Mrapen

Mrapen (Indonesian: Api Abadi Mrapen) is an eternal flame in Indonesia that is the result of natural geologic activity.

Location

The Mrapen eternal flame is located in Manggarmas village, Godong District, Grobogan Regency, Central Java, about 26 kilometers west of Purwodadi, Grobogan.

Scientific basis

This eternal flame was created through natural geological phenomena; the leaking of natural gas from the ground. It is unknown when the gas leakage was ignited, but it is thought to have been ignited sometime before the 15th-century era of the Demak Sultanate as it was already known by then.

Culture

It is said that the sacred kris heirloom dagger of the Demak Sultanate was forged in the Mrapen flame.^[1] The Mrapen flame is considered sacred in Javanese culture, and it is used in the annual Waisak Buddhist ceremony, where it is brought to the Mendut and Borobudur temples together with sacred water from the Umbul Jumprit spring. Beginning with the inaugural GANEFO in 1963, the flame of Mrapen has traditionally been incorporated into the torch relays of multi-sports events held in the country, such as the Southeast Asian Games. During the 2018 Asian Games torch relay, the Asian Games flame (which originated from New Delhi, India—host city of the inaugural 1951 Asian Games) was combined with a flame from Mrapen in a ceremony at the Prambanan temple.^[2]

Extinguished

The flame went out on September 25, 2020; the cause of its extinguishing is being investigated. Officials are planning to relight the flame pending the results of this investigation.^[3]

References

^ "Obor SEA Games XXVI Mulai Diarak dari Mrapen" (in Indonesian). Tempo Interaktif. 2011-10-23. Archived from the original on 2011-10-27. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
^ "Asian Games flame to join Mrapen flame and begin journey across Indonesia". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
^ "The Extinguishing Of The Mrapen Eternal Flame". VOI - Waktunya Merevolusi Pemberitaan. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2021-07-30.

7°01′22″S 110°42′00″E / 7.022662537676815°S 110.69988573720579°E

External links

Api Abadi Mrapen at JavaTourism.com

[1] "Obor SEA Games XXVI Mulai Diarak dari Mrapen" (in Indonesian). Tempo Interaktif. 2011-10-23. Archived from the original on 2011-10-27. Retrieved 2011-11-07.

[2] "Asian Games flame to join Mrapen flame and begin journey across Indonesia". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2018-11-14.

[3] "The Extinguishing Of The Mrapen Eternal Flame". VOI - Waktunya Merevolusi Pemberitaan. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2021-07-30.

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