At three thirty pm, 24th November 2010, my mother called. “Where are you?” “I’m at a point where the crater of mount bromo is just right in front of me”
“Are you nuts! You know the government have announced that bromo is in a critical condition to be erupted”. “I know mum”. “ So, what are you waiting for. Go home!”.
“But mum, no one here is worry about the mountain, so why should I” “Do you know in Merapi. No one was worry as well. They believed in Marijan – the mountain spiritual keeper – until the boiling cloud flattened many villages including him. So once things change, move out from tengger”. “Yes, mum. I will”.
Well, a mother is a mother. No mother in this world is willing to lose their children, especially as a victim of an “angry” volcano. In Merapi, Central Java, a volunteer felt so bad when an injured mother gave him her child to be rescued. He planned to return for her but a few minutes later, a boiling cloud came down from the volcano and burned down the whole village, including the mother. My mother is so worry that Mt Bromo will produce similar boiling cloud as Merapi and burn things down, including me to become “retno’s barbeque”.
After receiving my mother’s call, I joined park rangers at their post. Mt Bromo is a national park established in 1982. The breath taking view of the volcanoes, various level of mountainous ecosystem dispersion and its strong cultural - religious relationship with the locals are the main considerations of its establishment. Mt Bromo is the major tourist destination in East Java Province. But now, the park rejects any visitors. Many local tourists cancelled their trips and make the hotels rate slope down to less than 50% occupation. But the international tourists are still there. The angrier the volcano is, the more breath taking view they would get. To date, the crater smokes big white-sulfured clouds up to the sky, about 300 meters of height. It is indeed fantastic.
I joined the rangers greeting a long line of cars came up from downhill. There were vice governor of East Java province, the head of district of Probolinggo, the police chief officers at provincial level and many more important people. They are going to discuss about actions required if the mountain erupted. Several tents for refugees are erected at 3 spots downhill, about 15 km from the crater. Many more tents will be erected in a few days. An ambulance is ready as well at the nearest hotel. I saw policemen all around. Though there are almost no visitors, but those policemen gave my old friend – Asih – a fortune to her small informal coffee shop. Another group of army will arrive in the next day for a back up. Those people look so panic. The government, the army, the policemen, red cross and definitely, the electronic media which give a live program of the mountain’s situation regularly. While the locals – including many rangers – are so relax facing the phenomenon.
The last eruption of Mt Bromo occurred in 2004. The volcano threw tons of stones as big as human fist to all over it. It was so sudden. Tourism activities occurred as normal that day and two visitors died, hit by the stones, an Indonesian and a Singaporean. Not locals, the tenggereses. There were many “nundans” – the local who escort and rent their horses to visitors – at the time but none of them hit by the stones. None of the locals run to save their life. They just stood still as they believed the stones would never harm them. I was told that the victims previously insulted the sacredness of Mt Bromo. The late Singaporean threw a stone to the crater and the crater threw the stone back to him, but bigger and many more. For the Indonesian, he was a teen ager. His father warned him of giving him to the crater if he kept annoying his parent. Then, his father’s word fulfilled, the crater took the boy off from him. Mt Bromo is a sacred place. So, don’t do bad things or say bad things. You’ll get the consequences.
Mt Bromo never kills locals, the tenggereses. Raden Kusuma sacrifice is dedicated for the sake of tenggereses as long as they live in harmony. During Kasodo ritual, people came to the crater and throw offerings for a request of giving them a fortune in their future life. People told me, why worry about Mt Bromo as the mountain is our destination when we die. Tenggereses love Mt Bromo, and the people feel that the mountain loves them as well. A very risky feeling, for sure, loving an active volcano.
On the way back home from Cemoro Lawang - the allowed nearest point to the crater - I saw Mr. Tomo’s car going up to his village after watching a volley ball game in Sukapura, a sub-district town downhill. Mr. Tomo is a dukun – hindu-tengger religious leader – from Ngadisari village, the closest village to the crater. When a vice governor of East Java Province and other important people from various institutions were having a meeting at a hotel in Cemoro Lawang, discussing actions taken for the natural disaster, the dukun who is able to communicate with the ancestors live in the mountain, having fun spending his time for a volley ball game.
However, on 9th November 2010, the village chiefs of Ngadisari, Jetak and Wonotoro , with Mr. Tomo, had held a ritual at the crater and threw some offerings into it, requesting the crater for not erupting. Those important people for tenggereses have spoken to the mountain. So, that’s it. Nothing to worry about. I and several others made a joke while having a cup of coffee at Asih’s coffee shop. If people have to become refugees, perhaps the chief of village would be the one as he is the most unpopular person recently due to his many controversial policies, including local tax for cell phone. While the rest, living in harmony with the active volcano.
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