Tenggerese People
Tenggerese or Tengger People is one of Indonesian tribes that live around Bromo Mountain which located around Pasuruan, Lumajang, Probolinggo and Malang Regency.
The Tenggerese are the descendants of the Majapahit Princes. Their population is about 600.000 inhabitants within thirty villages.
Tenggerese are being known as obedient Hindu followers. For them, Bromo Mountain is sacred. In once in a year they held ceremony of Kasada or Yadnya Kasada as a thanks giving to the Lord. This ceremony is always held in midnite in full moon time around date of 14 or 15, based on Javanese Calender.
Beside Hindu, Tenggerese are also incorporated with Buddhist and Animist. Like Balinese, they worship Sang Hyang Widi Wasa or Big Almighty Lord. Their places of worship include the Punden, Poten and Danyang. The Poten is a sacred area of ground at Mt. Bromo’s Sand sea, and becomes the focus of the annual Kasada Ceremony. Within the Poten, it contains several buildings and enclosures, arranged in a specific composition called the Mandalas (Zones).
The Tenggeres also worship a host of spirits or such ancestor worship. Cikal Bakal is the spirit of the founders of the village, while the Roh Bahurekso is the village guardian spirit and The Roh Leluhur is the spirit of ancestors.
The name Tengger is believed taken from the name of the ancestor, who was Roro Anteng and Joko Seger. In daily speaking, Tenggerese speak in Javanese, in Majapahit dialect, which is Bahasa Tengger. They also have their own written based on Kavi script, an old Javanese Brahmu type.
The Tenggerese are basically either agriculturalists or nomadic herders. The agriculturalists generally live on the lower altitudes, while the nomads live on the higher altitudes, riding on small horses. Regarding that Bromo Mountain is the most attractive Mountain that visited by worldwide tourist, it makes Tenggerese find the opportunities to make a living by guiding, renting a horse, selling merchandise or selling food in stalls around Bromo Mountain.
