His birthplace was in the mountainside hamlet (Javanese language-dukuh) of Kinahrejo, Umbulharjo Village, Cangkringan District, of the Sleman Regency, on the island of Java in Indonesia.
He was killed at the age of 83 by a pyroclastic flow that destroyed his home in the village of Kinahrejo during the 2010 eruption of Mount Merapi.
Maridjan led ceremonies to appease the spirits of the volcano by presenting them with offerings of rice and flowers in and around the crater.
One of his most important duties was the performance of the annual Labuhan sacrificial ceremony dedicated to the spirits of Mount Merapi.
A procession from the royal palace on Yogjakarta led by the guardian sacrifices to the volcano spirits a set of ritual offerings including textiles, perfume, incense, money, and, every eight years, a horse saddle.
[7] He was badly burned in a subsequent blast and spent five months in hospital after being rescued from his collapsed house[citation needed].
[citation needed] Maridjan's body was found in a praying position; he was thought to have been killed instantly by the 1,000-degree-Celsius (1,830 °F) cloud of gas and ash.