of the event. It traditionally only began the day after a certain type of seaworm swam to the shore — which signified the end of wet season and the beginning of crop planting — but now elders decide on the date in advance so tourists have enough time to plan their trips.

They still collect the worms, however — the more there are the better the harvest — and the slimy blue and green creatures are cooked into patty cakes.

Risk of swift Westernization

Despite the changes, many Sumbanese believe the pasola is still as spiritually rich as ever and have given a cautious welcome to the idea of increasing tourism.

“If there is anyone who takes part in the pasola with an unclean heart, then harm will come to them,” said Ratenggaro village elder Agustinus Pandak, wearing a bright orange weaving wrapped around his head.

“They might fall off their horse, be hurt when struck by a spear. But this won’t happen if the rider is at peace with himself and his heart is full of love,” he said.

Pandak added he was happy for steps to be taken to attract more people to the pasola, “as long as it’s developed with respect to our culture.”

For many foreigners who do make the journey to Sumba, the island’s underdeveloped tourism industry is precisely what they like about it.

“If it develops, I hope they go for dirt-cheap accommodation and luxury resorts, because anything in between you’ll get a mass appeal and swift Westernization, pushing every ounce of local culture out the window,” said Swedish backpacker Christoffer Kullman, 26, who was at the Ratenggaro pasola.

His travel companion, Linus Strandholm, experienced at first-hand that the modern version of the pasola is not entirely safe — he was struck in the chest by a spear and hit in the head with a rock.

“I’ve saved the rock as a souvenir,” he said, adding it was all part of the experience.

Agence France-Presse

Keeping Alive an Ancient Culture

Jakarta Globe, Grace Susetyo, February 28, 2013

Scenes from a Kamoro drum-making ceremony in Jakarta, using blood and
 limestone as an adhesive and a piece of lizard skin as a membrane.
(JG Photo/Grace Susetyo).

          

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It was a hot and sunny late morning when I stepped out of the car to hear a manly chorus calling to the vigorous rhythms of bloodied lizard-skin drums. The singing men were standing in rows inside dozens of afloat canoes, dressed in brown skirts made of sago fiber.

Meanwhile, on land, craftsmen put finishing touches to their artwork for auctioneers to fight over. The artwork included ewe (drums), mbitoro (spirit poles), mbikao (ghost suits), arrows and stylized animal figures that looked like they came out of a prehistoric fairy tale.

The roads leading there were rocky and dusty, but this festive atmosphere made the trip worthwhile.

I don’t remember the remote village’s name, nor have I been there recently. Actually these are rather faded childhood memories from the late 1990s when I lived in Mimika, the homeland of Papua’s Kamoro tribe.

“We haven’t had a big festival in the last couple of years,” said Kal Muller, an anthropologist who has been living among the Kamoro for nearly two decades. He explained funding and logistics have both been problems.

So when I had the recent opportunity to attend a Kamoro drum-making ceremony in Jakarta, I felt fortunate to witness this fading ritual. After performing a welcome dance lifting songs of praise to the ancestors, six men gathered to show the beautifully carved ironwood drum-shell and the piece of lizard-skin to be used as the membrane.

Herman Kiripi, aged 35, had his arm tied and finely cut with a new razor blade. Droplets of his blood were contained in a pair of seashells and mixed with crushed limestone to make an adhesive. Human blood is an important ingredient for the drum to the Kamoro as it serves as a device to communicate with their ancestors.

“The drum could only sound right with blood,” Herman said .

“I can’t tell the difference,” quipped Muller, a 74-year-old Hungarian-American who has given his own blood many times for drums like this.

After smearing the adhesive around the drum-shell’s rim, four men pulled the lizard-skin taut, securing it with string. Finally, the finished drum was beaten and the audience applauded enthusiastically.

In recent years, the Kamoro have gained increasing attention for their traditional carving and exotic cultural experiences to quench the adventure traveler’s curiosity. As the ancient culture struggles to survive against the pressures of globalization, well-meaning urbanites try to help by buying their artwork and applauding their shows, packaged in entertaining events and tourist itineraries.

