pilgrimage

#1Pic1Day: Pemujaan Mao | Mao Worship (Tibet, 2005)

Mao Worship (Tibet, 2005) Inside house of a Tibetan family nearby Kailash, pictures of Mao Zedong are placed together with Buddhist statues and symbols at the worshipping altar. Pemujaan Mao (Tibet, 2005) Foto-foto Mao Zedong diletakkan bersama dengan patung-patung Buddha dan simbol-simbol Buddhis di altar pemujaan di sebuah rumah keluarga Tibet di dekat Kailash. [...]

November 29, 2013 // 1 Comment

#1Pic1Day: Kuil Keramat | Sacred Temple (Tibet, 2005)

Sacred Temple (Tibet, 2005) The ancient Chiu Gompa is located next to the Manasarovar Lake, the holy lake of gods. There are two giant lakes in front of the Kailash, one is Manasarovar (place of gods), and the other is Rakshastal (place of demons). Kuil Keramat (Tibet, 2005) Kuil kuno Chiu Gompa terletak di sebelah Danau Manasarovar, yang dianggap sebagai danau para dewa. Ada dua danau raksasa di hadapan Gunung Kailash, yaitu Manasarovar (tempat para dewa) dan Rakshastal (tempat para setan). [...]

November 28, 2013 // 3 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Terlahir Kembali | A New Person (Tibet, 2005)

A New Person (Tibet, 2005) Pilgrimage to Kailash is a manifestation of Buddhist journey of life. After the whole journey, everybody is not the same anymore, a new person is reborn. But physically, everything is just the same. No special title, no special costume, no change of social status… pilgrimage is personal. Terlahir Kembali (Tibet, 2005) Penziarah ke Kailash adalah manifestasi konsep Buddhisme mengenai perjalanan hidup. Setelah perjalanan panjang, setiap orang tidak akan sama lagi, dan seseorang yang baru telah terlahir kembali. Tetapi secara fisik, semuanya masih tetap sama. Tidak ada gelar khusus, pakaian khusus, ataupun perubahan status sosial… karena ziarah adalah personal. [...]

November 27, 2013 // 3 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Bukan Jalan Gampang | Not an Easy Way (Tibet, 2005)

Not an Easy Way (Tibet, 2005) Some Tibetan pilgrims take meaning of pilgrimage more seriously. Not only they have walked thousands of kilometers from their villages to the sacred mountain of Kailash, they also circumambulate the mountains by crawling, for 53 kilometer journey at 5000-ish elevation. Bukan Jalan Gampang (Tibet, 2005) Beberapa peziarah Tibet memaknai penziarahan dengan jauh lebih serius. Bukan saja mereka berjalan ribuan kilometer dari desa mereka untuk sampai ke Kailash, mereka juga mengelilingi gunung suci ini dengan merangkak, sejauh 53 kilometer sekali putaran pada ketinggian 5000-an meter. [...]

November 26, 2013 // 3 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Bendera Doa | Prayers Flag (Tibet, 2005)

Prayers Flag (Tibet, 2005) The Tibetan Buddhists believe that the higher the place, the better it is to deliver their prayers. Therefore, top of hills or mountains are always holy, and it is the place to build ritual site or to put prayers flags. In the Kailash pilgrimage, at the highest section of the trek facing directly to the sacred mountain, pilgrims and monks deliver their prayers. Bendera Doa (Tibet, 2005) Umat Buddhis Tibet percaya, semakin tinggi tempatnya maka semakin baik pula untuk menyampaikan doa. Karena itu, puncak bukit atau gunung selalu merupakan tempat suci, dan orang Tibet mendirikan tempat pemujaan dan meletakkan bendera-bendera doa di tempat itu. Dalam perjalanan ziarah Kailash, titik tertinggi dari jalur perjalanan ini berhadapan langsung dengan gunung suci, merupakan tempat para peziarah dan biksu menghaturkan doa mereka. [...]

