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Religious Life and Traditions
The development of religious life is aimed at materializing devout Indonesian people based on morality, harmonious, relationship in a religious society to maintain and defend national unity, create a civil society, national solidarity and improve religious practice of each individual according to his/her religious belief. Christians, Catholics, Hindus and Budhas, they are very harmonies and other religion. In order to overcome separatism and disintegration, the government has taken the following policies: (1) to promote religious belief, piety and religious harmony in the community; (2) to encourage the participation of the religious believers; (3) to improve religious education and activities; (4) to increase religious service; and (4) to implement the haj-pilgrimage.
The development of religion is extremely directed to achieve progress, like the development of houses of worship for various religious, the improvement of the collective pilgrimage, as well as information and other religious services. At this moment, the total number of house of worship is 1.15 million, consisting: 702 thousands of mosques, 42 thousands of Protestant-churches, 149 thousands of Catholic-churches, 223 thousands of temples, and 33 thousands of viharas in Indonesia.
With a long history of fusion with foreign cultures and religions, local beliefs, traditions and monuments have through the ages been imbued with the different influences from Hinduism, Budhism, Islam, Christianity, down to the modern cyberspace age. In Jakarta, the 19th Century Catholic Cathedral stands almost exactly opposite the modern grand Istiqlal Mosque.
The royal courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta celebrate annually by the Sekaten to commemorating the birthday of Prophet Mohammed. One month festival attended by more then ten thousand people who come from various towns and cities, presents a spectacular carnival, on the long-awaited day. A long colourful procession of elegantly dressed princes and princesses, noblemen, court officials, palace guards, dancers and musicians accompanied by two giant cones of rice decorated with vegetables, called “Gunungan”.
After blessing, the food is distributed among the people who believe that eating of the gunungan will ensure good life health and prosperity.
On the island of Lombok, in early February each year, the local priest keeps a seek on the beach for sea worms. When this festivity can begins, thousands folks gathered at the shore to watch sea warm hurting.
In Bali, every day there are processions in the village temples for weddings, tooth-filling ceremonies, on the occasion of births and elaborate pageantry for cremations.
In Pontianak, located on the equator in West Kalimantan Province, people celebrate the arrival of the sun directly overhead by holding dragon boat races. While in Sumba, in East Nusa Tenggara, the Pasola festival is celebrated with jousting on horseback.
In may, Buddhist from all around the world congregate at Borobudur to honour the birth and death of Buddha Gautama.
