Devotion: Tengger people place offerings in a punden (shrine) at the foot of the mountain.

A very cold day and the rumbles of Mount Bromo'€™s eruption failed to deter hundreds of ethnic Tengger who ascended the mountain with their offerings to perform the monthly tradition of Friday ceremonies on the crater of the volcano in Probolinggo, East Java.

Despite the status of Mount Bromo having been raised to caution, the third-highest level, over the past two months, disrupting flights at Abdulrachman Saleh Airport in Malang, the Tengger community proceeded with the Friday rituals of throwing offerings into the seething crater.

While the eruption ejected thick ash with sulfur and silica hazardous to health, Trisno Sudigdo, a local community figure, said '€œWe'€™re convinced that we become one with Mt. Bromo'€™s natural environment in the ritual, under the protection of our ancestors and guardian spirits, so that the boom and smoke will halt for a moment to allow us to proceed.'€

People of Tengger descent are scattered over East Java'€™s Malang, Lumajang, Pasuruan and Probolinggo regencies. The crater ceremonies take place every 36 days on Legi Friday, the first day of the Javanese calendar'€™s five-day week. As an expression of gratitude for abundant harvests, the ritual is carried out by saying prayers to God, guardian spirits or ancestors and tossing offerings in different ways.

Mt. Bromo is considered a sacred place by the Tengger people, who observe the Friday tradition individually without coordination or guidance from shamans or priests, as is the case with the annual Kasada Hindu ceremonies on the same mountain. The monthly Friday ritual, therefore, is manifested in various forms.

Monthly ritual: Tengger people climb the Mount Bromo crater to conduct the Legi Friday ritual by bringing offerings to the Gods. Mount Bromo in Probolinggo, East Java, has been spewing volcanic ash and materials as high as 1,500 meters.

Some people entrust the throwing of offerings to reliable fellow residents as an opening move. '€œI perform larung [throwing of offerings] to ask for the permission of ancestral spirits and supernatural powers guarding Mt. Bromo, by tossing two goose eggs down the crater as they'€™ve instructed me to start the ritual,'€ said Trisno Siswanto, a resident capable of communicating with spirits.

Along with his peers, Siswanto threw the offerings into the crater. Another group prayed first and then gave their offerings at the Widodaren Cave and Luhur Puten Temple, before going to the crater to pray and offer their sacrifices. They had placed offerings earlier in the Punden Danyang area at the foot of the mountain.

Another group went directly to Punden Danyang before climbing to reach the crater. Sigit Pamungkas, a local, said '€œI'€™ve given my offerings with my wife and children as Mt. Bromo emits sand as a blessing to Tengger people. Next year our family may not be able to feel the thrill of the volcano.'€      

The increasing volcanic activity is what the Tengger people have been waiting for and they do not fear disaster. Locals believe that the five-year cycle of eruptions at Mt. Bromo may go off cycle, therefore they utilized this opportunity to get closer to their ancestral and guardian spirits inhabiting the crater, as the eruption bestowed soil fertility on them.

From the crater, the Tengger people descended to Watu Dukun, the ritual area in the sand plain of the mountain. After carrying out a ceremonial procession, they opened their food packages and spread their mats to dine with their families around Watu Dukun. The Tengger community will preserve the cultural heritage and further hand it down to posterity, despite the lack of rationality.

Possessed: A Tengger man (center) is guided by his peers as he ascends the crater and experiences what local people consider to be possessed by the spirit that guards Mt. Bromo.

'€” Photos by JP/Aman Rochman