Hinduism in Southeast Asia had a profound impact on the region's cultural development and its history. As the Indic scripts were introduced from the Indian subcontinent, people of Southeast Asia entered the historical period by producing their earliest inscriptions around the 1st to 5th century CE. Today, Hindus in Southeast Asia are mainly Overseas Indians and Balinese. There are also Javanese (also other minorities of Indonesia), and the Balamon Cham minority in South Central Vietnam who also practice Hinduism.
Hindu civilization, which itself formed from various distinct cultures and peoples, including also early Southeast Asian, specifically Mon Khmer influences, was adopted and assimilated into the indigenous social constructs and statehoods of Southeast Asian regional polities. Through the formation of Indianized kingdoms, small indigenous polities led by petty chieftain were transformed into major kingdoms and empires led by a Maharaja with statecraft akin to India’s. This gave birth to the Champa civilisation in South Central Vietnam, the Funan Kingdom in Southern Vietnam, the Khmer Empire in Indochina, the Langkasuka Kingdom and Old Kedah in the Malay Peninsula, the Sriwijayan kingdom on Sumatra, the Mataram kingdom, Singhasari and the Majapahit Empire based in Java, Bali and parts of the Philippine archipelago. The civilisation of India influenced the languages, scripts, written traditions, literatures, calendars, belief systems and artistic aspects of these peoples and nations.
A reason for the acceptance of Indian culture and religious traditions in Southeast Asia was because Indian culture already bore some striking similarities to indigenous cultures of Southeast Asia, which can be explained by earlier Southeast Asian (specifically Austroasiatic, such as early Munda and Mon Khmer groups) and Himalayan (Tibetic) cultural and linguistic influence on local Indian peoples. Several scholars, such as Professor Przyluski, Jules Bloch, and Lévi, among others, concluded that there is a significant cultural, linguistic, and political Mon-Khmer (Austroasiatic) influence on early Indian culture and traditions. India is seen as a melting pot of western, eastern and indigenous traditions.
Ancient era Indian scholars wrote about the Dwipantara or Jawa Dwipa Hindu kingdom in Java and Sumatra around 200 BC. "Yawadvipa" is mentioned in India's earliest epic, the Ramayana. Sugriva, the chief of Rama's army, dispatched his men to Yawadvipa, the island of Java, in search of Sita. It was hence referred to by the Sanskrit name "yāvaka dvīpa" (dvīpa = island). Southeast Asia was frequented by traders from eastern India, particularly Kalinga, as well as from the kingdoms of South India. The Indianised Tarumanagara kingdom was established in West Java around 400s, and produced inscriptions among the earliest in Indonesian history. There was a marked Buddhist influence starting about 425 in the region. Around the 6th century, the Indianized Kalingga kingdom was established on the northern coast of Central Java. The name of the kingdom was derived from Kalinga east coast of India. These Southeast Asian seafaring peoples engaged in extensive trade with India and China, which attracted the attention of the Mongols, Chinese and Japanese, as well as Islamic traders, who reached the Aceh area of Sumatra in the 12th century. Medieval Indian scholars also referred to the Philippines as "Panyupayana" (The lands surrounded by water).
Indian Hindu influence began declining around the 11th century, though traces of Hinduism remained in places like Java well into the 16th century, while Bali retained such influences to the modern day.Ricklefs, Merle C. "Southeast Asia, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam in." In Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World: Digital Collection.: Oxford University Press.
Examples of the Hindu cultural influence found today throughout Southeast Asia owe much to the legacy of the Chola dynasty. For example, the great temple complex at Prambanan in Indonesia exhibits a number of similarities with the South Indian architecture.
According to the Malay chronicle Sejarah Melayu, the rulers of the Malacca Sultanate claimed to be descendants of the kings of the Chola Empire. Chola rule is remembered in Malaysia today as many princes there have names ending with Cholan or Chulan, one such being Raja Chulan, the Raja of Perak.
The Chola school of art also spread to Southeast Asia and influenced the architecture and art of Southeast Asia.
Some scholars have pointed out that the legends of Ikshvaku and Sumati may have their origin in the Southeast-Asian myth of the birth of humanity from a bitter gourd. The legend of Sumati, the wife of King Sagar, tells that she produced offspring with the aid of a bitter gourd.; Sergent, Bernard: Genèse de l'Inde, 1997.
Modern era
Today, vibrant and diverse Hindu communities spread across Southeast Asia, remaining especially in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Medan (Indonesia) and the Philippines, mainly due to the presence of Tamil people, who migrated from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia in past centuries. One notably Southeast Asian aspect of Tamil Hinduism is the festival of Thaipusam, while other Hindu religious festivals such as Diwali are also well-observed by Hindus in the region. In Thailand and Cambodia, Thai and Khmer people practised Hindu rituals and traditions along with their Buddhist faith, and Hindu gods such as Brahma are still widely revered.
