Hindu influence was estimated to start at the beginning of the 6th century AD. The milestone was taken from the interpretation of seven yupa of the remains of the Kutai Kingdom in East Kalimantan and seven inscriptions from Tarumanegara Kingdom in West Java.
Because the yupa and inscriptions used Pallava scripts, it was assumed that the Hindu culture spreading in several regions in Indonesia came from south India. Here are some of the regions which were influenced by Hindu elements :
- Kutai Kingdom
- Tarumanegara Kingdom
- Ho-Ling Kingdom
- Mataram Kingdom
- Kanjuruhan Kingdom
- Kediri Kingdom
- Singasari Kingdom
- Majapahit Kingdom
- Sunda Kingdom
- Bali Kingdom
Regions in Nusantara which were not influenced by the Hindu-Buddhist element
The involvement of Indonesia in international trade made it open to any nation. This also made it easier for any nations passing through or stopping by to implant their influence in Indonesia. Among the cultures that came into Indonesia were Hindu-Buddhist cultures.
The regions in Indonesia which were not affected by Hindu-Buddhist cultural elements were Maluku and the surroundings, islands in Nusa Tenggara, and Papua and the surroundings.
These regions were not influenced by Hindu-Buddhist cultures because the areas in east Indonesia were not located in the path of international trade and were considered too far to reach at that time.
Read also: Development of Hinduism Buddhism in Asia
