Once a year, tourism pauses for the Yadnya Kasada ceremony, when thousands of Tengger people climb the volcano before dawn to pray and offer flowers, vegetables, money, and livestock into the crater.
The ritual honors their ancestors and commemorates an ancient legend that forms the foundation of Tengger identity.
For locals like farmer and tour driver Imam Slamet, Bromo provides both spiritual meaning and economic opportunity.
Tourism has improved livelihoods by creating jobs for guides, drivers, and small businesses, but it has also brought concerns about overcrowding, commercialization, and visitors who fail to respect the mountain's sacred traditions.
Despite these challenges, Tengger elders remain confident that their culture will endure.
They believe that as long as families continue teaching their children the community's history and taking part in the annual Kasada ceremony, Mount Bromo will remain not only a world-famous attraction but also a living center of faith and tradition.
With repoter Noël van Bemmel for de Volkskrant
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