Yadnya Kasada: A Volcanic Ritual in Indonesia

The Yadnya Kasada festival is a month-long event that for centuries has been celebrated by the Hindu Tenggerese people, an ethnic group in Eastern Java, Indonesia. A part of the festival involves worshippers carrying offerings up the slope of Mount Bromo, an active volcano, and throwing them into its crater as sacrifices, praying for blessings from the gods. Offerings of money, rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers, and livestock are tossed toward the caldera from the rim of the crater—with many being caught or later retrieved by villagers who wait just below with nets on long poles. Gathered here are images of this ceremony from recent years.

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