The Tengger Tribe and Mount Bromo
Mount Bromo in Indonesia can be called as an iconic tourism spot especially in East Java Region. This volcano mountain has 2,392 meters surrounded by sea of sand and has beautiful sunrise makes this mountain become a favorite's destination for travelers.
The people who lived in Mount Bromo area are mostly Tengger Tribe or we can call them Tenggerise. It is different from most majority people who lived in Java Island, the Tenggerise have their own culture, language and different religion, Hindu, like mostly Javanese's religion. The Tenggerise tradition is connected with the history of Mount Bromo itself which make them a unique tribe. It can be said that Tenggerise and Mount Bromo has a very mystical connection in every aspect of their life.
History
There are a lot of stories which refers to their name "Tengger", some said that the word "Tengger" is come from the word "Tenggering budi luhur" or in English means "A well-behaved attitude" which is describing about the life of Tenggerise people. In another story "Tengger" is a combination of their ancestor's name called Roro Anteng and Joko Seger as they believe that they were the first persons who lived in Mount Bromo area. In the history of Java Island, Roro Anteng is a princess of the biggest kingdom in Java called Majapahit Kingdom and Joko Seger is a Brahma of Hindu Religion. When the Moslem Kingdom conquers the Java Island, most of Hindu's people who live in Java started to find another place to live and one of this places is Mount Bromo area.
Religion, Culture and Tradition
The majority of Tenggerise people are Hindu but it is a little bit different from Hindu's religion in Bali. The Tenggerise people have their own tradition and culture which is mixed with their religion until this day. They also have their own which is different from the majority of Javanese language. The Tenggerise people have their own tradition regarding their religion. Every year the Tenggerise people held a big ceremony for their ancestors and God calls "Yasada Ceremony" which is held in every Yasada's month based on their culture. This ceremony held to pray for safety and grace from their God by throwing the livestock or money to the Mount Bromo crater. The ceremony itself takes Mount Bromo as the main spot and can be last for three days in a row.
Mostly Tenggerise people depend their life on agriculture and tourism since Mount Bromo is one of iconic place for travelers in Indonesia. If we take a closer look at their daily life, we can find the harmony and warmest attitude of this tribe which makes us feels so blessed to live among them.
Sandhi