But we sometimes forget that behind what we perceive as this gratifying parade of exoticism, lies the sacred collective memories of the Kamoro ancestors and motherland. Muller is one of few people in the world who has had the privilege and dedication to document this culture, using his books, photography and films. Nevertheless, much of the Kamoro’s stories remain unheard of in Indonesia, let alone abroad .

Ancestral worship is a strong foundation of Kamoro culture.

“We are Catholic Christians, so we attend church on Sunday and pray to Jesus Christ and Mother Mary. We venerate them the similar way that we venerate our ancestors,” said Silfinus Mametapo, a village elder from Hiripau. “But then we go back into the workshop, and we sing Kamoro language songs to praise our ancestors. We pray for wisdom and inspiration and our ancestors’ presence comes upon us as we carve.”

The Kamoro believe that they are descendants of Mapuru, a poor man from Pigapu village. Legend says that the patriarch was caught by a dragon-serpent while out hunting. After some bargaining, the serpent agreed to let Mapuru go on the condition that he refrain from eating a certain type of fish. However, out of poverty and desperation, Mapuru broke his promise and ate the forbidden fish. After that Mapuru disappeared without a trace.

Some Kamoro claim that three days later Mapuru miraculously found himself on top of the Maoke mountains. He spread crushed limestone as he walked around and turned the mountains into copper and gold. “The Kamoro recognized copper and gold ores from antiquity,” Mametapo said. “But before Freeport [mining company] came, we did not know how to process them or what their value was.”

Memories of Mapuru make a common theme in Kamoro carvings, music and rituals. The site where he is believed to have disappeared in East Mimika is now marked with a monument to Mapuru, depicting an old man and his two dogs.

Before Dutch and Moluccan missionaries came to evangelize, the Kamoro was a matrilineal society, with women playing an important role in its culture.

Two important Kamoro matriarchs are Aweya and Miminareya. Legend has it that the sisters and their husbands went for a long fishing trip in the mangroves. They did not have enough time to make it home because Miminareya was heavily pregnant and exhausted, so they anchored their boat midway for the night.

That night, Miminareya died during childbirth and gave her son Miminareyau to Aweya. Aweya then laid Miminareyau to sleep beside her own son Aweyau and overnight they grew into adult men. Aweyau and Miminareyau taught the Kamoro archery, weaponry, nose piercing rituals and other traditional knowledge.

But Aweyau and Miminareyau were not men of morals and often terrorized the villagers, who in revenge plotted to kill the cousins. In defense, Aweyau and Miminareyau weaved zombie suits from plant fibers to scare the villagers and rob them. They named the suits mbikao , literally meaning skin of deceased spirits. As the cousins shed their mbikaos the villagers caught up with them and killed them by the Tipuka River Today, the Kamoro still perform mbikao dances in honor of the patriarchs.

Ancestries determine whether a Kamoro man becomes a sculptor or a boatmaker. When a Kamoro sculptor boy reaches adolescence, he is initiated in a karapau ceremony. The karapau , a special house constructed for this purpose, is built away from the villages and boys undergo a secret initiation. In the karapau, boys are introduced to the sculptures and carve their first mbitoro pole for the spirits of the dead. At the end of the karapau, sago fiber skirts are draped on the boys, a sign of officially entering manhood. The men then head back to the village for a mbitoro erecting ceremony and a celebration of dance and music.

Likewise, boatmaker clans have an initiation ceremony called the kaware . After boatmaker boys don their grass skirts, they release canoes to a nearby body of water and perform musical rowing races.

The rituals of the Kamoro are struggling to survive, according to Muller, the researcher. Decades ago, the Kamoro lived off the land as hunter-gatherers, but today Kamoro children are attending Indonesian schools and the youth are adopting modern lifestyles that require money. Many young adults prefer to work in mining or other growing industries in Mimika, rather than continue their ancestors’ sacred vocations as hunters and carvers.

Muller said he hoped to help preserve the tribe’s traditions by finding markets for Kamoro carvings and promoting eco-tourism in their homeland. With funding from the local mine, Muller’s team mentors young educated Kamoro to carry on as guardians of the tradition, equipped with strategies that make the role profitable for the local community in the 21st century.

When asked about the impact of modernization on the Kamoro, Muller said: “It’s like the saying, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It’s up to you to decide whether the positive is stronger or the negative is stronger.”

