Hinduism is a minority faith in East Timor. Almost all of them follow Balinese Hinduism.
History
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See also: Pre-colonial Timor § Indianised Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms (3rd century ~ 16th century)
Timor has no traditional Hindu population.[citation needed] Hindus are mainly migrants from Bali who came during the Indonesian occupation. After the end of the occupation, most Hindus left the country.
Demographics
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In 1992, before the independence of East Timor Hindus constituted 0.5% of the population.[1] After the occupation, Hinduism decreased to less than 0.1% in East Timor. According to the 2011 census, there are 195 Hindus in East Timor.[2] However, the 2015 Census showed a slight increase in the absolute number of Hindus. According to that census, there were 271 Hindus in East Timor.[3]
Temples
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Pura Girinatha
Pura Girinatha is the largest Balinese Hindu temple in East Timor.[4][5] The temple was built during the Occupation. Now the temple is quite run down,[6] although some Balinese from Indonesia and the East Timorese government have started efforts to revitalize the temple.[5]
The Pongal celebration of the Tamil Hindus were also celebrated in the Pura Giri Natha.[7]