Thousands gather for ritual sacrifice

Annual ritual: A member of the Tengger sub-ethnic group carrying a goat for offering as part of the Yadnya Kasada festival in Probolinggo, East Java province. — AFP

Thousands of Hindu worshippers scaled an active Indonesian volcano to toss livestock, food and other offerings into its smoking crater in a centuries-old religious ceremony.

Swarming the thin rim around the basin of Mount Bromo, devotees heaved goats, chickens and vegetables slung across their backs up to the dusty peak as part of the Yadnya Kasada festival.