In addition to national public holidays, there are frequent religious festivals throughout Indonesia's Muslim, Hindu, Chinese and indigenous communities. Each of Bali's 20,000 temples has an anniversary celebration, for instance, and other ethnic groups may host elaborate marriages or funerals, along with more secular holidays. Many of these festivals change annually against the Western calendar . The Calendar of Events booklet, produced annually by the Directorate General of Tourism, should be available in tourist offices in Indonesia and overseas.

Erau Festival , Tenggarong, Kalimantan Timor. September. A big display of indigenous Dayak skills and dancing.

Funerals , Tanah Toraja, Sulawesi. Mostly May to September. With buffalo slaughter, bullfights, and sisemba kick-boxing tournaments.

Galungun , Bali. Takes place for ten days every 210 days to celebrate the victory of good over evil.

Kasada , Bromo, East Java. Offerings are made to the gods and thrown into the crater.

Nyepi , throughout Bali. End of March or beginning of April. The major purification ritual of the year. In the lead-up, religious objects are paraded from temples to sacred springs or the sea for purification. The night before nyepi, the spirits are frightened away with drums, cymbals, firecrackers and huge papier-m?ch? monsters. On the day itself, everyone sits quietly at home to persuade any remaining evil spirits that Bali is completely deserted.

Pasola , West Sumba. Held four times in February and March, the exact dates being determined by local priests, this festival to balance the upper sphere of the heavens culminates with a frenetic and lethal pitched battle between two villages of spear-wielding horsemen.

Sekaten , Central Java. The celebration of the birthday of the prophet Mohammed, held in the royal courts of Central Java, includes a month-long festival of fairs, gamelan recitals, wayang kulit (Javanese shadow puppet performances) and wayang orang (a form of Javanese ballet) performances, culminating in a procession.