Key Takeaways
- Mbah Marsiyah, 104, from Kediri, East Java, is the oldest known pilgrim at Hajj 2026
- She funded the trip herself by selling traditional porridge and saving coins in a can over many years
- She arrived in Makkah on May 22 and was declared in good health on the second day of Hajj
A 104-year-old Indonesian woman has become the oldest pilgrim to perform Hajj 2026. Mbah Marsiyah, from Kediri in East Java, joined Indonesia’s delegation of 221,000 pilgrims — one of the largest national groups at this year’s pilgrimage.
Saved in Secret for Years
Marsiyah did not rely on anyone to fund her journey. She earned her place through years of quiet, deliberate saving. “I sell traditional porridge. I saved, little by little. I put the money in a can, and save it. If there’s anything short, my son adds to it,” she told the Hajj Media Center.
For much of that time, nobody knew what she was doing. “I didn’t tell anyone that I was setting aside money to save for the Hajj,” she said — not her close relatives, not her neighbours. Only once her savings had grown large enough did she begin telling people around her. She first registered for Hajj in 2021.
Arrived in Makkah With Her Daughter
Born on July 1, 1921, Marsiyah can still walk slowly with a cane but used a wheelchair for most of the pilgrimage. She arrived in Makkah on the morning of Friday, May 22, accompanied by her daughter Muidah, who is 67.
On the second day of Hajj, Abiswatun Nadhiroh, head of Indonesia’s 112th Surabaya Embarkation Group, said Marsiyah was in good health and “ready to participate in all aspects of the pilgrimage.”
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