Indonesian Hindus Take Part In Yadnya Kasada Ritual

PROBOLINGGO, JAVA, INDONESIA - JUNE 26: An Indonesian man catches a chicken thrown by Hindus Tenggerese worshippers at Mount Bromo during the Yadnya Kasada ritual on June 26, 2021 in Probolinggo, Java, Indonesia. The Tenggerese people are an ethnic group in Eastern Java, Indonesia's most populous island, who believe themselves to be descendants of the Majapahit princes that ruled the area historically. Their population of roughly 500,000 is centered in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in eastern Java. The ethnic group's most popular ceremony, the month-long Yadnya Kasada festival, was the most visited tourist attraction in Indonesia before the Covid-19 pandemic. On the fourteenth day, the Tenggerese make a journey to Mount Bromo to make offerings of rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers and even livestock and poultry, throwing them into the volcano's caldera. The ritual is thought to have started in the 15th century, when a local princess and her husband prayed to the mountain gods for help in having children. (Photo by Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images)