Candi Sukuh and other temples in Indonesia

Candi Sukuh

Located on the border between Central and East Java provinces, Candi Sukuh is one of several temples built on the northwest slopes of Mount Lawu, a sacred place for worshiping the ancestors, nature spirits and the observance of the fertility cults in the fifteenth century. Many erotic reliefs show sexual education in a primitive manner.

By this time, Javanese religion and art had diverged far from the Indian precepts that exerted significant influence during the 8th-10th centuries.

The temple consists of several pyramids very much resembling Mayan monuments in Mexico. On the floor of the entrance to the main pyramid is a realistic relief of male and female genitals.  Genetalia are also graphically portrayed on several statues from the site, another respect in which Candi Sukuh is unique among classical Javanese monuments.

Bima, an incarnation of Siva who became the focus of a Javanese cult in the 15th century, appears in several sculptures and carvings.

Candi Sukuh has a distinctive thematic reliefs from other candi where life before birth and sexual education are its main theme. Its main monument is a simple pyramid structure with reliefs and statues in front of it, including three tortoises with flattened shells and a male figure grasping his penis. A giant 1.82 m (6 ft) high of linga (phallus) with four balls, representing penile incisions, was one of the statues that has been relocated to the National Museum of Indonesia.

Other temples in Indonesia

Candi Ceto, Java

Balinese Shrine where hindus worship with food and rice offerings.

Yoguakarta Temples.

Yogguakarta in Central Java consists of a dozen temples. Several of them have the Shiva Lingas, phalluses to worship.

Linga in Candi Sambisari