12 Children Die in Aceh Bridge Collapse During Luck Ceremony

Jakarta Globe, June 07, 2010

Banda Aceh. Twelve Indonesian children died when a suspension bridge collapsed as they were taking part in a traditional ceremony to dispel bad luck, an official said on Monday.

The accident took place on Sunday in a remote village in Aceh province, district head Ibnu Hasyim said.

“There were about 37 kids gathered together on a wire-cable suspension bridge when it collapsed and they fell into a river,” he said.

Twenty-five children were rescued with minor injuries but 12 others, all below the age of 12, were swept away in the strong currents.

The children were watching a ritual ceremony to dispel misfortune after a measles outbreak in the area.

“The adults were throwing offerings in the form of chickens into the river” when the bridge collapsed, the official said.

Agence France-Presse

Buddhist prayers for Indian Ocean tsunami victims in Aceh

The Jakarta Post | Sun, 12/20/2009 6:23 PM

Never forget: A Buddhist prayer leader places flowers at a mass cemetery for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Ulee Lheu, Banda Aceh on Sunday. Nearly 230,000 people around the region were killed in the disaster. (Antara/Irwansyah Putra)

Hundreds of Buddhist residents on Sunday joined a prayer in front of a mass cemetery for people who died in the deadly 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that hit Aceh five years ago.

The followers also took part in other rituals such as releasing flowers and lanterns to the Ulee Lheu Sea.

One of the event’s organizers, Yuswar, told news portal tempointeraktif.com this commemoration was aimed at praying for the Buddhists killed during the disaster.

“The rituals will continue until Dec. 26,” Yuswar added.

Apart from Buddhists, Islamic followers will hold similar prayers on Dec. 26.

Nearly 230,000 people around the region were killed when a tsunami, triggered by a 7.9-magnitude undersea earthquake, hit on Dec. 26, 2004. (ewd)

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Buddhists pray and release offerings to the sea at Uleelheu beach, Banda Aceh, on Sunday as part of commemorations of the upcoming anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which left 170,000 people dead or missing and 500,000 homeless in the province of 4 million people. (Photo: Tarmizy Harva, Reuters)

Sacred circle

The Jakarta Post, Antara | Wed, 03/25/2009 12:02 PM

A group of Hindus walk to circle the Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta on Wednesdday as part of a ritual to celebrate the Nyepi Holiday. (Antara/Regina Safri)

Sacred procession

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 03/25/2009 8:45 PM

Sacred procession: Balinese men walk down stairs from a temple for a procession as part of a series of preparatory rituals for the Panca Bali Krama, a grand ritual that takes place every 10 years at Besakih temple, on the island of Bali, Indonesia, on Wednesday. Aimed at purifying the whole island, the ritual will take place on April 9. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Yoga in-sync with Islam, experts say

Andra Wisnu, The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA | Fri, 03/06/2009 8:51 AM  

Islam and yoga share more similarities than some parties would like to admit, a seminar concluded Thursday. 

Titled “Yoga and Pluralism and the Islamic Perspective on Peace” experts participating in the forum, held at the Bali-India Foundation office in Denpasar, said that Islam shared many similarities with Yoga.

The seminar is part of the International Bali-India Yoga Festival, which will run until Tuesday.

Salman Harun, a professor at Jakarta’s Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University and a noted Koranic scholar, said the act of prayer in Islam, or shalat, could be perceived as a form of yoga.

He argued that most forms of yoga as practiced the way they are today not Hindu in nature and that the practice is simply an age-old method created by people trying to connect to a cosmic force. 

“In that sense, the moves done while praying, like the way we stand, the ruku (bending over with the hands over the kneecaps), the sujud (kneeling with the face down on the floor) and the way we sit during praying is similar to yoga,” he said.

“Besides, most Muslims would agree that the moves in shalat are beneficial to our health.”

He said that, despite popular culture linking the method to Hinduism and Buddhism, this has little to do with the way yoga is practiced around the world.

Furthermore, he said, the breathing exercises done in yoga are also implicitly mentioned in the Koran. 

