Ancient oral tradition describes volcano–earthquake interaction at merapi volcano, indonesia

Abstract

erapi volcano is among the most hazardous volcanoes on the planet. Ancient avanese folklore describes erapi's activity as the interaction between the pirit Kings that inhabit the volcano and the ueen of the South ea, who resides at arangtritis beach, 50 km of erapi. The royal palace in ogyakarta is located half‐way along the hypothetical line between erapi and arangtritis (the erapi–raton–outh ea axis) to bring balance between these mystical forces.In 2006 and 2010, erapi erupted explosively and on both occasions, earthquakes shook the region and the eruptions grew more violent in response. These earthquakes appear to influence the sub‐volcanic magma supply of erapi and a positive feedback loop has recently been postulated between the volcano and local earthquake patterns. The 2006 earthquakes clustered along the pak iver fault to the south of the volcano, which trends –, and reaches the southern sea at arangtritis beach, the fabled residence of the ueen of the South ea.Our interpretation of the erapi–raton–outh ea axis is that local folklore was used by ancient people to describe and rationalize the complex interplay between geological processes. We suggest that erapi displayed volcano–earthquake interaction many times in the past, and not only during its most recent eruptive cycle. Although now shrouded in mystery, these oral traditions can be thought of as an ancient hazard mitigation tool, which makes them likely useful in helping to foster effective dialogues with a variety of target parties and interest groups around the volcano's slopes.