APWS Spotlight: Rony Zakaria, Men, Mountains and The Sea

The Tengger Caldera, Mt. Bromo, Mt. Batok & Mt Semeru, East Java at night, just before the peak ceremony of Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival where Tengger people seek blessing from the main deity Hyang Widi Wasa by offering rice, fruit, livestock and other local produce and throwing them to the crater of Mt. Bromo, believing it as a representation of Hyang Widi Wasa.

A mountaineer at the top of Mt. Merapi (2,968m) with Mt. Sindoro and Mt. Sumbing on the background. Mt. Merapi is one of the most active among 150 volcanoes in Indonesia with Merapi has erupted more than 80 times with the most recent one in 2006.

Cemorolawang village seen at dawn from Mt. Pananjakan. Most of the total 6,000 people of Tengger tribe live in this village work generally as farmers. The presence of volcanoes creates a super fertile volcanic land giving the locals more harvests, sometimes as many as three times than their fellow farmers elsewhere.

A Tenggerese holyman tranced before a ceremony in Pura Agung Poten which part of the annual Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival in Tengger caldera, East Java, Indonesia. During the festival, Tenggerese people seek blessing from the main deity Hyang Widi Wasa by offering rice, fruit, livestock and other local produce and throwing them to the crater.

A man stands in Mt. Bromo crater waiting for Tengger people throw offerings. Poor Javanese people from surrounding village in East Java came and camped at the Mt. Bromo crater to try catching and collecting offerings that are thrown by the Tengger tribe using self-made nets during the Yadnya Kasada festival. During the festival, Tenggerese people seek blessing from the main deity Hyang Widi Wasa by offering rice, fruit, livestock and other local produce and throwing them to the crater.

Tenggerese Hindu clerics pass waterfalls after collecting holy water from Madakaripura waterfall as a part of the annual Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival. During the festival, Tenggerese people seek blessing from the main deity Hyang Widi Wasa by offering rice, fruit, livestock and other local produce and throwing them to the crater.

Javanese people from the surrounding villages in East Java came and camped at the Mt. Bromo crater to try catching and collecting offerings that are thrown by the Tengger tribe using self-made nets during the Yadnya Kasada festival. During the festival, Tenggerese people seek blessing from the main deity Hyang Widi Wasa by offering rice, fruit, livestock and other local produce and throwing them to the crater.

A Tenggerese Hindu cleric before a ceremony in Pura Agung Poten which part of the annual Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival in Tengger caldera, East Java, Indonesia. During the festival, Tenggerese people seek blessing from the main deity Hyang Widi Wasa by offering rice, fruit, livestock and other local produce and throwing them to the crater.

The Southern sea overlooked from Parangritis beach, Central Java. Parangtritis is one of the most popular beach in island of Java, it is also one of its deadliest. With strong down current and high tides many have drown. There is an unsaid prohibition among locals to not wear greenish clothes in the beach.

Several fishermen prepares for other fishermen who are coming ashore while visitors watching. Bordered with the Indian Ocean and despite the high waves and strong current the sea supported the fishermen from Depok beach with rich and vast kind of fish to catch.

Tourists at Parangtritis beach enjoy a sunset just before dusk. Parangtritis is one of the most popular beach in island of Java, it is also one of its deadliest. There were 339 accidents since 1991 resulting 107 people drown. During holidays as many as 60,000 people visited Parangtritis.

A devout traditional Javanese believer prays at the slope of Mt. Merapi during a Labuhan ritual to commemorate the coronation of the Sultan of Yogyakarta. Mt. Merapi along Parangkusumo in the south are believed by traditional Javanese as two entities that hold the harmony of life in Yogyakarta. When natural disasters or major incidents occurred in the region, the people throw ceremonies and offer scarification to Merapi and the Southern Sea in Parangtritis beach.

Lava flows from Mt. Merapi crater on November 3rd, 2010. Merapi is the most active volcano in Indonesia which on this year eruption caused 50,000 people take refuge in shelters.