He cited Surah Al-Qaf, verse 16, which states: “It was We who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than [his] jugular vein”. “To breathe is to be under God’s watchful eyes, which means have to have breathing exercises is to get closer to God. That is when God is closer to you than your jugular vein,” he said, adding “and yoga teaches that technique.”

Salman’s observations may bring some unification between yoga and Islam after the two were pitted against each other by an Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued fatwa (edict) banned yoga, on the grounds that it contained elements of Hinduism. 

The MUI edict was issued after its Malaysian counterpart also banned yoga.

While the Malaysian council banned yoga completely, the Indonesian council permits forms of Yoga which are purely physical.

Salman said the MUI may have felt compelled to declare its authority in issuing the edict after looking at various forms of yoga, some of which include incantations and seemingly ritualistic practices. 

He urged the MUI and officials to educate the public on the recently issued fatwa, saying that most people would not be able to tell the difference between yoga in popular culture and yoga that incorporates chanting.

He said he saw nothing blasphemous in Muslims practicing yoga, further suggesting that yoga should be introduced to madrasahs (Islamic schools) to familiarize Muslims with yoga.

“Yoga asks people to believe in God. Which God depends on that person, but the practice itself is in line with Islamic teachings,” he said. 

Dr. Martin Ramstedt, a German researcher with the Max Planck Society, who was among the panelists, agreed with Salman, though he went farther, saying that the MUI’s edict was more motivated by political and economic ambitions and less by religious concerns.

“At the moment there is this summit in Jakarta on Islamic countries, so for economic and also political reasons, Indonesia has to somehow prove that it is Islamic in character,” he said, referring to the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) held in Jakarta between March 2 and 3.

“I understand that certain measures like the fatwa against yoga, the pornography law, the raise in alcohol taxes feeds into it. At least that’s what I think.”

Later in the evening, the Indonesian Yoga Association was established with 20 members, mostly yoga masters, joining its board.

AA Ayu Shri Sri Wariyani has been elected as the association’s chairwoman with Salman, Ramstedt, Ratu Bagus, Ida Pedanda Made Gunung, Acharya Laxmi Narayan and Stefan Denarek serving as advisors.

Sacred dance

The Jakarta Post  |  Mon, 02/23/2009 10:01 AM  |  Bali

 

 
Girls perform the sacred Rejang dance to mark the commencement of Tumpek Wariga ritual Saturday at Puputan Badung Square, Denpasar. The Balinese Hindu ritual is a tribute to plants and trees. JP/Zul Trio Anggono

Govt ruined Majapahit artifacts

The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA | Thu, 01/15/2009 3:29 PM

The government admitted Wednesday the construction of Majapahit Park in Trowulan, East Java project initiated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - has ruined ancient artifacts buried beneath the site, and announced a plan to relocate the park immediately.

Bowing to mounting public pressure, Minister for Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik told reporters in Jakarta that the decision had been reached after he and several senior archeologists and architects had spoken about the damages to artifacts of the ancient Majapahit kingdom on the site. "I swear, I never meant to destroy Indonesia's heritage by constructing the Majapahit Park. I just wanted to follow the presidential instruction to revive the civilization of the Majapahit Kingdom as our heritage and to introduce it to young people," he said.

The project, initiated by Yudhoyono in November 2008 to establish a public cultural center dedicated to the ancient Majapahit kingdom, which was at the height of its powers in the 13th century, is located on a 2,200 square-meter plot just north of the center of what was once Trowulanthe largest city in the kingdom.

A number of archeologists have said the park construction, which sunk support pillars into the ground, had destroyed ancient stones, walls and artifacts.

I understand why the archeologists are mad at me. I'm also angry at the situation. This is human error and we have to fix it rather than blaming one another," Jero said.

"We have decided to relocate Majapahit Park to another area to prevent further damage to the artifacts."

Arya Abieta, a member of the team appointed to evaluate the damage, said the archeologists and architects working in the area had recommended that the park instead be developed on the edges of the historical site.

can use the area that has been heavily looted by locals. It will be safer than building on top of the remaining artifacts," Arya said.

The Trowulan site, located in Mojokerto, 70 kilometers southwest of Surabaya, East Java, was the site of tradition full-moon rituals during the golden era of the Majapahit Kingdom.

