Tenggerese worshippers offer food and livestock in an annual tradition of sacrifice for blessings of safety and prosperity at Indonesia’s Mount Bromo.
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Tenggerese worshippers trek across the “Sea of Sand” to give their offerings during the Yadnya Kasada Festival at crater of Mount Bromo on Aug. 12, 2014, in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia. The main festival of the Tenggerese people, Kasada lasts for about a month, and on the 14th day the Tenggerese journey to Mount Bromo. There they make offerings of rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers and livestock to the mountain gods by throwing them into the volcano’s caldera. The origin of the festival lies in the 15th century when a princess named Roro Anteng started the principality of Tengger with her husband Joko Seger, and the childless couple asked the mountain gods for help in bearing children. The legend says the gods granted them 24 children but on the provision that the 25th must be tossed into the volcano in sacrifice. The 25th child, Kesuma, was finally sacrificed in this way after initial refusal, and the tradition of throwing sacrifices into the caldera to appease the mountain gods continues today.
Tenggerese worshippers trek across the “Sea of Sand” to give their offerings during the Yadnya Kasada Festival at crater of Mount Bromo on Aug. 12, 2014, in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia. The main festival of the Tenggerese people, Kasada lasts for about a month, and on the 14th day the Tenggerese journey to Mount Bromo. There they make offerings of rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers and livestock to the mountain gods by throwing them into the volcano’s caldera. The origin of the festival lies in the 15th century when a princess named Roro Anteng started the principality of Tengger with her husband Joko Seger, and the childless couple asked the mountain gods for help in bearing children. The legend says the gods granted them 24 children but on the provision that the 25th must be tossed into the volcano in sacrifice. The 25th child, Kesuma, was finally sacrificed in this way after initial refusal, and the tradition of throwing sacrifices into the caldera to appease the mountain gods continues today.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
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A Tenggerese worshipper carries his son as he climbs Mount Bromo to collect holy water during the Tenggerese Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival on Aug. 11.
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A Tenggerese worshipper carries his son as he climbs Mount Bromo to collect holy water during the Tenggerese Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival on Aug. 11.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
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Tenggerese worshippers prepare a chicken for offering to the Tenggerese shaman as they pray at Widodaren cave on Aug. 11.
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Tenggerese worshippers prepare a chicken for offering to the Tenggerese shaman as they pray at Widodaren cave on Aug. 11.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
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Tenggerese worshippers collect holy water at Widodaren cave on Aug. 11.
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Tenggerese worshippers collect holy water at Widodaren cave on Aug. 11.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
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Tenggerese worshippers trek across the “Sea of Sand” with a goat for offering at the crater of Mount Bromo on Aug. 12.
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Tenggerese worshippers trek across the “Sea of Sand” with a goat for offering at the crater of Mount Bromo on Aug. 12.
Fully Handoko / EPA
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Non-Hindus carry nets as they wait on the edge of the crater to catch offerings cast down by Hindus during the Kasada ceremony at Mount Bromo, on Aug. 12. The ceremony is a way for Tengger Hindus to express their gratitude to God for good harvest and fortune. The offerings include vegetables, chickens, fruits, goats, money and other valuables.
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Non-Hindus carry nets as they wait on the edge of the crater to catch offerings cast down by Hindus during the Kasada ceremony at Mount Bromo, on Aug. 12. The ceremony is a way for Tengger Hindus to express their gratitude to God for good harvest and fortune. The offerings include vegetables, chickens, fruits, goats, money and other valuables.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
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A bird is thrown by Hindu worshippers over the crater of Mount Bromo during the Yadnya Kasada Festival on Aug. 12.
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A bird is thrown by Hindu worshippers over the crater of Mount Bromo during the Yadnya Kasada Festival on Aug. 12.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
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A Tenggerese worshipper carries vegetables for offerings at the crater of Mount Bromo on Aug. 12.
Juni Kriswanto / AFP – Getty Images
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A Tengger tribesman prays at Mount Bromo during the annual Kasada ceremony in East Java on Aug. 12.
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A Tenggerese worshipper carries vegetables for offerings at the crater of Mount Bromo on Aug. 12.
Juni Kriswanto / AFP – Getty Images
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A Tengger tribesman prays at Mount Bromo during the annual Kasada ceremony in East Java on Aug. 12.