But for those people, the unthinkable happened. Huge hot clouds, with energy three times bigger
than that of the three previous eruptions in 1994, 2001 and 2006, sped down the mountain and swept over Kinahrejo and the neighboring village of Kaliadem, killing over 40 people including Mbah Maridjan
on Oct. 26.

“I do believe this will change the way locals understand the volcano, just like the 1994 eruptions did for us,” Sarwidi, a member of the steering committee of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), said on Thursday.

Born and bred in Kaliurang on the southwestern slope of Merapi, Sarwidi said that people in his area used to share the same belief. But the 1994 eruptions which killed more than 50 local people changed locals’ take on the volcano’s behavior.

“People, especially of my age and below, have become more rational now. Only a few elderly people still hold strong mystical beliefs, making evacuation often difficult to carry out during an eruption,” said the 50-year-old professor of volcanology at the Indonesian Islamic University (UII) Yogyakarta.

The 3,000-meter high Mt. Merapi, sitting astride the neighboring provinces of Yogyakarta and Central Java, is an important icon in Javanese traditional mysticism and cosmology, especially for Yogyakarta, which is often considered to be at the heart of Javanese culture.

Believed to be the kingdom of the spirits, Merapi has long been seen as the symbol of the balancing elements of the universe forming a straight, sacred imaginary axis from the north — where it is located — to the south where the kingdom of the Queen of the South Sea Ratu Kidul lies, with Yogyakarta Palace at its center.

Followers of Javanese cosmology believe the world is basically a harmony between the microcosmic and the macrocosmic. In this case Merapi and the South Seas Kingdom are considered as the microcosmic while the Yogyakarta Palace the macrocosmic. Both are supposed to be in balance to create harmony.

Such beliefs thus explain the annual labuhan (offering) rituals held both at Merapi and on the site of the South Sea Kingdom, which are carried out to maintain this balance.

“For me labuhan is just like a tourist attraction. Nothing more,” said Mulyanto, 43, a resident from the Umbulharjo subdistrict in Sleman, 10 kilometers from Merapi.

A cow breeder, Mulyanto, said he fully trusted the authority’s analysis regarding Merapi’s volcanic activities. A better understanding of science has made him and many others in his subdistrict capable of thinking more rationally.

He was among the first to evacuate when the local administration instructed people to do so.

But for traditionalists, Merapi eruptions are a sign that the kingdom of spirits is having a party and the lava expelled is simply garbage left over from the celebration.

This is why they never imagined volcanic material would ever pour down the southern slope, since this would be like dumping rubbish in one’s front yard.

“They believed the kingdom would never dump waste in its own front yard,” Sarwidi said.

Such beliefs have often made it difficult for authorities to evacuate people when Merapi is declared dangerous. It was even more difficult when the gatekeeper, believed to hold supernatural powers to communicate with the spirits guarding the volcano, refused to evacuate.

Given the situation, it is no surprise the programs held by authorities to build disaster preparedness among potential affected communities are unfruitful.

God’s anger?: Mount Merapi spews ashes and volcanic material toward Cangkringan district, Sleman regency, Central Java. JP/J. Adiguna On Oct. 23, two days before Merapi was put on top alert status, the Volcanic Technology Development and Research Center (BPPTK) Yogyakarta held a special meeting with Kinahrejo residents in Mbah Maridjan’s house to update them about the latest developments and persuade them to evacuate. The village has been known as the most difficult place to evacuate, with many people intent on staying in their homes despite imminent danger.

“We considered the meeting important because we had the feeling the eruptions this time would be different. We noticed unusual phenomena when the volcano first erupted,” BPPTK head Subandrio said.

He was right. A powerful eruption, a direct blast never witnessed in previous Merapi eruptions destroyed Kinahrejo and Kaliadem with speeding hot pyroclastic clouds. At least 44 people were killed, mostly in Kinahrejo.

Ever since, the volcano has erupted almost uninterruptedly, spreading volcanic ashes as far as Bandung, West Java.

The biggest eruption took place early morning on Nov. 5. It sent 100 million cubic meters of volcanic materials down its slopes, speeding in all directions, killing over 100 more people and displacing more than 300,000 others in the four affected regencies of Sleman in Yogyakarta, and Magelang, Boyolali as well as Klaten in Central Java.

All the 12 rivers originating from Merapi were filled with volcanic material as far as 15 kilometers from the peak of the volcano, endangering people living along the banks of these rivers, flooding their villages with cold lava mud.

According to BPPTK, Merapi has so far spewed 140 million cubic meters of volcanic material, creating a new historical record. The last biggest eruption in 1872 was reported to have blasted out 100 million cubic meters of volcanic material.

“The intensity of eruptions this year has indeed exceeded that of 1872,” Subandrio confirmed.

The close relationship between residents living on the slope of Merapi and their livestock, mostly cows, has also been partly blamed for the relatively high number of fatalities during the recent eruptions.

Despite the authority’s instructions to clear areas within 20 kilometers of the peak, residents still venture up the slopes of the volcano to check on their livestock during the daytime, taking turns patrolling at night time.

Farmers were indeed very happy to hear President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono say the government would buy the residents livestock and offer compensation to those farmers who had lost their cattle in the eruptions.

The recent Merapi eruptions differed from those witnessed in previous years. In the past, Merapi eruptions were non-explosive and characterized by slow releases of lava. This time, Merapi erupted with explosions, but without creating a lava dome at the top of the volcano like in previous eruptions.

There was less time between warnings and the actual eruptions. It took only five days for the alert status to go from the second to the top level, and less than 36 hours between issuing the top alert status and huge explosions occurring.

“Eruption patterns have completely changed,” Subandrio said.

As of Monday, the volcano seems to have calmed down, prompting the authority to reissue a map of the danger zone, reducing it from a 20-kilometer radius from the peak to a 10-kilometer radius for Boyolali and Klaten, and 15 kilometers for Magelang.

“For Sleman, the danger zone remains within a 20-kilometer radius,” Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s Geological Agency head R. Sukhyar said on Sunday.