The November night is dark and cool

The November night is dark and cool and it is already past one a.m. when at last a flickering of light becomes visible along the road below us. Led by the head dukun the group of men and boys from the village of Ngadisari slowly makes its way up the steep, narrow road to Cemoro Lawang. At the edge of the huge crater rim the men stopped for a short ceremony and then cross the sandsea to the volcano of Mount Bromo.
Tonight is the culmination of a ceremony that started almost a week ago with the purification of the village of Ngadisari. According to legend, the origin of the Kasada ceremony goes back thousands of years to the reign of King Brawijaya during the Majapahit era. At this time, Islam swept through Java and some of its people made their home in the steep but fertile hills of the Bromo Tengger area. Here the continued to practice their Hindu religion.
Among the people who settled in the Tengger Mountains were a royal couple, the Princess Anteng and her husband Joko Seger. It is from the last syllabels of their names that the Tengger region got its name. Altough their people were prosperous, their happiness was in complete since they had not been blessed with children. In despair, they climbed to the top of the holy Bromo volcano and there they prayed to their God asking for childrend . The God agreed on the condition that they sacrifice their last child into the Bromo crater.
Roro Anteng now born her husbad many healthy children but the couple forgot their promise. When the God threatened them, they sadly threw their twenty-fifth child, Kasuma, into the chasm. As Kasuma disapeared, a loud voice was heard calling out from the crater, "I will appear before Sang Hyang Widi to save all of you and I instruct you to arrange an annual ceremony, bringing offering from your crops and cattle, on the 14th day of full moon in the month of Kasada. "Ever since that day the solemn Kasada ritual has been carried out.
a day after Ngadisari purification ceremony the villages, traditionally dressed, gather at the newly finished Great Potent Temple of Mount Bromo. From here they went up to holy springs of Mount Widodaren to collect holy water. During this Mendak Tirta ceremony the religious leaders bamboo containers with holy water are brought to the Potent Temple where they are dedicated to Sang Hyang Widi Wasa.
Kasada is not just a solemn ceremony. It is also a festival with an extensive programme of entertainment leading up to the final night. Tourists may enjoy seeing various traditional attractions like the annual horse race and kuda lumping dance.
At times, the pale white moon breaks through the clouds and softly illuminates our path. Thousands of worshippers bearing their offerings are trying to get the narrow crater rim. In the darkness we saw shadowy offered to Shang Hyang Widi Wasa. Through the air fly chickens, food packets, cigarettes and money on their way to pacify the god of fire
A cool wind sweeps across the crater rim as we wait for the first pink colour in the eastern sky. Soon a deep-red band of light apprears and then a yellowish-red blush spreads along the horison . Finally the bright orange sun rises and we are back to the real world.