A Balinese holds a fowl in a preparation ceremony before being sacrificed for a purification ritual called Mecaru in a temple in Bali. Balinese believe Mecaru is important to cleanse evil spirits, often sacrificing animals in the sea.

A Balinese ‘washed’ a sacred traditional mask in the sea during a purification ceremony at Batubolong beach, Bali. The gold and pearl elements part of the mask was stolen weeks earlier and the locals want to throw out the evil trace of the burglar towards the sea. Balinese believe that gods and ancestors live in the mountains whereas demons live in the sea.

Mt. Merbabu and Mt. Merapi are seen on the background of Yogyakarta city, Central Java. Located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia is often struck with earthquakes, Tsunamis and volcano eruptions. Yogyakarta itself was hit by a massive earthquake in May 2006 which reported killing 6,234 people.

A Balinese man after washing himself at the Watuklotok Beach, Bali. Balinese believe that gods and ancestors live in the mountains whereas demons live in the sea.

Traces at Parangtritis beach, Central Java. Indonesia is home for over 150 volcanoes, most of them are active and has a coastline spans to 80,000 kilometers. This two entities affected most of the total 230 million Indonesians, not just in their daily lives but also spiritually and culture-wise.

In this APWS Spotlight bi-weekly series, Jessica Lim presents work from previous participants of the Angkor Photo Workshops
and finds out what they have been up to.

Men, Mountains and The Sea

Divided by 17,000 island and located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia is home for more than 150 active volcanoes and distinctly marked by a coastline spans over 80,000 km. This project documents an ongoing history of people and communities whose life affected by two major entities for Indonesians, the mountains and the sea.

Rony Zakaria

Rony Zakaria studied photography at Antara Gallery of Photojournalism and completed a fellowship at Ateneo de Manila University. In 2008 and 2009, he received two photographic grants from FAO and Mochtar Lubis Award to pursuit his personal projects. Zakaria’s works have been featured in photo festivals such as Chobimela International Photo Festival in Bangladesh and exhibitions in Jakarta, Pattaya, Rome, Marseille and Taipei. His work has also been published in various publications, including Time Asia, The Wall Street Journal Asia, BBC Indonesia, Monocle, Asian Geographic, Tempo and The Jakarta Post. He is based in Jakarta, Indonesia.

View more of Rony’s work on his website: www.ronyzakaria.com

Tell me more, Rony Zakaria:

What gave you the inspiration for ‘Men, Mountains and The Sea’?

I like being in the mountains, I always love all the times I went for a hiking trip to a mountain. There was always a sense of peace but also excitement. I guess that influenced me to come to these mountains.

When I was in Yogyakarta, I hiked to this active volcano, Mt. Merapi. It’s the most active volcano in Indonesia. It was a very interesting trip for me personally. Afterwards, I kept coming back to Yogyakarta and starting to document the life in the slopes of Merapi and its surroundings. From there, I tried to find similar places like Merapi for me to visit, feel and photograph.

Do you personally live, or grew up, near a mountain or a sea?

I live in the city, but practically in every city in Indonesia there’s a mountain or a sea nearby.

What is the most important thing to you in your work?

That I believe in my work, that what I document represent not only what I see but what I feel.

Do you think the way you work has changed since you first began photography?

Yes, I think that’s the process of learning. My values change as I learn and progress more in life as a human being. It affects how I see, accept and express things, including how I do my photography. It’s not about being better I guess, it’s about being able to know more of yourself, what you want, and what you don’t want.

What are some things you learnt during the Angkor Photo Workshops in 2007 that shaped or influenced the way you worked?

I think it was wonderful to meet other peer photographers from all across Asia. That was the most important thing, to meet my fellow peers. It made me realise that I’m not alone.

The Angkor Photo Workshops is a free annual workshop for young, talented Asian photographers.
Started in 2005, it is held every year in Siem Reap, Cambodia. More info on their Website and Blog.