Mount Bromo is an active somma volcano, a Hindu pilgrimage site, and part of the Tengger mountains, in East Java, Indonesia. At 2,329 meters (7,641 ft) it is not the highest peak of the massif, but is the most active and famous. The area is one of the most visited tourist destinations in East Java, and the volcano is included in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The name Bromo comes from the Javanese pronunciation of Brahma, the Hindu god of creation. At the mouth of the crater, there is an idol of Ganesha, the Hindu god of wisdom which is being worshipped by the Javanese Hindus.Mount Bromo is located in the middle of a plain called "Sea of Sand" (Javanese: Segara Wedi or Indonesian: Lautan Pasir), a nature reserve that has been protected since 1919.
On the fourteenth day of the Hindu festival of Yadnya Kasada, the Tenggerese people of Probolinggo Regency, East Java, travel up the mountain in order to make offerings of fruit, rice, vegetables, flowers and sacrifices of livestock to the mountain gods by throwing them into the caldera of the volcano. The origin of the ritual lies in the 15th century legend. On the sand plain, locally called Segara Wedi (lit. sand ocean), sits a Hindutemple called Pura Luhur Poten. The temple holds a significant importance to the Tenggerese scattered across the mountain villages, such as Ngadisari, Wonokitri, Ngadas, Argosari, Ranu Prani, Ledok Ombo and Wonokerso. The temple organises the annual Yadnya Kasada ceremony which lasts for about one month. The major difference between this temple and Balinese ones are the type of stones and building materials. Pura Luhur Poten uses natural black stones from volcanoes nearby, while Balinese temples are mostly made from red bricks. Inside this pura, there are several buildings and enclosures aligned in a mandala zone composition.
Culture: The area in and around the park is inhabited by the Tengger people,one of the few significant Hindu communities remaining on the island of Java. Their population of roughly 600,000 is centered in thirty villages in the isolated Tengger mountains including Mount Bromo and areas within the park. The local religion is a remnant from the Majapahit era and therefore quite similar to that on Bali but with even more animist elements. The Tengger people are believed to be descendants of the Majapahit empire and were driven into the hills after mass arrival in the area of Muslim Madurese in the 19th century.
