Mount Kemukus

About

Mount Kemukus or Gunung Kemukus (known as Sex Mountain) is a hilltop Javanese shrine in Sragen Regency, 28 kilometres (17 mi) northeast of Solo, where people from across Indonesia flock to honor a local saint. Every 35 days, rituals are conducted that involve adulterous sacred sex. Conservative Muslim groups have threatened to shut down the site in the past, but police arrived to prevent it. In November 2014, the then-governor of Central Java, Ganjar Pranowo, reacted to a film by an Australian journalist, which had been broadcast by SBS One, that portrayed Mount Kumukus as 'Sex Mountain' and scandalized the local ritual practices. He issued a ban on the tradition of engaging in sex at the site; he said that the local practice was hazardous in terms of health—indeed, sexually transmitted diseases in the area are on the rise—and morality, and that it was shameful that the matter had attracted the attention of the outside world. The ban which also prohibited renting rooms to pilgrims caused a collapse of ritual activities at Mount Kemukus with devastating effects to the local economy. The income of the 262 families, who live at Mount Kemukus, decreased by 90 per cent. Therefore, most shops are closed and many families, who were never engaged in the sex business, have left the area.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.