The Tengger Caldera, Mt. Bromo, Mt. Batok & Mt. Semeru, East Java at night just before the ceremony. The Yadnya Kasada festival is a Hindu tradition: Tengger people seek blessings from the main deity Hyang Widhi Wasa by offering rice, fruit, livestock and other local produce. They throw these offerings into the crater of Mt. Bromo, believing it to be a representation of Hyang Widhi Wasa. © Rony Zakaria
At the top of Mt. Merapi with Mt. Sindoro and Mt. Sumbing in the background. Mt. Merapi is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia. Merapi has erupted more than 80 times, most recently in 2014. Javanese, the native inhabitants of the major island Java, believe that earth is not only populated with human beings, but also with spirits. They believe Merapi is one of the palaces where the rulers of spirits live. Thus it is named after the two rulers that live within the mountain, Rama and Permadi. Merapi means "Fire of Rama and Permadi." © Rony Zakaria
Tenggerese natives gather at night before the annual Hindu Yadnya Kasada Festival in Mt. Bromo, East Java province, Indonesia. During the festival, Tenggerese people seek blessings from the main deity Hyang Widhi Wasa by throwing rice, fruit, livestock and other local produce into the crater. © Rony Zakaria
A Tenggerese shaman chant prayers before a ceremony in Pura Agung Poten, a part of the annual Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival in Tengger caldera, East Java, Indonesia. © Rony Zakaria
Cemoro Lawang village seen at dawn from Mt. Penanjakan. © Rony Zakaria
Locals camped at the Mt. Bromo crater collect offerings thrown by the Tengger tribe. The offerings will bring good luck for them during the Yadnya Kasada festival. © Rony Zakaria
Tenggerese natives gathered at the peak of Mt. Bromo in East Java province during the annual Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival in the Tengger caldera, East Java, Indonesia. © Rony Zakaria
A Tenggerese man brings decorated offerings from his village nearby to be thrown into Mt. Bromo's crater. © Rony Zakaria
Daily life in a market in Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. Yogyakarta is located between an active volcano in the north and an open sea in the south. Local residents believe they are the home of Gods (the mountains) and Queens (the sea). © Rony Zakaria
Tenggerese Hindu shamans walking through a waterfall after collecting holy water as a part of the annual Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival. © Rony Zakaria
A goat that will be thrown into Mt. Bromo's crater as a an offering at the annual Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival in Tengger caldera, East Java, Indonesia. The villagers came from neighboring villages and camped on the crater for days to collect offerings. © Rony Zakaria
A worker in a traditional sulfur mine in Kawah Ijen, East Java, Indonesia. © Rony Zakaria
Mt. Merbabu and Mt. Merapi seen in the background of Yogyakarta city, Central Java. Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia is often the victim of earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanos. © Rony Zakaria
A Tenggerese Hindu cleric before a ceremony in Pura Agung Poten, part of the annual Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival in Tengger caldera, East Java, Indonesia. © Rony Zakaria
Members of the royal sultanate family gathered before the Labuhan Alit ritual in Parangkusumo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The ritual commemorates the meeting between the first Yogyakarta Sultan and the mythical Queen of the Southern Sea, Nyi Roro Kidul. In the ritual, offerings from the current Sultan to the queen are thrown into the sea. © Rony Zakaria
A Balinese man prepares a fowl for sacrifice in a purification ritual called Mecaru. The sacrifice will take place in a temple in Bali. Balinese people believe the Mecaru ritual is important because it cleanses evil spirits. © Rony Zakaria
Youth from royal family of the Yogyakarta Sultanate, one of few remaining traditional kingdom in Indonesia, gather to pay respects to the Sultan of Yogyakarta (displayed on the screen with his queen) on his birthday. © Rony Zakaria
A Tenggerese rides a horse in a desert of cold lava sand in Tengger Caldera, East Java, Indonesia. © Rony Zakaria
A pilgrim at the peak of Mt. Semeru, the highest point on Java Island, Indonesia. He traveled from his home in Malang, East Java, to receive a blessing at the peak of Mt. Semeru. He wants to build a small offering platform in their house back in Malang. Mt. Semeru derived its name from the mythical Hindu-Buddhist mountain Sumeru (also called Mount Meru). Indonesian Hindus also hold a belief that the mountain is the abode of Shiva in Java. © Rony Zakaria
Lava flows from the Mt. Merapi crater on November 3rd, 2010. This image was taken from Cangkringan, Yogyakarta, in the Central Java province, Indonesia. © Rony Zakaria
Balinese Hindu pray during a Melasti, a purification ritual where bad spirits are washed away in the sea, at Batubolong in Bali, Indonesia. Balinese believe that gods and ancestors live in the mountains whereas demons live in the sea. © Rony Zakaria
Fishermen in boats move as groups in "Pesta Lomban", a celebration offering thanks for the good catch in anticipation of another good fishing season. The ritual involves a head of a bull that will be thrown at the sea as an offering. It is held annually, a week after the islamic holiday Eid al-Fitr. © Rony Zakaria
A women prays on Parangkusumo beach, Central Java during a Labuhan Laut ritual. Javanese believe that Parangtritis and Parangkusumo is the kingdom gate of Nyai Roro Kidul, a mythical queen who rules the southern sea. Many conservative Javanese come to Parangkusumo on certain “good” days to pray for their wishes: everything from love affairs, jobs, and other unsolved problems. It is also a common practice in the area for police officers to ask for a lead to the whereabouts of a fugitive. © Rony Zakaria
Local children imitate how whalers harpoon sperm whales as they play during late afternoon in a beach at Lamalera Village, Lembata Island, Indonesia. Lamalera is a small fishing village of 2,000 people in the east part of Indonesia. Whaling and fishing have been an integral part of their lives for 600 years. In ancient times, the villagers hunted with small wooden boats and hand-thrown bamboo harpoons. © Rony Zakaria
The Southern sea as seen from Parangtritis beach, Central Java. Parangtritis is one of the most popular beaches on the island of Java. It is also one of its deadliest. There have been 339 accidents since 1991. 107 people have drowned. There are unwritten restrictions not to wear green clothing, as visitors will be dragged away by the currents to serve the kingdom of the mythical Queen of the Southern Sea, Nyi Roro Kidul. © Rony Zakaria
Locals at Parangtritis beach enjoy the sunset just before dusk. © Rony Zakaria
Families of fallen fishermen pay their tribute and offer prayers. The tribute is held every year at the beginning of the hunting season in April in Lamalera village, Lembata island, Indonesia. Since 1970, about 36 whalers lost their lives while hunting in the ocean. The last casualty occurred in 2007, when a whaler got hit by a whale's tail. The method of Lamalera whalers is simple and yet risky: it is not uncommon during a hunt to have a wooden boat capsized, forcing other boats to save the whalers and continue the hunt afterwards. © Rony Zakaria
Native Tenggerese gather before the annual Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival in Tengger caldera, East Java, Indonesia. © Rony Zakaria
Traces at Parangtritis beach, Central Java. Indonesia is home to over 150 volcanoes. Most of them are active. © Rony Zakaria
A Balinese man after washing himself at the Watu Klotok Beach, Bali. © Rony Zakaria