Long after the decline of the kingdom in 14th century, locals began to loot the palace and religious buildings, including Tikus Temple. Many artifacts have been stolen or destroyed.

"No one seemed to care much about this old city before the Majapahit Park project began. Now, every one seems to care, and this is good because we have to protect the Majapahit artifacts," Jero said. (naf)

Foreign journalists to cover Nyepi

Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Television stations in the United States, Korea and Taiwan have expressed interest in covering Nyepi (the Day of Silence) in Bali, which falls on March 7 this year, an official said Thursday.

"I received proposals from three foreign TV stations -- CNN from the United States, one from Taiwan and the other one from South Korea, to cover the ritual of Nyepi next week," head of the Bali Tourism Agency, I Gede Nurjaya, told The Jakarta Post here.

He said he had sent official replies to the requests two days ago, saying the agency did not mind if they covered Nyepi, but under certain conditions.

"They are allowed to cover a series of rituals for Nyepi, starting from the melasti (self-purification) ceremony to the ogoh-ogoh (effigy) parade, but on Nyepi Day they will be allowed to cover it only from their hotels. We don't want them to disturb the devotion of the people during Nyepi Day," he said.

He said that even though they were journalists covering Nyepi, they would not be allowed onto the streets or to travel around the island on Nyepi Day, when activities are severely curtailed.

Hindu Balinese will mark Nyepi on March 7 to commemorate Hindu's Saka New Year.

Nurjaya said he also suggested they get recommendations from Indonesian embassies stating they are members of the media in their respective countries.

"I also asked them to present a list of their equipment so that we can expedite the process at the airport," he said.

However, he said it was not certain the TV stations would end up sending reporters to Bali.

"They sent me the letters at the last minute. I just received them five days ago, while Nyepi is only seven days away," he said.

During Nyepi, 90 percent of the island's 3.5 million inhabitants will practice catur berata penyepian, or the four abstinences: refraining from lighting fires and using lights, refraining from working, refraining from traveling outside the house and refraining from indulging in leisure activities for 24 hours, starting at 6 a.m. on March 7 to 6 a.m. the next day.

This ritual has inspired some non-governmental organizations that focus on environmental issues to promote the moment of Nyepi throughout the world as a campaign to reduce carbon emissions.

Ni Nyoman Sri Widhiyanti of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said she had not heard about the journalists that would go to Bali to cover Nyepi.

However, she urged the regional administration to help facilitate any journalists in carrying out their jobs.

"As long as they do not disturb the ritual it is all right for them to cover the situation of Nyepi in Bali," she said

Besides, she added, it would be a good promotion for Bali in general and for the world silence day campaign in particular.

Airport to close for Nyepi

Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

The Bali Transportation Agency will close Ngurah Rai Airport and the island's seaports during Nyepi, the Hindu Day of Silence, on March 7 this year.

"The airport will be closed from 6 a.m. on March 7 to 6 a.m. the next morning," air transportation division head Krisdiyanto told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He said that Bali Governor Dewa Beratha had sent letters to all related institutions about the temporary closing of the airport and seaports.

"However, the airport will not be closed totally. Airplanes will still be able to transit for technical landings for fuel refilling and emergency landing, but all crew and passengers should stay in the airplane during the transit," he said.

He said expected all people to respect the Hindu religious ritual of Nyepi.

During Nyepi, Hindus are not allowed to turn on lights or light fires, may not do physical activities except for spiritual purification rituals, and cannot travel or take part in entertainment.

The closures are not expected to cause any problems.

"We have never had problems since the governor usually informs all the related institutions and airplane companies six months prior to Nyepi, therefore the companies have rearranged their schedules on that day," he said.

Head of the Bali chapter of the Association for Indonesian Tours and Travel (Asita) Wayan Alloysius Purwa said that the airline companies as well as travel agents had made adjustments to the policy.

"This is not the first time the Bali administration has implemented such policy so we already know that during Nyepi we are not allowed to fly to and from Bali. All airplane companies and travel agents have adjusted their schedules for the day," he told the Post.

Al Purwa said that he never had complaints from tourists because of the policy. "Instead most of the in-house foreign tourists consider this a new experience. Bali might be the only place in the world that stops all activity during Nyepi," he said.