In pictures: Mount Merapi smoulders

Farmers on the Indonesian island of Java are silhouetted against volcanic Mount Merapi, which has recently begun spewing smoke and ash.

The government has warned people living near the volcano to be prepared for an evacuation.

Villagers pack a police vehicle in Sleman, near Mount Merapi, as they rehearse an emergency evacuation.

Those living in the shadow of the volcano are determined to stay on until the last possible moment.

Seventy-nine-year old Marijan is the "gatekeeper" of Mount Merapi - appointed by the nearby king to mediate with the spirits of the mountain.

Marjo, from Turgo village, says he will always return to the area - despite having been injured when Mount Merapi last erupted, in 1994.

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