Charles Darwin's Darwin Awards 
HOME
Darwin Awards
At-Risk Survivors
Slush Pile
2010 October Rejects
Halloween Plunge
Illinois Woman Killed in Hotel Hall
woman died sliding down a stai
Bright Special Ed Teacher
death by graffiti
Man Dies Of Caffeine Overdose
story
story
And we thought it was a thief
Man Dies Of Caffeine Overdose
Man urinating through letterbox
Maid Uses Umbrella As Parachute, Di
Man dies after falling from back of
Rifle cleaning
Judge: McDonald's must pay obese em
Read the dosage
Caffine overdose
Party-goer died after swallowing tw
Just a spoonful of.... caffeine....
Wired for Failure
Indonesian spiritualist fails to ta
Car Turns onto Tracks
Man Dies of Caffeine Overdose
kid die after put the head of bus
Kid hits a pole hanging from a car
Canadian aims for risky Houdini stu
Volcano "caretaker" dies
joy ride
Watch your head!
PLaying roadrnner
Bicycle Rider
I nominate myself
Unsuccessful Arson
Tragic joyride kills sisters
Widowmaker
Stolen bike rider killed
Killed by Python
The fool who never gives up
Boom!
Ben Franklin Wannabe
Crocodile on a plane
Drunk idiots
20 die in air disaster after smuggl
Indonesian spiritualist fails to ta
2 Dead from Stabing - EACH OTHER!
Croc Carry-on
A Shocking Death
Kid chokes himself on bowflex
fall from car bonnet
Man electrocuted in botched copper
How To Cross The Road
Booby trap kills man
Man electrocuted in botched copper
robot arms
Accident waiting to happen
Man electrocuted in botched copper
Man electrocuted
Man killed by his own booby trap
Doctor found dead, lodged in boyfri
The family that steals together
Car riding joys
Iceland tourist electrocuted
enjoy ur life coz u neva kno when i
Sisters die after falling off car b
Sisters die after falling off car b
Sisters die car surfing on hwy
Double Darwinettes, REdux
Sisters die surfing car hood
Croc on plane, what can go wrong?
Intoxicated man injured after falli
Quebec man gunned down in his own b
Double .... Darwinettes
Sisters fall from car
Quebecer killed by own booby trap
Sisters die
A man aged 75 died from his trap
Worried about crime no more
Crocodile on plane kills 19
Boobed by Booby Trap
Man victim of his own booby trap
Crocodile Kills 19
Man killed by own booby trap
Stupid Brit Banker Caught Lying!
Plane Crashes After Crocodile Escap
Paranoid Man killed by his own trap
Leslie phiophy Theory
Dumb, Dumber, Dumbest
Killed by his own trap
Paranoid man killed by his own trap
Man killed by his own trap
Mortal pee
Denied bike, man kills self
Paranoid man killed by his own trap
Caught in his own net
Killed by his own trap
Killed by his own trap
Crocodile onboard causes aircrash
Killed by his own booby trap
Old man shot by his own trap
Nobody will come in.
Dying to Get Away
Crocodile Escapes & crashes plane
Girl dies while tweeting in the tub
police find answer to burglary at b
Maine teen saved after being pinned
Man Dies After Balcony Stunt
Rear Admiral Jamwal killed by gun
Helmet-less bike thief suspect kill
Ambulance mishap in Dutch
Maryland man is killed when he lean
Dead man in quarry tied to Ladue bu
Man, 19, hanging out truck window k
Man Leaning out car killed by pole
Burglar's big last step
Man Leaning Out Of Car Killed In Cr
Man Dies After Car Hits Telephone P
Robber shot his penis during escape
Wrong-way driver run over 5 times
Man Leaning Out Of Car Killed In Cr
Dead Man in Quary
Dead man in quarry
Copper cable carnage
things you shouldn't have to be tol
Flee Fallin'
"Goat who stares at Men"
UNLUCKY NUMBER
Full Basement, Empty Head
Teaching Your Children
Stab proof Vest
Dude dove head first onto pool
Tractor death
self shot
Gang Member dies after shooting acc
Man attacks alligator, loses
The Un-stuntman
Lions eat a tourist
Man tries Starsky and Hutch jump ov
Stupid friends
The Gasoline Drain Cleaner
Drunken Bull Fighter
AIDS denialists die of.. guess.
Passenger Escapes Wreck To Fall Fro
Man dies after jumping from truck
Dueling men
Woman Mistakes Superglue for Eyedro
Nanaimo Parkway crash kills two
Jump the Cop
Insured chainsaw
Make your own way to hell
Man killed by friend driving hearse
Poisonous mushrooms are poisonous!
Never check before you believe
Korean scooter dude totally gets th
the death cap experiment
http://gizmodo.com/5657518/crazy-gu
[typo found in Ride Em Cowgirl
Elevator guy
man shoots himself in skunk attack
Ahousaht Man
Double-Decker
Laptop 'potato' fraud
Copper cable thief electrocuted
to pee, jumps down the viaduct...
Close call...
Drown in a lake of information
California Man Dies in Fall From So
The death stare
Stires decided not to take stairs
Falls off a bridge to pee
Drown in a lake following GPS
Raging to death
No moron left behind
Quintuple Darwin Award
Man shoots self fending off skunk
PERILOUS PIT SOP
Fatal Pee
Italian stops for a wee permanently
Death By School Bus
Man vs Skunk
4-year-old boy starts van
man on train roof 25000v
kaneohe man dies in laundry chute
polar bear snack
Killed by a pint of vodka
Vodka Pint Drink Die
Man who had taken dance drug died a
Older Rejects 
 
