Gatekeeper of Indonesian volcano killed

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A man who was considered the gate-keeper of Indonesia’s most active volcano was killed when the mountain erupted earlier this week. Reporter Rebecca Henschke looks back on the life of the 83-year-old mystic.Download MP3

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LISA MULLINS: Now, earlier this month, we ran a story about the official “gate-keeper” of Mount Merapi. Mbah Marijan lived on the slopes of the volcano his entire life.
Well, today came word that Marijan was among the people who died on Merapi in the latest eruption. Rescue workers pulled his body from the ashes. He was 83 years old. Rebecca Henschke recently spoke with him and sent this story.

REBECCA HENSCHKE:  Mbah Marijan’s body was found in his house in a position of prayer. He was the third generation in his family to be trusted by the Sultan of Yogyakarta as the gate keeper of Indonesia’s most active volcano. In his last interview before his death, he described his role.

SPEAKING INDONESIAN

MBAH MARIJAN:  My job is to stop lava from flowing down. Let the volcano breathe but not cough. That’s my wish but God is the only one who controls life.

HENSCHKE: Mount Merapi is seen as the home of ancient Javanese spirits as well as a representation of the sacred Mount Meru of Hindu mythology. And Mbah Marijan was believed to enjoy an intimate spiritual relationship with the volcano. He never left the slopes.

SPEAKING INDONESIAN

MARIJAN: Why would I do that? What would be the use of going anywhere else? An uneducated person like me travelling! That would just be a headache. No point.

HENSCHKE: Local journalists reportedly went to his village hours before his death to plead with  him to leave. Authorities issued a maximum red alert on Monday suggesting a major eruption could happen at any time. But Marijan was adamant that he wouldn’t evacuate. When the volcano erupted in 2006 killing two people he also dismissed government warnings and stayed. Back then, he even trudged closer to the peak, spending two nights of meditation at a sacred spot as the volcano rumbled and heaved beneath him. But this weeks eruption was too strong. And the volcano keeper died on the mountain that he never wanted to leave. For The World, I’m Rebecca Henschke in Jakarta, Indonesia.

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