Twenty-Four Villages Guard the Promise of Sacred Yadnya Kasada

TIMESINDONESIA, MALANG – Tucked high in the misty caldera of the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru landscape, 24 traditional villages stand as quiet but powerful guardians of a centuries-old legacy. These villages which spread across the regencies of Probolinggo, Pasuruan, Lumajang, and Malang in East Java are home to the Tenggerese people, who every year uphold the sacred ritual of Yadnya Kasada.

But beneath the rhythm of offerings and prayers lies a deeper ancestral thread, one that stretches back to the legendary couple Roro Anteng and Joko Seger.

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The 25 Children and the Villages

According to Tenggerese folklore, Roro Anteng and Joko Seger were granted 25 children after making a pact with the gods of Mount Bromo. As part of that vow, the couple agreed to offer their last-born child, Raden Kusuma, as a sacrifice to the volcano.

When the time came, however, they could not bear to part with him, and their refusal led to Mount Bromo's fiery wrath. In the eruption that followed, Raden Kusuma was taken by the mountain, but his voice echoed from the crater, asking that his memory be honored through annual offerings. Thus, Yadnya Kasada was born.

But the legacy of Roro Anteng and Joko Seger did not end there. Local belief holds that each of their 24 remaining children was entrusted with one of the sacred hills, peaks, or locations surrounding Mount Bromo.

In time, these sites became the heart of distinct Tenggerese communities villages that are not only geographic settlements but also spiritual inheritances. Each village is viewed as the living continuation of one ancestral child, linking identity, land, and lineage in one unbroken chain.

The Role of the Villages

These villages are more than passive settings for ritual, they are active custodians of Tenggerese spirituality. In the lead-up to Yadnya Kasada, villagers make pilgrimages to ancestral shrines and petilasan (sacred heritage sites), believed to be places once occupied by their forebears.

These moments of quiet reverence are not just personal—they are communal acts that reaffirm the spiritual bond between past and present, gods and humans.

During the Yadnya Kasada ceremony, each village contributes offerings to be cast into the crater of Mount Bromo ranging from vegetables and fruits to livestock and money. These offerings represent not only gratitude but also the enduring pact of remembrance that began with Raden Kusuma’s final words.

Representatives from the villages, often in traditional attire, join a unified procession that begins at Pura Luhur Poten, the Hindu temple nestled in the Sea of Sand at Bromo’s base.

The role of these 24 villages underscores how deeply the Tenggerese identity is woven into geography and myth. Each mountain, valley, and farming terrace carries the echo of an ancient story the tale of parents, children, gods, and a sacred volcano.

Through every ritual offering and every step toward the crater, the Tenggerese people are not just remembering a legend; they are living it.

The Legacy Stays Still

Yadnya Kasada, then, is not merely a ceremony of fire and offerings. It is the heartbeat of a civilization one carried in the breath of mountain wind, the hands of humble farmers, and the soil of 24 villages who have never forgotten where they came from, or why they gather.

The role of these 24 villages underscores how deeply the Tenggerese identity is woven into geography and myth. Each mountain, valley, and farming terrace carries the echo of an ancient story the tale of parents, children, gods, and a sacred volcano.

Through every ritual offering and every step toward the crater, the Tenggerese people are not just remembering a legend, they are living it.

The Minister of Culture

This living heritage has drawn admiration not only from tourists and spiritual seekers but also from cultural observers. Fadli Zon, the Minister of Culture as well a public figure known both as a politician and a historian of the archipelago appreciates the spirit of local communities to preserve their culutre. 

"We should not be ashamed to learn from indigenous communities. They have long lived in harmony with nature, food systems, and each other. This is knowledge that is not taught in classrooms," he said. 

His words highlight the timeless wisdom embodied by the Tenggerese way of life—a balance between spiritual promise, ecological mindfulness, and community unity. In a modern world increasingly disconnected from its roots, the villages of the Tengger Highlands stand not only as cultural heritage sites, but as living classrooms where the ancient teachings of harmony and gratitude are still practiced in full. (*)

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