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.