At 89, 'Mbah' Delik still a cave conqueror

At 89, 'Mbah' Delik still a cave conqueror

By Tarko Sudiarno

YOGYAKARTA (JP): If you want to go caving in these parts,
nature lovers and students will tell you there is one man who is
essential to have on your side.

Slamet Karsodihardjo, nicknamed Mbah (grandpa) Delik, is
almost 89, but the Yogyakarta royal servant has been exploring
caves, including previously undiscovered ones, since his youth.
Besides being a hobby for him, Mbah Delik's efforts have also
helped further scientific and historical research.

People are astounded to see that the grandfather of 20 is
still descending cave slopes and traversing underground rivers.
Barefooted and without modern gadgets, Delik enters the mouth of
a new cave and handles it with ease.

Light and lithe, he is able to secure a tight grip and creep
along the cave wall like a house lizard.

The darkness does not deter Delik from ranging into the
deepest areas of cave valleys either. He is convinced of his God-
bestowed gifts and, once he enters a cave, is not afraid of the
pitch-black dark, of falling, of unknown venomous creatures or
the ghosts that many say haunt the area.

Mbah Delik is an ordinary man, but he developed a deep
understanding of Javanese philosophy and mysticism, which has
made caving easy to master. Besides being a cave enthusiast he is
a lover of wild animals and is also said to be capable of
recovering valuable heirlooms by magic.

Researchers and nature lovers began to seek Mbah Delik's help
on their expeditions when he joined Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada
University as a civil servant in 1970, following his retirement
from the Army in 1967.

The biggest expedition he ever took part in was the search for
victims of the massacre that followed the alleged 1965 communist
coup attempt.

The expedition took place in Luweng Grubuk, Gunung Kidul
regency, in 1992. The cave was one of the places where those
accused of being communists were killed and their bodies dumped.
Locals believed the area was haunted and said strange voices
could be heard from Grubuk, which nobody dared visit.

Only in 1992 did Mbah Delik try to enter Grubuk for the first
time. "I just served as bait, so that if I'd died first, others
would not have perished," he said.

Besides the popular belief in the presence of spirits and
ferocious animals guarding the cave, Grubuk also emits dangerous
gases.

"But I'm sure that as long as we don't disturb them and we
have good intentions, we'll be safe. I was able to penetrate it
through another opening by following an underground stream."

While following the stream that took him to Grubuk, he only
held a walkie-talkie to communicate with the expedition team
members, and palm sugar for a snack.

Without lights and caving equipment Mbah Delik waded along in
the dark on his own until he finally reached the part of the cave
where human skeletons were scattered.

"Ten sacks of bones were gathered," he said of the place where
people, many of whom were never proved to have committed a crime,
were killed or their bodies dumped.

Mbah Delik has joined countless caving adventures with
students as well as researchers. Even Gadjah Mada University has
utilized his prowess for biological and anthropological studies.

"I've found a lot of fossils in my own way for research
purposes," he proudly said.

His knowledge and experience draws many guests, who visit him
at his modest home by the Code River, Blunyah village,
Yogyakarta. He gives them advice and asks for nothing in return.

"I'm very pleased to have them here, no matter what they need.
The fact that they see me is beyond value in money terms," he
said.

He is also an adviser and founder of a Javanese school of
mysticism. He has a magical saying which he says prior to
entering a cave, usually as the first of the expedition party:
"All the earth, wood, wildlife, caves and slopes, never interfere
with us, we only need your aid," he says.

And, so far, his words have kept him safe and sound.