JAKARTA, Jan. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- The death toll among Indonesian pilgrims who were performing the religious journey to the Saudi Arabian holy sites of Mecca and Medina had risen to 114 as of Monday, an official said.

    The majority of casualties were male pilgrims, said Nasaruddin Umar, a senior staff of the Ministry of Religious Affairs tasked with escorting the pilgrims.

    "Female pilgrims appeared to have better spiritual strength than males," he said in the ministry's official website.

    Among the deaths in the annual ritual were 71 males and 43 females, according to the data from his office.

    Severe weather in Saudi Arabia is blamed for most of the casualties among Indonesian pilgrims, the majority of which were aging people.

    Three Indonesian pilgrims were among those killed in the collapse of the Ar-Rayahin building in Mecca on Friday.

    Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, sent nearly 200,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this season.

    Hajj pilgrimage is obliged at least once in a lifetime for able-bodied Muslims who can afford the cost.

    An Indonesian pilgrim must spend some 30 million rupiah (3,172 U.S. dollars) for the religious journey. Enditem