Indonesia: Hindus Throw Live Animals into Crater of Mount Bromo Volcano for Gods

On the 14th day of the Hindu festival of Yadnya Kasada, the Tenggerese people throw fruit, vegetables and live animals into the crater of Mount Bromo as offerings to the mountain gods.

However, not all of their offerings reach the gods. Locals from a nearby village in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia, wait inside the crater with nets and try to catch the food thrown by the Hindu worshippers.

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, 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.

The Tenggerese or Tengger people live in villages in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in east-central Java. They are generally Hindu, but they also worship Ida Sang Hyang Widi Wasa, which translates as "Big Almighty Lord", as well as several Buddhist deities.

The main Tenggerese temple is Pura Luhur Poten on the Sea of Sands at the foot of Mount Bromo. They gather here before setting off up Mount Bromo with their offerings for the mountain gods.