November 25, 2013 // 0 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Wajah Utara | The North Face (Tibet, 2005)

The North Face (Tibet, 2005) The north face of the holy mountain of Kailash is among important sections of Kailash pilgrimage. Kailash is regarded the holiest mountain for four religions—so holy that nobody is allowed to touch or climb it. The pilgrimage is done by walking to circumambulate the mountain. Wajah Utara (Tibet, 2005) Menyaksikan wajah utara gunung keramat Kailash adalah salah satu bagian penting dalam perjalanan ziarah Kailash. Kailash adalah gunung paling suci bagi empat agama, saking sucinya tidak seorang pun diizinkan untuk menyentuh atau mendakinya. Perjalanan ziarah ini dilakukan dengan mengelilingi gunung suci itu. [...]

November 22, 2013 // 2 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Kematian Simbolis | Symbolic Death (Tibet, 2005)

Symbolic Death (Tibet, 2005) A part of the Kailash pilgrimage journey is a site called Shiwa Tsal, where pilgrims leave some of their possessions here, usually clothes, shoes, or hair. The ritual is a symbol of death of our old life, and being reborn with a new spiritual life. Not far from here is the sky burial site, a reminder that nothing is eternal. Kematian Simbolis (Tibet, 2005) Bagian dari perjalanan ziarah Kailash adalah sebuah tempat bernama Shiwa Tsal, di mana para peziarah meninggalkan beberapa benda yang mereka miliki, biasanya berupa pakaian, sepatu, atau rambut. Ritual ini adalah simbol dari kematian raga kita yang lama, dan dilahirkan kembali dalam kehidupan spiritual yang baru. Tidak jauh dari tempat ini adalah tempat pemakaman langit (cara pemakaman Tibet di mana mayat ditaruh begitu saja di tempat terbuka sehingga menjadi santapan burung pemangsa dan hewan), sebuah peringatan bagi kita bahwa tidak ada yang abadi dalam dunia ini. [...]

November 21, 2013 // 2 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Perhiasan | Accessories (Tibet, 2005)

Accessories (Tibet, 2005) A Tibetan woman shows her beautiful accessories. She opens a pilgrim rest house in the midway of Kailash pilgrimage path. Perhiasan (Tibet, 2005) Seorang perempuan Tibet menunjukkan perhiasannya yang cantik-cantik. Dia membuka sebuah pondok peristirahatan bagi para peziarah yang mengelilingi Kailash. [...]

November 20, 2013 // 5 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Ziarah ke Kailash | Pilgrimage to Kailash (Tibet, 2005)

Pilgrimage to Kailash (Tibet, 2005) For the Tibetan Buddhists, a pilgrimage to Kailash is among important journeys to do in life. People walk or hitchhike to the site from their villages, sometimes thousands of kilometers away. The pilgrimage ritual is going circumambulate the holy mountain, about 53 kilometer trek at 5000-ish m elevation. The Buddhists believe that you have to circumambulate it in odd numbers, means either you are supposed to do it once, or if you do twice you should do the third trek as soon as possible. Doing the pilgrimage for 108 times is believed as a journey to nirvana. Ziarah ke Kailash (Tibet, 2005) Bagi umat Buddhis Tibet, ziarah ke Kailash adalah salah satu dari perjalanan penting yang dilakukan dalam hidup. Orang berjalan atau menumpang kendaraan dari desa mereka, terkadang ribuan kilometer jauhnya. Ritual ziarah dilakukan dengan mengelilingi gunung suci ini, sebuah perjalanan berat di alam liar sejauh 53 kilometer pada ketinggian sekitar 5000 m di atas permukaan laut. Mereka menekankan perlunya mengelilingi gunung ini dalam angka ganjil. Jadi Anda hanya mengelilingi sekali, atau kalau sudah mengelilingi yang kedua kalinya harus cepat-cepat melakukan putaran ketiga. Mengelilingi Kailash sebanyak 108 kali dipercaya sebagai jalan menuju [...]

