Indonesian spiritualist fails to tame Mt Merapi volcano

The spiritual guardian of Indonesia’s Mount Merapi, an old man known as Grandfather Marijan, lost his battle with the volcano on Tuesday when it buried him in a blanket of choking ash.

The bodies of Marijan and around 24 other people were pulled from the fine grey ash yesterday as rescue workers scoured the slopes for victims and survivors of Tuesday’s massive eruptions.

“At least 25 people were killed, including Mbah (grandfather) Marijan. A reporter and two volunteers were also killed,” said Banu Hermawan, a spokesman for Sardjito hospital in nearby Yogyakarta. From his house beneath the smoking crater, the royally-appointed guardian, aged in his 70s, had led traditional rituals for years to appease the volcano’s ancient spirits.

Local media reports said his body was found in his house in a position of prayer, suggesting the old gatekeeper had struggled to the end to soothe the violent energies in the mountain’s core.

The journalist had reportedly gone to the village to plead with Marijan to flee, after the authorities issued a maximum red alert on Monday suggesting a major eruption could be imminent. But one search and rescue worker said Marijan was adamant he would not leave.

“I’m so used to being at home, it’s better for me to just stay here and pray,” the rescue worker, Taufiq, quoted him as saying.

The 2,914-metre Mount Merapi, which means “Mountain of Fire”, is the most active of the 69 volcanoes with histories of eruptions in Indonesia.

Soaring above the rice paddies of central Java about 400 kilometres east of Jakarta, it last erupted in June 2006, killing two people. On that occasion, Marijan also refused to follow orders to evacuate, saying it was his traditional and spiritual duty to stay on and pray.

“If I am asked to evacuate I would not be honouring my duty” to the sultan of Yogyakarta, he told police, according to an AFP reporter who was there at the time.

He had even trudged closer to the peak, completing two nights of meditation at the sacred spot of Kendit as the volcano rumbled and heaved beneath him.