Yadnya Kasada Festival

The festival is the main festival of 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. The legend says the gods granted them 24 children but 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.


According to All Eyes, “the festival is the main festival of the Tenggerese people … who 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. The legend says the gods granted them 24 children but 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 annual festival of Yadnya Kasada is observed by the Tenggerese people of Indonesia in remembrance of the legend of Roro Ateng, an historic Queen. Mythology holds that Roro Ateng bargained with the great volcano for fertility, promising to repay its gift of children with the sacrifice of her youngest offspring.

Each year, pilgrims journey to the top of Bromo to appease the great stratovolcano with whatever meager offerings they have, including food, animals, and money. They offer their sacrifices and prayers for happiness and good health, and that the mountain gods won't send rivers of lava raining down the ancient slopes


The festival, held unfailingly since the 15th century, guarantees a small, but reliable, cash bonus to a few lucky Javanese each year.