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espite warnings, hundreds of people solemnly performed prayers during the Hindu ceremony Aci Kapat at Bali’s largest temple complex Besakih in Karangasem regency on Thursday. Located only around 6 kilometers from the crater of the rumbling Mount Agung, they are defying the restriction on entering the 12-km radius from the peak, leaving their temporary shelters to return to the temple to pray.

Since local authorities increased Mt. Agung’s alert status to the highest level on Sept. 22, an order had been issued to empty the area, and nearly 150,000 people living there had been evacuated.

“Honestly, I feel worried because the government has warned us not to enter the exclusion zone. I also feel that many earthquakes have hit our area over the last couple of days. However, I feel confident in His greatness. I feel sure that the volcano will not erupt soon,” Besakih customary village chief, Jero Mangku Widiartha, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Aci Kapat is an annual Hindu ceremony held every fourth full moon based on the Balinese calendar. The ceremony takes place at Penataran Agung, the biggest temple in the important complex on the resort island.

Widiartha said the ceremony could not be postponed despite the heightened seismic activity and tremors from the volcano.

“By going ahead with the ceremony, as it should be, we hope that we will be spared from any disaster,” Widiartha said.

The customary village and Besakih priests have agreed to complete the ceremony without involving too many people, where in past years thousands of people from across the island had gathered to pray and take part in several days of rituals.

He also urged Balinese Hindus from across Bali not to come to Besakih, considered as the mother temple, but to perform prayers from their houses or shelters instead.

Not only did they go to Besakih, many evacuees staying in shelters had also gone back to their villages on Thursday to perform prayers. Balinese people believe that full moon day is a “good day.”

Nyoman Wenten, an evacuee from Muncan village staying at Swecapura Sports Hall in Klungkung regency, admitted that the prayer could actually be done in the shelter. However, he and his family felt more comfortable praying directly in their temple. He and his family went back to their village to attend a ceremony in Desa temple and then returned to the shelter.

Gede Suantika, volcano mitigation section head at the volcanology and geological hazard mitigation center (PVMBG) declined to comment on people returning to their villages to pray. However, he emphasized that the center had yet to decrease the volcano’s alert level.

“The volcano is still in a critical condition and could erupt at any time,” Gede said.

The head of PVMBG Kasbani said the center recorded 600 quakes per day taking place from Sept. 24 to Oct. 05, which indicates high magmatic activity inside the volcano. White volcanic clouds have also been recorded reaching up to 200 meters above the peak.

“The evaluation so far indicates that Mt. Agung’s seismic activity is still high, so it is more likely for an eruption to happen than not,” he said in a press statement on Thursday.

As there are no instruments to tell when an eruption might take place, the center is set to issue the earliest warnings about any changes in the volcano’s condition. He said those located outside the danger zone could go about their activities as usual and that it was still safe to travel to Bali as long as people stay away from the restricted danger zone.

Meanwhile, the head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Willem Rampangilei said on Thursday that considering the volcano’s condition, his agency and local authorities have decided to extend the emergency period until Oct. 16.

As of Thursday, there had been 146,797 evacuees staying at 427 shelters in several areas in Bali.