Dieng Plateau

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Lore & Background

The name Dieng comes from Old Javanese words: 'di' meaning 'place' and 'hyang' meaning 'ancestors' or 'gods', literally 'Dihyang' meaning 'place of the ancestors' or 'place where the gods reside'. The ancient Javanese believed that ancestors and gods resided in high places. A number of Old Javanese inscriptions dating from the 9th century mention Dieng, including the Gunung Wule inscription (783 Śaka/861 AD), the Kapuhunan inscription (800 Śaka/878 AD), the Wintang Mas II inscription (841 Śaka/919 AD), and the Indrakila inscription (804 Śaka/882 AD). The Gunung Wule inscription tells of someone ordered to maintain a sacred building in the Dihyang area; the Kapuhunan inscription mentions a holy place named Kailasa as a place of worship for Pitamaha and mentions an area called Dihyang; the Wintang Mas II inscription contains the Sang Hyang Dharma at Wintang Mas who was a witness at Dihyang; and the Indrakila inscription contains the gift of sima land to Sang Hyang Dharma in Dihyang. These inscriptions indicate that the plateau functioned as a religious center and place of worship for Hinduism, with the main deity worshiped being Shiva. The temples found at Dieng are the oldest known stone structures in Java, dating back to the Mataram kingdom era (8th century) with some South Indian architectural influences (6th century).

Reader's Guide

The Dieng Plateau holds significant historical and cultural importance as a religious center for Hinduism in ancient Java. The site originally contained around 400 temple buildings, though only a few remain today, divided into three regional blocks: the Dwarawati temple cluster, the Arjuna and Gatotkaca temple clusters, and the Bima temple cluster. The temples are named after Javanese shadow puppets (Wayang Kulit) and Mahabharata characters. During the colonial period, Thomas Stamford Raffles visited in 1815 and reported around 400 temples and archaeological sites, many submerged in water. Earlier, H.C. Cornelius visited in 1814 and noted the plateau was submerged in water like a large lake. In 1856, J. Kinsbergen reactivated a water channel called Gangsiran Aswatama and excavated several archaeological remains. Research by H.L. Melville in 1911–1916 led to a decree documenting 104 archaeological discoveries. The plateau also stores natural wealth in the form of geothermal energy, with investigations beginning in 1918 during the Dutch East Indies era. Geothermal wells are drilled to depths between 1500 and 2000 meters, with available reserves around 400 MW. Its cold climate can drop below 0 °C, causing frost known as Bun Upas that damages crops like potatoes.

Did You Know?

• The name Dieng comes from Old Javanese 'Dihyang', meaning 'place of the ancestors' or 'place where the gods reside'.
• The Gunung Wule inscription (861 AD) records an order to maintain a sacred building in the Dihyang area.
• Thomas Stamford Raffles visited Dieng in 1815 and reported around 400 temples submerged in water.
• The frost phenomenon in Dieng is called Bun Upas, with temperatures dropping below 0 °C, damaging crops like potatoes.
• Geothermal investigations in Dieng began in 1918 during the Dutch East Indies era, with reserves around 400 MW.