~ Random Story ~
Email Alert!
NEW! Gift Shop
Rules  Search
Contact Darwin
Submit a Story
Philosophy Forum
Home

  

Darwin Awards
2010 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Indonesian spiritualist fails to ta

2010 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

The spiritual guardian of Indonesia's Mount Merapi, an old man known as Grandfather Marijan, lost his battle with the volcano when it buried him in a blanket of choking ash. The bodies of Marijan and around 24 other people were pulled from the fine grey ash on Wednesday as rescue workers scoured the slopes for victims and survivors of Tuesday's massive eruptions. "At least 25 people were killed, including Mbah (grandfather) Marijan. A reporter and two volunteers were also killed," said Banu Hermawan, a spokesman for Sardjito hospital in nearby Yogyakarta. From his house beneath the smoking crater, the royally appointed guardian, aged in his 70s, had for years led traditional rituals to appease the volcano's ancient spirits. Local media reports said his body was found in his house in a position of prayer, suggesting the old gatekeeper had struggled to the end to soothe the violent energies in the mountain's core. The journalist had reportedly gone to the village to plead with Marijan to flee, after the authorities issued a maximum red alert on Monday suggesting a major eruption could be imminent. But one search and rescue worker told AFP that Marijan was adamant that he would not leave. "I'm so used to being at home, it's better for me to just stay here and pray," the rescue worker, Taufiq, quoted him as saying. The 2,914-metre (9,616-foot) Mount Merapi, which means "Mountain of Fire", is the most active of the 69 volcanoes with histories of eruptions in Indonesia. Soaring above the rice paddies of central Java about 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of Jakarta, it last erupted in June 2006, killing two people. On that occasion, Marijan also refused to follow orders to evacuate, saying it was his traditional and spiritual duty to stay. "If I am asked to evacuate then I would not be honouring my duty" to the sultan of Yogyakarta, he told police, according to an AFP reporter who was there at the time. He had even trudged closer to the peak, completing two nights of meditation at the sacred spot of Kendit as the volcano rumbled and heaved beneath him. His rites were a blend of Islamic prayer -- the vast majority of Indonesia's 240 million people are Muslim -- and rituals coming from Java's pre-Islamic Hindu-Buddhist periods. Personally appointed by the late sultan of Yogyakarta, Hamengkubuwono IX, Marijan's main duty was to ensure that all traditions associated with the volcano were respected. These include the annual Labuhan ceremony, where the palace presents offerings to Merapi to renew an alliance between the sultans and the world of spirits residing there. Local people believe that the 17th-century founder of the present House of Yogyakarta, Panembahan Senapati, once forged an alliance with the mythical Queen of the Southern Sea. In return for peace, glory and protection, Senapati and his nine subsequent descendants had to wed the queen and present annual offerings to the four abodes of spirits allied to the palace. These places are Merapi to the north, Parangkusumo beach facing the Indian Ocean to the south, Mount Lawu to the east and the sacred pond of Dlepih Kahyangan to the west. In Javanese mysticism, the palace in Yogyakarta occupies a central position, while the spirits residing in the four corners protect the sultan and his people. Merapi's deadliest eruption occurred in 1930 when more than 1,300 people were killed. Heat clouds from another eruption in 1994 killed more than 60 people.

Submitted on 10/29/2010

Submitted by: Marius Comper
Reference: AFP, 27.10.2010

Copyright © 2010 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
Thanks, Marius, but we've already received this story.


Candi said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
What Bruce said.


The Darwin Awards Gift Shop

The Darwin Awards Condom

Keep yourself out of the gene pool!
A condom in a matchbook, useful for emergency contraception, bachelor parties, frat parties, and important rites of passage. LOADED inside and out with funny quotes and stories. Everyone loves this item!
Friends don't let friends reproduce!
$13 for Pack of 4

 

 

Slush Pile
Slush Pile Rejects

HomeRulesFAQsAwardsSlushSite Map
DarwinAward | HonorableMention | PersonalAccount | UrbanLegend