Nyepi- Hindu New Year celebrated in Indonesia on March 9

Every year, the day after Nyepi – the Hindu New Year's Day in Indonesia – a parade of relatives and friends descends on the home of Sucipto, a Hindu community leader in Glanggang Village of Malang regency in East Java.

The well-wishers are not just Hindus, but Muslims too. This religiously diverse village is like many others in mostly moderate, Muslim-majority Indonesia – it has nurtured a tradition of interfaith tolerance for decades.

Nyepi lasts for three days and its mood – both joyful and contemplative – infects the whole village. Hindus stay home and remain quiet on Nyepi, which fell on March 9 this year, but the following day is for visiting.

"More guests come in the evening. My living room can't hold any more," Sucipto told BenarNews from his home where the coffee table was laden with snacks, bananas and mineral water for visitors.

Muriadi, Sucipto's former junior high school mate, visits Sucipto on Nyepi every year. And every year, Sucipto shows up on Idul Fitri, Islam's most festive day, at Muriadi's house.

"We respect each other's belief," Muriadi said.

Muriadi says he has taught his children that same spirit of tolerance.

"It seems natural, as the neighborhood has been practicing religious tolerance for such a long time," he said.

Another visitor was Sucipto's Muslim niece, Wahyuni. Every year, her family makes the 50-kilometer (31-mile) trip by motorcycle from their home in another village to pay respects to Sucipto. Interfaith relations are a family affair.

"Our family members vary. Some of them practice Hinduism, some Islam, and others are Christians. We respect each other," said Wahyuni.

Day of Silence

About 170 of 1,000 families in Glanggang Village practice Hinduism. The rest are Muslims and Christians, both Protestant and Catholic.

Traditional Hindu ornaments, called penjor, decorate front yards in the Karang Tengah neighborhood, where the Eka Kapti Hindu temple and a mosque stand 100 meters apart.

The whole village was silent on Nyepi, when Hindus cannot work, go out, light fires or use electricity. Although not required or requested to do so, many Muslims observed the same restrictions.

Kasir, who is Muslim, turned off all the lights in his house and stayed home much of the day.

"It is my way to show respect to those who observed the day," he said.

Another Muslim, Misenah, did not run her tempeh-making business because the machines that make the fermented soybean cakes are noisy.

"No, I don't mind to halt production for just one day. It's my way to respect them," she said.

Mosques in the village announced the call to prayer on loudspeakers, but Muslims went home quickly afterward, Kasir said.

Sucipto, for his part, says he has attended Qur'an recitals or other religious activities held by his non-Hindu neighbors.

He joins others neighbors to clean up the village's cemetery complex twice a year: to welcome Islam's holy month of Ramadan, and Hindu Nyepi.

Kasir, meanwhile, helped stage manage the Tawur Kesanga ceremony, the day before Nyepi, when Hindus make and burn ogoh-ogoh, ornate paper sculptures symbolizing evil spirits, in a nearby field.

Published with permission from BenarNews