of these ancestors are said to live in the palace as royal servants (abdi dalem), occasionally visiting their descendants in dreams to give prophecies or warnings. " Spirits of Merapi To keep the volcano quiet and to appease the spirits of the mountain, the Javanese regularly take offerings on the anniversary of the sultan of Yogyakarta's coronation. For Yogyakarta Sultanate, Merapi holds a significant cosmological symbolism, because it forms a sacred north-south axis line between Merapi peak and Southern Ocean (Indian Ocean). The sacred axis is signified by Merapi peak in the north, the Tugu Yogyakarta monument near Yogyakarta main train station, the axis runs along Malioboro street to Northern Alun-alun (square) across Keraton Yogyakarta (sultan palace), Southern Alun-alun, all the way to Bantul and finally reach Samas and Parangkusumo beach on the estuary of Opak river and Southern Ocean. This sacred axis connected the hyangs or spirits of mountain revered since ancient times—often identified as "Mbah Petruk" by Javanese people—The Sultan of Yogyakarta as the leader of the Javanese kingdom, and Nyi Roro Kidul as the queen of the Southern Ocean, the female ocean deity revered by Javanese people and also mythical consort of Javanese kings. See also 2010 eruptions of Mount Merapi List of volcanic eruptions by death toll List of volcanoes in Indonesia Decade Volcanoes Further reading François Beauducel & François-Henri Cornet-Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Dpt Seismology, Edi Suhanto, Made Agung-Volcanological Survey of Indonesia, Constraint from displacement data on magma flux at Merapi volcano, Java. François Beauducel and François-Henri Cornet-Département de Sismologie, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, France. Edi Suhanto, Made Agung-Volcanological Survey of Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia. T. Duquesnoy and M. Kasser-Institut Géographique National, St-Mandé, France. Java, Indonesia, Journal of Geophysical research, (Vol unknown) 2000, Constraints on magma flux from displacements data at Merapi volcano Camus G, Gourgaud A, Mossand-Berthommier P-C, Vincent P-M, 2000. Merapi (central Java, Indonesia): an outline of the structural and magmatological evolution, with a special emphasis to the major pyroclastic events. J Volc Geotherm Res, 100: 139–163 Charbonnier S J, Gertisser R, 2008. Field observations and surface characteristics of pristine block-and-ash flow deposits from the 2006 eruption of Merapi volcano, Java, Indonesia. J Volc Geotherm Res, 177: 971–982 Gertisser R, Keller J, 2003. Temporal variations in magma composition at Merapi volcano (Central Java, Indonesia): magmatic cycles during the past 2000 years of explosive activity. J Volc Geotherm Res,