Yadnya Kasada Kedua Sejak Pandemi Covid-19
Thousands Climb Indonesian Volcano for Ritual Sacrifice
Editor : Kemal A Praghotsa
Translator : Dhelia Gani
RIBUAN ORANG berjalan menaiki Gunung Bromo pada hari Sabtu, [26/06]. Untuk melemparkan ternak dan persembahan lainnya ke kawah Gunung Bromo dalam upacara keagamaan.
Setiap tahun orang-orang dari suku Tengger berkumpul di sekitar kawah Gunung Bromountuk melempar buah, sayuran, bunga, sampai ternak; seperti kambing dan ayam sebagai bagian dari ritual Yadnya Kasada.
Barisan panjang para jamaah, beberapa dengan kambing tersampir di punggung mereka, berjalan ke puncak dengan harapan menyenangkan leluhur dan dewa-dewa hindu.
"Hari ini saya membawa ayam untuk nenek moyang," kata Purwanto, sambil memamerkan ayam warna-warninya.
Seorang jamaah lainnya, Wantoko, membawa hasil panennya sendiri dengan harapan melemparkannya ke gunung berapi akan membawa keberuntungan.
“Saya membawa tanaman ini agar ladang saya subur dan mendapatkan panen yang baik,” kata Wantoko.
"Saya datang ke sini setiap tahun," tambah Wantoko.
Ritual Yadnya Kasada kedua sejak pandemi Covid-19 melanda Indonesia.
"Tidak bisa dilakukan di tempat lain atau dilakukan secara virtual," kata Ketua Himpunan Masyarakat Hindu, Bambang Suprapto kepada AFP yang dilansir MailOnline.
"Tetapi penyelenggara menerapkan protokol kesehatan yang ketat dan mereka telah diuji virusnya sehingga kami dapat melindungi semua orang yang hadir,"
Sejarah Yadnya Kasada
Festival selama sebulan ini berasal dari legenda abad ke-15 tentang putri kerajaan Majapahit Hindu Jawa dan suaminya, yang tidak dapat melahirkan anak setelah bertahun-tahun menikah, pasangan itu memohon bantuan para dewa.
Kemudian, Doa mereka dikabulkan dan mereka dijanjikan 25 anak, asalkan mereka bersedia mengorbankan anak bungsu mereka dengan melemparkannya ke Gunung Bromo.
Legenda mengatakan anak ini rela melompat ke gunung berapi untuk menjamin kemakmuran rakyat Tengger.
Tradisi kurban terus berlanjut hingga saat ini – meskipun orang Tengger mengorbankan hasil panen dan hewan ternak mereka sebagai ganti manusia.
THOUSANDS of worshippers trudged up an active Indonesian volcano Saturday to cast livestock and other offerings down its smouldering crater in a centuries-old religious ceremony.
Every year people from the Tengger tribe gather from the surrounding highlands to throw fruit, vegetables, flowers and even livestock such as goats and chickens into Mount Bromo´s crater as part of the Yadnya Kasada festival.
A long line of worshippers, some with goats slung across their backs, made their way to the top in the hopes of pleasing ancestors and Hindu gods -- and bringing prosperity to their communities.
"Today I brought a chicken for the ancestors," said Purwanto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, as he showed off his colourful hen.
Another worshipper, Wantoko, carried his own crops in the hopes that casting them into the volcano would bring good luck.
"I brought these crops so that my fields will be fertile and I have a good harvest," he said.
"I come here every year."
Standing on the crater´s steep slopes, other villagers -- who are not members of the Tengger tribe -- try to catch the offerings using nets and sarongs before they disappear into the billowing smoke.
This is not technically part of the ritual but reflects local frugal urges not to waste the offerings.
Saturday´s ritual marked the second Yadnya Kasada festival since the Covid-19 pandemic hit Indonesia.
"It can´t be held in another place or be done virtually," said Bambang Suprapto, head of the area´s Hindu community association.
"But organisers applied strict health protocols and they´ve been tested for the virus so we can protect everyone who attended."
The month-long festival dates back to the 15th-century legends of the Javanese Hindu Majapahit kingdom´s princess and her husband.
Unable to bear children after years of marriage, the couple begged the gods for help.
Their prayers were answered and they were promised 25 children, as long as they agreed to sacrifice their youngest child by throwing him into Mount Bromo.
Legend has it this son willingly jumped into the volcano to guarantee the prosperity of the Tengger people.
The sacrifice tradition continues to this day -- though the Tengger sacrifice their harvest and farm animals instead of humans.
