The origin of this festival is a legend that dates back to the Majapahit kingdom, during the reign of King Brawijaya. At the fall of the Majapahit empire the princess of the kingdom and her husband Roro Anteng took refuge in the upper slopes of Mount Bromo. The couple and their followers later settled in the Tengger mountains and ruled the region jointly under the title Purbawisesa Mangkurat Ing Tengger. Under their leadership Tenngerese people settled and began to flourish, but the couple were not happy as they remained childless after many years of marriage. Therefore, they meditated atop Mount Bromo, beseeching the mountain gods for assistance. The gods granted them 24 children on the condition that the 25th child must be thrown into the volcano as human sacrifice. The gods' request was observed, and so the tradition of offering sacrifices thrown into the volcano to appease the deities continues until today, but, of course, with no sacrifices of humans. Instead, today chickens, goats and vegetables are thrown into the crater as sacrifice.