The Roar of Raung (Part 6)
Every mountain has a story — not only of eruptions and rocks but of names, meanings, and memories that live among the people who see it every day. When the Land Rose Again After ancient eruptions covered the valleys and filled the basins with sediments, the land seemed to grow quiet. But beneath the surface, something was still alive — pressure, magma, and movement were preparing for another rise. From this process, a new formation appeared — Mount Pegge, a name given by local people who saw the shape and said it looked “peggé,” or bulging from the ground. Local names like this are not random; they reflect how people understood and felt their land. Then came Mount Raung, rising higher than the rest. Unlike other volcanoes, Raung stood upon the “basement” of older mountains — Suket, Pendil, and Jampit. It grew by building upon what already existed. That is…
The Civilization Beneath the Volcano (Part 5)
As we step into the next era after the great volcanic eruptions, the stones that once told stories of fire and creation now whisper about human civilization — how people adapted, believed, and built their world upon ancient landscapes.Bondowoso, as it turns out, preserves one of the most complete chains of civilization in East Java — from the Megalithic, Classic, Colonial, to the Modern era we live in today. The Megalithic Legacy The Megalithic period in Bondowoso is visible everywhere — through the countless sarcophagi, dolmen, kenong stones, and cylindrical stones scattered across its land.Visit Grujugan or Pusat Informasi Majapahit (PIM) Museum in Bondowoso, and you’ll find these artifacts still standing, not as told in the classroom, but in their original soil — allowing visitors to touch history, to sense the craftsmanship carved by ancient hands. These stones, locally known as Megalithic sites, hold more than archaeological value — they are…