Hinduism and Buddhism: Spreading Process In Indonesia

Hinduism and Buddhism, has influence this country, especially in java and bali. Even Islam is the most popular belief in Java, this two still have many influence in every aspect of their life. Language, architectures, people names, and even how do they worship God, are affected by the civilization of this two believes. Now i just wanna give some explanation about how this two religion spread throughout this country, and build their civilization here. There are five theory which explain about this, they are:

Theory of Vaishya

This theory was an opinion from N.J. Krom. He thought that the biggest motivation for the Indians to come to Indonesia is to trade. The biggest group that come to this country based on this theory is the castes of Vaishya wich is dominated by the merchants. But this theory was being doubted about it's truth, because, if this theory is true, the center of culture should be in the trade area, like the harbor, which is usually located in the city(near the crowds). But the reality is that the influence of hinduism is more located in the hinterland and villages, which is proven by the existence of the hinduist kingdoms in javanese hinterlands.

Theory of Kshatriya

This theory was publicated by F.D.K. Bosch. It said that there were many wars between tribes in India. The troops who lose and getting tired of wars left the India. Then, some of that ‘losers’ reach the Indonesia. They built new colonies as their new hometown. And the spreading process starts from there. But the weakness of this theory is that no written evidence which wrote about the colonization by the Indian troops ever found.

Theory of Brahmin

This theory was publicated by J.C. van Leur. The brahmins(priests) came to Indonesia from India because they are invited by the tribe chiefs to legitimate their(tribe chiefs) fame so it’s equal to the kings in India. The evidence was the hinduist kingdoms left overs, especially the written rock which is written in the Sansekertan Language and The Pallawan letters. In India, those letters only written in their holy book weda and religious ceremonial, and only the Brahmins who able to use it fluently. This theory is also doubtful, it was true that only the brahmins who able to read weda but they believe that crossing the sea is forbidden.

The Theory of Returning Flow

This is the opinion of G. Coedes. The developing influence of the Indian culture was done by the Indonesians itself. The Indonesians have some business in India, like learning the Hindu and Buddha religions. When they return, they brought their knowledge about religions and the culture in India. Many People believe in this theory:  Hinduism and Buddhism enter the Indonesia, becaause of the Indonesians itself, who learnt it when they were in India for some purposes. However, this theory still need more evidences to prove it’s truth.

Maybe that's all from me, i hope it is useful.