A thread on the roots of Hinduism in Indonesia
Recently found out the Indonesia, a country with 87% of its populations muslim has an image of hindu god Ganesha on its currency.There is a very interesting story as to how Lord Ganesha was placed on currency notes of Indonesia
The story suggests that in 1997, the currency of several Asian countries was getting devalued. After all attempts to curb the devaluation failed, somebody suggested that they have an image of Ganesha, bringer of good fortune on the note.
Luckily, it worked and the superstition has stuck ever since. Since then, the image has stayed on the currency note and natives have accepted it.
Hinduism has deep embedded roots in Indonesia. It is said that Indonesia was a hindu nation until 15th century under Majapahit empire
The last ruler of Majapahit, Brawijaya V, converted himself to Islam in 1478.ย And the spread of Islam thus began. But before that Indonesia had flourished in art, culture, literature and architechture inspired by Hindu gods.
Even today the influence of Hinduism is quite prominent in the country. For instance, Ramayana and Mahabharata tales are widely popular among the locals. There is a Krishna-Arjuna statue at Jakarta square. The Indonesian military has Hanuman as their mascot.