Case file · Folklore / legend
Mbah Maridjan, gatekeeper of Merapi
Mbah Maridjan, the spiritual guardian of Mount Merapi appointed by the Sultan of Yogyakarta, refused to leave his village during the October 2010 eruption and was found dead in a praying position.
2010 CE · -7.58, 110.44 · status: official
The account
He had famously stayed through the 2006 eruption and survived, which increased belief in his power. His death symbolised the clash between traditional and scientific authority over the volcano.