Indonesians Perform Kasada Ritual On Mount Bromo

MALANG, EAST JAVA, INDONESIA - JULY 14: A Tenggerese, Paing and decorated horse, prepares to celebrate a haircut ceremony for teenagers who are known as 'Tugel Kuncung,' avoiding misfortune and hoping for the welfare of the culture of the Tenggerese people in Ngadas village on July 14, 2019 in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. Tenggerese people are a Javanese ethnic group in eastern Java who claim to be the descendants of the Majapahit princes. Their population of roughly 500,000 is centered in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in eastern Java. This festival is the main festival celebrated by the Tenggerese people and lasts about a month. On the fourteenth day, the Tenggerese make the journey to Mount Bromo to 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. According to legend, the Gods granted them 24 children but on the provision that the 25th must be tossed into the volcano as a 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. (Footage by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)