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Villagers hope to renovate ancient temple in Sukoharjo
An abandoned temple, predicted to be hundreds of years old, has begun to receive more attention from locals in Karanganyar village, Weru district, Sukoharjo, Central Java. The locals hope to renovate the temple one day.
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Abandoned – A visitor (left) inspects the Sirih Temple. (thejakartapost.com/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
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n abandoned temple, predicted to be hundreds of years old, has begun to receive more attention from locals in Karanganyar village, Weru district, Sukoharjo, Central Java. The locals hope to renovate the temple one day.
Some residents say the temple has never received attention from either local administrations or the Archaeological Relic Conservation Agency (BP3).
“We call it the Sirih Temple. It was a former Sukoharjo regent who gave the temple the name in 1985. No resident has any information about this temple,” said Sonotrejo, 70, a Karanganyar villager who routinely cleans the area around the temple.
Karanganyar village chief Suyadi said his village had repeatedly asked the Sukoharjo administration to pay attention to the Sirih Temple, but there has been no response as yet.
Suyadi said the renovation of the temple might help residents improve the local economy. “This temple could become another tourist destination for Karanganyar village, which is known as one of the biggest tofu producers in Central Java,” he said.
Located on 225 square-meters of land, the Sirih Temple, which is 7 meters in length and 7 meters in width, is made from limestones. No information exists about the historical background of the old temple.
“There was a statue in the middle of the temple but it’s no longer there. Maybe someone stole it,”said Suharno, 77, another Karanganyar villager.
He predicts the temple is hundreds of years old. “On the Weru-Prambanan route, there are many temples similar to the Sirih Temple. They are from the ninth century,” said Suharno. (ebf)
