The Jakarta Globe has posted an obituary for Mbah Maridjan, known as the gatekeeper of Mount Merapi. He was found in his home on the flank of the volcano, frozen in genuflection, with his clothes “fused to his skin by the 1,000-degree Celsius heat clouds that blasted through his home.” The Globe quotes the commander of the district’s search and rescue team as saying: “There were no signs of pain. His body was prostrated rigidly, not like he suffered from the fire.”
A friend of Mr. Marijan’s spoke with him last Friday as the Merapi was trembling to life. He’s said that Mr. Marijan believed it was his responsibility to stay, regardless of the danger: “My time to die in this place has almost come, I can’t leave.”
Condolences and thank-yous have started to build on Mr. Mardijan’s Facebook page.
