Proceedings of the 1st Seminar and Workshop on Research Design, for Education, Social Science, Arts, and Humanities, SEWORD FRESSH 2019, April 27 2019, Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia

Research Article

A Phenomenology Approach: Religious Significance of Mandala in Ancient Nias Culture

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  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.4108/eai.27-4-2019.2286915,
        author={Sonny Eli Zaluchu and Fransiskus Irwan Widjaja},
        title={A Phenomenology Approach: Religious Significance of Mandala in Ancient Nias Culture},
        proceedings={Proceedings of the 1st Seminar and Workshop on Research Design, for Education, Social Science, Arts, and Humanities, SEWORD FRESSH 2019, April 27 2019, Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia},
        publisher={EAI},
        proceedings_a={SEWORD FRESSH},
        year={2019},
        month={9},
        keywords={mandala culture symbol nias religion system},
        doi={10.4108/eai.27-4-2019.2286915}
    }
    
  • Sonny Eli Zaluchu
    Fransiskus Irwan Widjaja
    Year: 2019
    A Phenomenology Approach: Religious Significance of Mandala in Ancient Nias Culture
    SEWORD FRESSH
    EAI
    DOI: 10.4108/eai.27-4-2019.2286915
Sonny Eli Zaluchu1,*, Fransiskus Irwan Widjaja2
  • 1: Indonesian Baptist Theological School (STBI) Semarang, Indonesia
  • 2: Batam REAL Theological College, Indonesia
*Contact email: sonnyzaluchu@stbi.ac.id

Abstract

Mandala is one of the cultural and religious symbols. They found in various ancient cultures. One of them is in the culture of the community on the island of Nias in northern Sumatra Indonesia. This article found that mandala is not just a traditional art or ornament. However, it is the theological reflection of a belief system that connects humans on earth with transcendent divine entities. Through it, ancient Nias people believed in the existence of divine reality in strong religious beliefs. The diagram also relates to the philosophy of life. The findings show that the craftsmen intentionally used various forms of diagrams as philosophical reflections of life which are believed to be closely related to local wisdom. As a result of the change in the Nias belief system from animism to the monotheistic worship of God (Christianization of Nias), there was a shift in the meaning of the mandala into cultural icons and ornaments. This paper written with a review of the literature analysis using the Phenomenology of Religion theory approach, starting from a discussion of the concept of the Indian in ancient cosmology to its symbolic meaning in the religious system. They have compiled with literature analysis using the Phenomenology of Religion theory approach.