November 19, 2013 // 2 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Gunung Keramat | The Sacred Mountain (Tibet, 2005)

The Sacred Mountain (Tibet, 2005) The mountain of Kailash is the holiest site for four religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Bon and Jain. For the Tibetan Buddhists, Kailash is known as Kangri Rinpoche, “Precious Snow Mountain”, the center of universe. The Hindus believe Kailash is manifestation of Meru, the home of Shiva, and symbol of powerful mantra om. The Hindu concept of meru is also adapted in Indonesian culture, where some volcanos in Java and Bali are regarded holy, especially the Mahameru (Semeru, “The Perfect Meru”) which possesses respected position in Javanese Hindu cosmology. Also the stupa and mandala of Borobudur is actually another manifestation of meru, or Kailash. In Tibet, Kailash is so sacred, that nobody is allowed to touch it, no mention to climb over it. Gunung Keramat (Tibet, 2005) Gunung Kailash adalah situs paling suci bagi empat agama: Buddha, Hindu, Bon, dan Jain. Bagi umat Buddhis Tibet, Kailash dikenal sebagai Kangri Rinpoche, “Gunung Salju yang Mulia”, pusat dari alam semesta. Orang Hindu percaya Kailash adalah perwujudan dari Meru, tempat kediaman Dewa Sywa, dan simbol dari mantra suci Om. Konsep meru dalam Hindu ini diadaptasi juga dalam tradisi Indonesia, di mana sejumlah gunung berapi di Jawa dan Bali dikeramatkan, terutama [...]

November 18, 2013 // 0 Comments

Shakhimardan – An Uzbek Island Surrounded by Kyrgyz Mountains

Shakhimardan, an Uzbek “island” surrounded by Kyrgyzstan As artificial as any other thing in Central Asia was the border lines between the countries. The nations created by the Soviet rulers now had to be provided their homeland. Stalin might say, land populated by most Uzbek should be Uzbekistan, those inhabited by mostly Mongoloid Kyrgyz then became Kazakhstan (the Kazakh was called as Kyrgyz) and Kyrgyzstan (of which people was called as Black Kyrgyz). But the matter was not simple in the Ferghana Valley. Ferghana Valley was always a boiling pot in Central Asia. The people were renowned as deeply religious Muslim, if not fundamentalist. It was more than necessary for the Russian to divide this huge mass with the highest population density all over Central Asia. Then, besides the division of ethnics (who were Uzbek, who were Kyrgyz, and who were Tajik), there was a clever intrigue by dividing the border lands to divide the people. Then, the identity in Ferghana Valley was not single ‘Islam’ anymore, but new artificial entities of Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Tajik. But this was not something special if it was just borderlines. Borderlines created by Stalin were so complicated, zigzagging, and nobody understood the reason. [...]

April 7, 2007 // 1 Comment

Turkistan – A Journey to Turkistan

A pilgrimage to the holy land of Trkistanrkistan The holy journey to the holy land The train departed from Almaty 1 train station after I had a little incident with station police. I was just informed that taking photos in a train station was extremely prohibited. I was taking photos of the train, passengers, and security officers, and then suddenly a man called me to follow him to a special room. Here I was interrogated by the woman who was the head of the police. I explained that I was just a tourist and I was interested by the Russian train. They let me go after I deleted the photos. Many passengers of the train were students. The way going to Turkistan passes Shymkent, the important southern town bordering with Uzbekistan. Most of the passengers, compared to northbound train routes, were mostly Asians. Southern part of Kazakhstan was dominated by native Kazakh and Uzbek. The holy man The train journey was long. But as here, most passengers were Kazakh and Uzbek, comparatively they were much friendlier compared to passengers of train to Astana or Karaganda. Maybe it was also the weather which defined people characteristics. In northern cities, where the [...]

December 12, 2006 // 0 Comments

Tughoz – Aliboy Family Aliboy family

The Aliboy family His name is Tuloev Aliboy Jumakhanovich, an unemployed man who sometimes work as driver, 33 years old. He greeted me, “We, Ismailis, dont go for hajj in Mecca. We dont waste our money for hajj. But our leader says, providing shelter and food for poor traveller, the mosafers, that is our hajj pilgrimage.” That is the reason of the hospitality of the Ismailis. No matter that there is no even wheat to make bread, being hospitable to a guest is compulsory. Aliboy sheltered me in his traditional house. There were his old father, Jumakhan, 72 years old, the old mother, sisters, cousins, and children in his little house. People of the Pamir are said to have long ages, like Jumakhan’s grand father who lived until 120 years old of age. Maybe it was because of the pure water. Aliboy had no job, even though he had a car. Here we could observe how live reduced dramatically to its modest form since the breakaway of the USSR. From a car owner to be an unemployed whou couldnt sustain sufficient income for basic needs, life have never been easy afterwards. The situation in Tajikistan was much worsened by the [...]

