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This is a traditional festival of the Tengger people and is considered one of the unique festivals, rich in national cultural identity of Indonesia.
In Indonesia, East Java has been home to Hindu devotees for over 500 years. The indigenous people living at the foot of Mount Bromo believe that the peak of this still-active volcano is the home of one of the three most powerful gods in Hinduism – the creator god Brahma.
Bromo is now a popular tourist destination in Java, and was once voted one of the 50 natural wonders of the world.
Legend says that Princess Roro Anteng and her husband Jaka Seger founded the village of Tengger at the foot of Mount Bromo and lived together, but they remained childless. They ascended the volcano to pray to the god Brahma and were granted their wish on the condition that their youngest child be sacrificed to the volcano as a token of gratitude. The couple had 25 children, but forgot to fulfill their promise. Their 25th child, Prince Kesuma, was killed by a volcanic eruption while climbing Mount Bromo. Since then, the people of Tengger, fearing Brahma's wrath, built a temple at the foot of the mountain and annually hold a sacrifice called Yadya Kasada, offering live sacrifices such as chickens, pigs, and goats to thank the god and pray for peace for the villagers.
Yadnya Kasada is the most important festival of the Tengger community.
Currently, the Tengger community has a population of approximately 600,000 people, mostly Hindu, living in the remote Bromo volcanic region of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park on the island of Java. The Tengger people's annual Yadnya Kasada festival lasts four weeks, starting on the 14th day of Kasada according to the traditional Tengger calendar, usually falling in July or August. One of the main parts of the Yadnya Kasada festival is a pilgrimage to the Bromo crater to offer items such as rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers, and livestock to the mountain gods. They then throw these offerings into the crater to pray for good fortune and a bountiful harvest.
While worshippers throw offerings into the volcano's crater, some locals brave the danger to retrieve items along the crater's edge, while others use tools like nets and traps to collect the items and bring them home. They believe that the items they "collect" will bring good fortune to their families.
On the 14th day – the peak day of the Yadnya Kasada festival – visitors to Mount Bromo will be immersed in a vibrant, bustling atmosphere as sounds of good luck echo throughout the air, and objects are thrown, tossed, and caught, flying back and forth above the still-smoking crater.
Pilgrims ascend Mount Bromo during the Yadnya Kasada festival.
At the foot of Mount Bromo, the indigenous people built a temple with Balinese architecture, called Pura Luhur Poten, to worship the god Brahma.
During the Yadnya Kasada festival, travelers from around the world flock to Bromo to experience a unique journey: sailing on the black sand sea, approaching the summit of Bromo with its swirling, molten lava-filled caverns and rumbling smoke, a spine-chilling yet safe experience, as the Tengger people at the foot of the mountain believe that the god Brahma has guaranteed the safety of those who visit Bromo.
