Temple de Muara Takus
The Muara Takus temple complex is located in the village of Muara Takus, in the sub district of XIII Koto Kampar, about 135 kilometers from Pekanbaru city, Riau, Indonesia. The temple complex lays about 2, 5 kilometers from the village of Muara Takus, close to the bank of the River Kampar Kanan. The temple was firstly found by Yzerman in 1893, when he wandered all over Sumatra‘s forest. In the time, he was surprised seeing a strange stepped-building. In 1935, a Dutch archeologist, Dr. F. M. Schnitger, came to the location to do research on the temple. At one night, when it was full moon, Schnitger was surprised by a group of elephant that visited the temple as if they practiced some rites. One may relate such phenomenon to mystical aspect. But actually the temple sits on the area where the elephants usually crossed and played.
The Muara Takus Temple is surrounded by 74 x 74 meters wall. And the temple itself measures 7 x 7 meters. Outside the complex, a 1.5 x 1.5 kilometers earthen wall, stretching to the banks of the Kampar Kanan, surrounds the complex. Several other foundations can be seen in the temple complex, like Candi Tua, Candi Bungsu, Mahligai Stupa and Palangka. The building materials of the temple comprise of sands, river-rock and bricks. According to the local source, the bricks were made in Pongkai village that laid at the lower side of the temple complex. The trace of the digged land used to make the bricks, until this present day, is regarded by the local inhabitants as a holy place. It said that the people communally constructed the Muara Takus temple, although this opinion is doubtful.
Besides the Candi Tua, Candi Bungsu, Mahligai Stupa and Palangka, a mound believed as a place where human‘s bones were burned, is also found in the temple complex. There are also the ruins of building composed of bricks lays outside the complex, but the building type still can not be recognized. The characteristic feature of the Muara Takus temple generally resembles that of Kalasan temple in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
The Muara Takus temple is the only historical legacy in form of temple in Riau. This Buddhist temple is the very evidence that Buddhism, in the previous centuries, had ever developed in the area. However, archeological experts have not yet been able to confirm when the temple has been built. Short inscriptions found among the ruins point to a date in the 11th or 12th century. Some opinions point in the 8th through 10th century, and even go back to the 4th century. (RI/ter/5/7-07)
Credit photo : Koleksi Balai Kajian dan Pengembangan Budaya Melayu
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