October 24, 2006 // 0 Comments

Band-e-Amir – A Pilgrimage

The cliff near the magical lake of Band-e-Haibat, one of the crystal blue Band-e-Amir lakes. “Bacha bazi, Khuda razi,” – a Hazara restaurant boy. Band-e-Amir is always a highlight of any visits to Afghanistan. The crystal blue lakes are simply miracle among the barren hills. The locals also believe it as a miracle. Legend says that Hazrat Ali, or Caliph Ali bin Abi Thalib, came to Bamiyan, killed a dragon and created the 6 lakes of Band-e-Amir with his magical power. Considering that the Hazara people are Shiite, the Imam Ali (or Hazrat Ali) was always the reason of all miracles. I argued with a man from Chekhcheran, that it was doubted that Hazrat Ali even had come to Bamiyan. Hazrat Ali died after some years being the fouth Caliph in Iraq, and he spent most of his time in the Middle East. The Chekhcheran man said that according to a travel writing of a Chinese adventurer (possibly a Buddhist monk) visiting Bamiyan 2000 years ago, the dragon of Bamiyan was still alive. The dragon is now believed to turn to be a hill with mineral spring, the Darya Ajdahar. You need a high degree of imagination to see that [...]

September 21, 2006 // 0 Comments

Mazhar e Sharif – The Holy City

The holy shrine The skyline is dominated by the blue domes of fantasy-like architecture of the mausoleum, along with hundreds of white pigeons flying around to seek fortune. Mazhar e Sharif, once a small village overshadowed by the nearby Balkh, now is the biggest city in northern Afghanistan. Mazhar-e-Sharif, literally means Tomb of the Exalted, had passed different path of history Kabul had experienced. It was Russian stronghold area and it was under the occupation of communist general Rashed Dostum, an uneducated warlord who once the big ruler of Northern Afghanistan. Dostum had published his own money, what was known as Junbeshi money (Peace money), and he had his own airlines. Taliban failed to conquer Mazhar at its first attack, but succeeded in 1992 when Mazhar turned to be a city of blood. The Hazara ethnic were slaughtered. The fantasyish holy building is believed to be site where the body of Ali bin Abi Thalib lies Huge poster of the national hero, a Tajik man by ethnicity, Ahmad Shah Massoud Dostum is Uzbek. But not all Mazhar Uzbek like him. “He is a terrorist. I prefer Taliban as they are more Islamic,” said Kamran, a 20 year old man from [...]

August 12, 2006 // 1 Comment

Balkh – The Passed Past

The ancient civilization of Balkh “I am not a communist. I am a Muslim” – Khan Agha Arvin The present day tiny town of Balkh, 30 minutes away from Mazhar e Sharif connected by high speed highway, was before a glorious capital of the Bactrian empire. Today, for the locals, the name Balkh maybe more better translated as pilgrimage sites, where hundreds of holy saints’ mausoleums are located and pilgrims came for blessing and prayers everyday. One among the pilgrims was Khan Agha Arvin, currently worked as vice director of one of Afghanistan’s most famous high schools, Lycee Istiqlal in Kabul. I met him accidentally in the pilgrimage site of Rabia Balkhi, a great Persian woman poet who died in name of love. Arvin, now 47, offered me to go with him and his colleagues around the old town. Offering prayers in holy sites which populate the whole city of Balkh The city walls of Balkh, once walls which protected the great capital of the great empire, now was rubble of history. But for Arvin, the history was still alive. It was here, 12 years ago, when he struggled to defend the truth. 12 years ago, when he was a [...]

