Here’s the legend of how the Tenggerese came to live in Mount Bromo.

A long time ago, there lived a beautiful woman by the name Roro Anteng. She was a reknown beauty and had attracted the attention of an evil giant. Because the evil giant possessed extraordinary magical powers, Roro Anteng dared not reject the giant’s advances when he proposed to her. Roro thought of a plan to get away from the marriage without offending the giant. In order to get her hand in marriage, the giant had to fufill her wishes.

Roro then concocted a difficult request in hopes that the giant did not have the power to fufill it. She had asked him to make her a sandy desert in between the mountains in one night and before the break of dawn.

Unfortunately for her, the giant magically and swiftly begin to work his powers and was near completing her wishes. The fast thinking Roro Anteng quickly thought of an idea to disrupt the completion, she made all sorts of noises that woke up the roosters. The roosters began to crow bringing dawn in.

On hearing the rooster’s calls, which signalled the break of dawn, the giant was shocked for having failed his task. Frustrated, he threw the coconut shell that he used to dig the desert, the shell fell to the ground beside Mount Bromo, forming what is now knows as Mount Batok (coconut shell). The sandy plain was to form the Tengger caldera.

The story continues with Roro Anteng falling in love with Joko Seger, a descendant of the great Majapahit Kingdom who had led a reclusive life on the desolate mountain range.

They were married, living happily blessed with many children. Their children and their descendents formed the tribal community of the Tengger (taken from the names ‘Roro Anteng’ and Joko Seger”).

This was the story of how the Tenggerese tribe came to be and how they lived the lands.