Volcanic geology is Java's destiny: the same volcanoes that make its soil among the most fertile on Earth also make its most productive land its most dangerous, and a single great eruption could wipe out a kingdom's food supply and, as a divine omen, its ruler's legitimacy.

65:06kingdom's decline may have been related to a series of dramatic volcanic eruptions that occurred sometime in the 10th and early 11th centuries. The people of Java have always lived with a particular paradox that the immense productivity of their land also comes from its most destructive force. Many landscapes that experience a monsoon season as heavy as Java can suffer from poor soil quality as the seasonal rains wash away top soil and

65:47leech nutrients away. But in much of Java, the hundreds of active volcanoes counteract this effect. Due to the island's particular geology, its volcanoes are especially beneficial for the soil, filling it with minerals like magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus that plants thrive on, all blasted out of the depths of the earth itself. Volcanic soil is also uniquely porous and retains moisture exceptionally well, while allowing air circulation for plant

66:26roots. But of course, a volcano is a violent phenomenon. When they erupt, they scorch the earth with pyrolastic flows, spew lava, and rain huge boulders down from the sky across a large area. This poses an obvious problem that the areas of the greatest agricultural productivity on the island were also the most dangerous. This meant that while the volcano's overall effect on the island was positive, a year in which a great

67:08eruption took place could wipe out a good proportion of any kingdom's food supplies. And of all these volcanoes, by far the most active was the one that the Javanese call by a name which means the mountain of fire or merap. Rising to nearly 3,000 m or 10,000 ft. Mount Marappi is the most active volcano in the whole of Indonesia and is considered one of the most active and

67:51dangerous in the world. It has erupted regularly for at least the last 500 years with small eruptions occurring every 2 to 3 years and larger ones every 10 to 15. Then every few hundred years the mountain explodes in a truly catastrophic fashion. The Javanese Chronicle, the Babad Tan Jawi, records the devastation caused by one eruption of the great Mount Marappi that took place in the 16th century.

68:30Then Mount Marappi erupted with fire. It made a terrifying thundering noise. A rain of ash fell. A volcanic mud flow ran down the OAC river. Big rocks rose from the flow and landed on the land. When the piles of wood on the Ganang GD mountains were set on fire, the mountains became a blaze of fire. The Gong Ki Bichchuk was beaten ceaselessly. All tried to save their lives and ran in

69:05all directions. Added to this obvious physical destruction, the Javanese also held the volcanoes in great spiritual reverence and viewed eruptions as signs and portants from the gods. After the deaths of great kings, Javanese chronicles often describe the mountains rumbling in mourning. At the death of his majesty, the wailing in the palace was as loud as thunder. Mount Marappi rumbled, joining in with the sound of a rainstorm.

69:48It was believed that the eruptions, earthquakes, and various rumblings of the land were not just seismic events, but actually one of the primary ways that the gods weighed in on the affairs of humanity. For this reason, their timing could have real life or death consequences. One chronicle recounts the story of a lucky prisoner held by a 17th century Javanese king. The king wanted to kill the prisoner