In Indonesia, it is not only people of Indian descent who practice Hinduism; Hinduism still survives as the major religion in Bali, where native Indonesians, the Balinese people, adhere to Agama Hindu Dharma, a variant of Hinduism derived from ancient Java-Bali Hindu traditions developed in the island for almost two millennia, often incorporating native spiritual elements. Other than the Balinese, small enclaves of Javanese Hindu minorities are also can be found in Java, such as around Tengger mountain ranges near Bromo and Semeru volcanoes, Karanganyar Regency in Central Java, and near Prambanan, Yogyakarta. Similarly, Hinduism is also found among the Cham minority in Southern Vietnam and Cambodia: just like the Javanese, the majority of them are Muslims but a minority are Hindu. In other parts of Indonesia, the term Hindu Dharma is often loosely used as an umbrella category to identify native spiritual beliefs and indigenous religions such as Hindu Kaharingan professed by Dayak of Kalimantan.
The resurgence of Hinduism in Indonesia is occurring in all parts of the country. In the early 1970s, the Toraja people of Sulawesi were the first to be identified under the umbrella of 'Hinduism', followed by the Karo Batak of Sumatra in 1977 and the Ngaju Dayak of Kalimantan in 1980. In an unpublished report in 1999, the National Indonesian Bureau of Statistics admitted that around 100,000 people had officially converted or 'reconverted' from Islam to Hinduism over the previous two decades.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs, as of 2007, estimated there were at least 10 million Hindus in Indonesia.
The growth of Hinduism has been driven also by the famous Javanese prophecies of Sabdapalon and Jayabaya. Many recent converts to Hinduism had been members of the families of Sukarno's PNI, and now support Megawati Sukarnoputri. This return to the 'religion of Majapahit’ (Hinduism) is a matter of nationalist pride.
Next to Indonesian Balinese, the Balamon Cham are now the only surviving native (non-Indic) Hindus in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam there are roughly 160,000 members of the Cham ethnic minority. The majority of them adhere to Islam while some are Hindus. After centuries being dominated by Kinh (Vietnamese), today there are some efforts to revive Cham culture.
Countries
Hinduism is a minority religion of Southeast Asia with a sizeable population in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar. Indonesia has the fourth largest Hindu population of the world, mostly residing on the island of Bali.
Brunei Through allegiance to the Majapahit Empire, Hinduism was influential among the ruling classes and partially adopted by the locals.
Cambodia
Cambodia was first influenced by Hinduism during the beginning of the Kingdom of Funan. Hinduism was one of the Khmer Empire's official religions. Angkor Wat, the largest temple complex in the world (now Buddhist) was once a Hindu temple. The main religion adhered to in Khmer kingdom was Hinduism, followed by Buddhism in popularity. Initially, the kingdom followed Hinduism as its main state religion.
The Mahadeva's Vishnu and Shiva were the most revered deities worshipped in Khmer Hindu temples. Temples such as Angkor Wat are actually known as Preah Pisnulok (Vara Vishnuloka in Sanskrit) or the realm of Vishnu, to honour the posthumous King Suryavarman II as Vishnu. Hindu ceremonies and rituals performed by Brahmins (Hindu priests), typically only remained among the ruling elites of the king's family, nobles, and the ruling class.
The Khmer Empire has developed a complex society where sophisticated culture, art, and architecture flourish. The Khmer king and his officials were in charge of irrigation management and water distribution, which consisted of an intricate series of hydraulics infrastructure, such as canals, moats, and massive reservoirs called barays. Society was arranged in a hierarchy reflecting the Hindu caste system, where the commoners – rice farmers and fishermen – formed the large majority of the population. The kshatriyas – royalty, nobles, warlords, soldiers, and warriors – formed a governing elite and authorities. Other social classes included brahmins (priests), traders, artisans such as carpenters and stonemasons, potters, metalworkers, goldsmiths, and textile weavers, while on the lowest social level are slaves. The extensive irrigation projects provided rice surpluses that could support a large population. The state religion was Hinduism but influenced by the cult of Devaraja, elevating the Khmer kings as possessing the divine quality of living gods on earth, attributed to the incarnation of Vishnu or Shiva. In politics, this status was viewed as the divine justification of a king's rule. The cult enabled the Khmer kings to embark on massive architectural projects, constructing majestic monuments such as Angkor Wat and Bayon to celebrate the king's divine rule on earth.
The empire's official religions included Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism until Theravada Buddhism prevailed, even among the lower classes, after its introduction from Sri Lanka in the 13th century.Keyes, 1995, pp.78–82 Since then, Hinduism slowly declined in Cambodia, and finally being replaced by Theravadan Buddhist as the major faith in the kingdom. Despite this, Hindu rituals continue to play an important role in the kingdom. Like in neighboring Thailand, the ceremony of coronation is conducted mostly by royal Brahmins, during which the sovereign swears in front of the idols of gods Vishnu and Shiva to maintain the ancient national traditions.
Indonesia
Today in Indonesia, Hinduism is practised by 1.7% of the total population. Hindus constitute 83.29% of the population of Bali and 5.75% of the population of Central Kalimantan, as of the 2010 census. However, between the 4th century to 15th century, Hinduism and Buddhism was adhered by the majority of the population, along with native indigenous animism and dynamism beliefs that venerated natural and ancestral spirits. By 15th to 16th-century Islam had supplanted Hinduism and Buddhism as the majority religion in the Indonesian archipelago. The influence of Hinduism has profoundly left its marks on the culture of Bali, Java, and Sumatra. Bali has become the last remnant of once Hindu dominated region.