Mother Temple: Hundreds
of Hindu devotees perform a ritual that is part of the mapepada
ceremony, itself part of Karya Agung Panca Bali Krama, held every ten
years at Besakih Temple in Karangasem regency. BD/Zul Trio Anggono
Numerous Hindu high priests and community leaders have strongly rejected the central government’s plan to include Besakih Temple and Mount Agung, both in Karangasem regency in east Bali, in the development of national strategic tourism plan (KSPN).
Sunday saw a high-level meeting of highly respected high priests, Pasamuhan Sabdha Pandita Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia (PHDI), from which the priests issued a statement rejecting any idea of transforming the two sacred sites into the KSPN proposed by the government.
The PHDI urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry to revoke ministerial decree No. 50 issued in 2011 on the inclusion of Besakih and Mt. Agung as KSPN for the 2010-2025 period.
The PHDI also asked the provincial administration to retain the sacred site status of Besakih Temple and Mt. Agung as per bylaw No. 16/2009.
PHDI representative, high priest Ida Pedanda Gde Ketut Sebali Tianyar Arimbawa, made a strong argument saying that the Balinese government had to implement policies and measures to retain the sanctity of the two sites.
Five of the most influential high priests — including Ida Pendanda Gde Bang Buruwan Manuaba, Ida Pandita Mpu Siwa Putra Parama Dhaksa, Ida Pandita Rsi Hari Anom Palguna and Ida Pandita Jaya Sattwika Nanda, signed the statement.
Believed to have been built in prehistoric times, Besakih is the mother temple and largest and most holy worship place for Balinese Hindus. It was built 1,000 meters up the slope of Mt. Agung, a mountain deemed holy by the Balinese.
Special offerings: Hindu devotees prepare offerings inside Besakih Temple. Numerous Hindu high priests in Bali have rejected the central government’s idea to include the sacred sites of Besakih Temple and Mount Agung in the strategic tourism development plan. BD/Anggara Mahendra
“Mount Agung and Besakih are Huluning Jagat Bali — the center of the universe for Balinese Hindus. It is the center of the godly power that protects Bali and its people,” explained Tianyar, adding any attempt to include them in a tourist plan would reduce the sanctity of these holiest of sites.
“It will deeply affect the very soul of the Balinese Hindus,” the priest stated.
The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry had previously designated several places in Bali as part of the KSPN, including Besakih and Mt. Agung in Karangasem; Kintamani and Lake Batur in Bangli; Pemuteran and the Menjangan islands in Buleleng; as well as Sanur, Kuta and Nusa Dua resort areas.
According to the ministry, the KSPN would cover tourist areas in which all elements and components of tourism had certain characteristics, specifically natural and cultural.
The ministry designated 88 KSPN across the country, however, only 16 of these, including those in Bali, are top priority. Other KSPNs are Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Borobudur Temple in Central Java, the Thousand Islands and old town of Jakarta, Mt. Bromo and Tengger, Mt. Semeru in East Java and Komodo Island in East Nusa Tenggara.
Separately, Bagus Sudibya, veteran tourism practitioner in Bali, warned the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry to be more sensitive in dealing with religious sites.
“Up to the present, the ministry has never clearly explained what the KSPN are. Or how it will affect an area once it is included in the plan. Moreover, the ministry’s staff have never involved tourism practitioners in Bali, or religious and community leaders,” Sudibya said.
Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika had previously said that KSPN were central government programs.
In the KSPN, he said, there were no specific words referring to Besakih Temple or Mt. Agung, just the development of Karangasem regency for spiritual tourism. “We, the provincial administration, have never proposed Besakih Temple and Mt. Agung be included in the KSPN,” Pastika insisted.
Courtesy:The Jakarta Post
Numerous Hindu high priests and community leaders have strongly rejected the central government’s plan to include Besakih Temple and Mount Agung, both in Karangasem regency in east Bali, in the development of national strategic tourism plan (KSPN).
Sunday saw a high-level meeting of highly respected high priests, Pasamuhan Sabdha Pandita Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia (PHDI), from which the priests issued a statement rejecting any idea of transforming the two sacred sites into the KSPN proposed by the government.
The PHDI urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry to revoke ministerial decree No. 50 issued in 2011 on the inclusion of Besakih and Mt. Agung as KSPN for the 2010-2025 period.
The PHDI also asked the provincial administration to retain the sacred site status of Besakih Temple and Mt. Agung as per bylaw No. 16/2009.
PHDI representative, high priest Ida Pedanda Gde Ketut Sebali Tianyar Arimbawa, made a strong argument saying that the Balinese government had to implement policies and measures to retain the sanctity of the two sites.
Five of the most influential high priests — including Ida Pendanda Gde Bang Buruwan Manuaba, Ida Pandita Mpu Siwa Putra Parama Dhaksa, Ida Pandita Rsi Hari Anom Palguna and Ida Pandita Jaya Sattwika Nanda, signed the statement.
Believed to have been built in prehistoric times, Besakih is the mother temple and largest and most holy worship place for Balinese Hindus. It was built 1,000 meters up the slope of Mt. Agung, a mountain deemed holy by the Balinese.
Special offerings: Hindu devotees prepare offerings inside Besakih Temple. Numerous Hindu high priests in Bali have rejected the central government’s idea to include the sacred sites of Besakih Temple and Mount Agung in the strategic tourism development plan. BD/Anggara Mahendra
“Mount Agung and Besakih are Huluning Jagat Bali — the center of the universe for Balinese Hindus. It is the center of the godly power that protects Bali and its people,” explained Tianyar, adding any attempt to include them in a tourist plan would reduce the sanctity of these holiest of sites.
“It will deeply affect the very soul of the Balinese Hindus,” the priest stated.
The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry had previously designated several places in Bali as part of the KSPN, including Besakih and Mt. Agung in Karangasem; Kintamani and Lake Batur in Bangli; Pemuteran and the Menjangan islands in Buleleng; as well as Sanur, Kuta and Nusa Dua resort areas.
According to the ministry, the KSPN would cover tourist areas in which all elements and components of tourism had certain characteristics, specifically natural and cultural.
The ministry designated 88 KSPN across the country, however, only 16 of these, including those in Bali, are top priority. Other KSPNs are Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Borobudur Temple in Central Java, the Thousand Islands and old town of Jakarta, Mt. Bromo and Tengger, Mt. Semeru in East Java and Komodo Island in East Nusa Tenggara.
Separately, Bagus Sudibya, veteran tourism practitioner in Bali, warned the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry to be more sensitive in dealing with religious sites.
“Up to the present, the ministry has never clearly explained what the KSPN are. Or how it will affect an area once it is included in the plan. Moreover, the ministry’s staff have never involved tourism practitioners in Bali, or religious and community leaders,” Sudibya said.
Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika had previously said that KSPN were central government programs.
In the KSPN, he said, there were no specific words referring to Besakih Temple or Mt. Agung, just the development of Karangasem regency for spiritual tourism. “We, the provincial administration, have never proposed Besakih Temple and Mt. Agung be included in the KSPN,” Pastika insisted.
Courtesy:The Jakarta Post
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