August 11, 2006 // 0 Comments

Uch Sharif – The Saint City

May 5, 2006 Half Left Bahawalpur is the gate to the saint city of Uch Sharif, where some of the most holy men of Islam and Sufi were putting their roots here. Uch Sharif is said to had the second oldest university, after Rome. Where in Rome, the universities were already left their medieval time, replaced by cableless internet connection equipped classrooms, the religious schools in Uch Sharif were still looked wrapped by the time of their heydays. Uch Sharrif is about 100 kms away from Bahawalpur. The bus had to change in a nearby city, Ahmedpur, which was 20 kms away from Uch. The bus conductors, as in other places in Pakistan, would admit everybody even when they were sure that the bus wouldnt take the passenger to the destination. I departed early to avoid the summer heat (reach almost 45 now), but still I spent too much time on road because the bus going to other direction insisted to take me anyway. And as result of this friendly and helpful ticket seller, I was lost in the middle of nowhere. Pilgrims bring flowers as symbol of their prayers Uch Sharif bazaar was the gate to the little town. [...]

May 5, 2006 // 1 Comment

Multan – The Mausoleums of Multan

May 2, 2006 Bahauddin Zakariya Mausoleum in Multan The old city of Multan was among the first places in Pakistan to be converted to Islam by Mohammad bin Qasim. At that time Multan was a center of a Brahmin kingdom, led by a Brahmin king of Darra. Nothing left in Multan of its pre-Islamic history. The city had became a major pilgrimage for the Muslims all around the country as many of the mausoleums of the holy men of the religion are located here. The most famous mausoleum of Multan might be the Mazhar of Sheikh Rukn-i-Alam. The building of the mausoleum was fantastic, reminded me to the Moghul mosques and mausoleums of Uzbekistan (they were all Moghuls anyway). Rukn-i-Alam means pillars of the world. A large number of pilgrims come here everyday, to pray around the tomb inside the mausoleum building. Rukn-i-Alam is a leader of the Suhrawardiya Sufi sect, so both of Sunni and Shiah pilgrims come here. To come to the mausoleum, one should leave the shoes and sandals outside. There was a caretaker who would get money of 2 Rs everytime he returned the shoes. I saw a shoe caretaker of another gate, refused two old [...]

May 2, 2006 // 0 Comments

Khewra – The Salt Mines

April 21, 2006 The salt mine of Khewra Salt mines? For Indonesians, the concept of salt mines may be difficult to accept, as in our country the salt is produced through the drainage of sea water. But in Pakistan, it does exist the world’s second biggest salt mine on earth (the first one is in Poland). Yes, the salt is produced from the caves in the salt hills in the heart of Punjab. That was the reason led me to Chakwal, the northern gate to the salt range, not far from Rawalpindi. The town itself is not inspiring. Not far from Chakwal, there is ancient Hindu pilgrimage in Katas. Katas can be reached by public buses from Chakwal to Choa Shaden Shah (the name of this town is also interesting, as Choa in Urdu does mean ‘rat’), 25 km to southeast, continued by an easy five kilometre ride to Katas. Katas, once a very important Hindu pilgrimage, now is quite desarted after the partition of India-Pakistan, as almost no Hindus left in this area. The legend said that the holy pool in Katas was formed by one of the two teardrops of Shiva Mahadev. The other teardrop had formed the [...]

April 21, 2006 // 2 Comments

Karimabad – Trapped

A journey to no-men peaks January 16, 2006 Planned to leave Karimabad already, awaiting for the coming jeep from Sust which I can hitch for free, but the friend who is going to go together delayed his journey for unlimited time. Meanwhile the bus ticket from Karimabad to Rawalpindi arouse to 821 Rupees, too expensive for me. And another bad news, there was road block somewhere between Gilgit and Pindi, so all buses will not operating for these 2-3 days. What a luck. Again, I am trapped in Karimabad. Yesterday, to pass the time, I decided to join some local guys climbing up to the Eagle’s Nest. From here we can see the whole valley. I have been there two years ago, and it was a terrible walk in summer. Now in super cold winter, nobody is up there. All hotels and houses are empty, and the road was slippery of ice and glacier. Luckily I was not alone, so there was someone (Mr Karim) who held my hand along the way…. Totally deserted in winter The snow was thick up there, and it was land of nobody, with empty houses and buildings, left-away agricultural fields, resembled a ghost town. [...]

January 16, 2006 // 1 Comment