Mount Merapi smoke up to 2,000 meters high, one of its first major phreatic eruptions after the 2010 eruption. Researchers said that this eruption occurred due to combined effect of hot volcanic gases and abundant rainfall. The last eruption was so far May 11, 2018 The name "Merapi" could be loosely translated as the Mountain of Fire. The etymology of the name came from "Meru-Api"; from the Javanese combined words; "Meru" means "mountain", refer to mythical mountain of Gods in Hinduism, and "api" means "fire". Merapi is the youngest in a group of volcanoes in southern Java. It is situated at a
Mount Merapi them, Mount Jamurdipo was later renamed Mount Merapi, which means "fire of Rama and Permadi." The Javanese believe that the Earth is not only populated by human beings, but also by spirits ("makhluk halus"). Villages near Merapi believe that one of the palaces (in Javanese "kraton") used by the rulers of the spirit kingdom lies inside Merapi, ruled by Empu Rama and Empu Permadi. This palace is said to be a spiritual counterpart to the Yogyakarta Sultanate, complete with roads, soldiers, princes, vehicles, and domesticated animals. Besides the rulers, the palace is said to also be populated by the spirits