A dvarapala guardian statue at Singosari, East Java.
Original printed description: "An Antique Idol of the Hindoo Period, Near Malang, Java."
Scanned by Infrogmation (talk) from a period stereocard in own collection. Copyrighted 1903 by T. W. Ingersoll. USA copyright expired. Other copyrights, if any, unknown; no indication of any copyrights outside the USA registered.
Original text on reverse (note, contains the badly POV ethnocentricim common in 1903):
ANTIQUE IDOL OF THE HINDOO PERIOD AT SINGOSANE, JAVA.
The prevalent religion on the Island of Java is Islam, but it was introducted to the people as late as the fourteenth century by Malayan and Arabian priests, while the original religion was Brahminism and Buddhism, especially amouung the population of the eastern half of the island, the so-called Javanese proper, as distinguished from the Sundanese living in the western part. These two people are very similar physically, but intellectually the Javanese are greatly the superior of the Sundanese. Of the old religion ruins of splendid temples testify, also remnants of the old religious language and a few literary products of great excellence that have been preserved. Only in two rather secluded parts of the island has Buddhism remained intact, in the woods of Bantam and in the mountains of Tengger. The Dutch masters of the island have always been careful not to hurt the religious feelings of the supersensitive Javanese and, for this reason, prohibited any missionary work. It is only of late that Christian missionaries have been permitted to enter the field. Owing to the tolerant administration of the island by the Dutch there has been no disturbance of the peace since 1830, an admirable result.
