Indonesia’s spooky ploy to counter virus threat

JAKARTA: Villagers in Central Java have resorted to an age-old trick to ensure unruly youngsters adhere to strict stay-at-home measures — by dressing up as “pocong,” the white-shrouded ghosts that are the stuff of Indonesian legend.

In Indonesian myth, a “pocong” is a zombie-like ghost of a dead person’s soul trapped in its burial shroud that hops around at night.

Young people in Kesongo hamlet, in Central Java’s Sukoharjo regency have used the ghostly figures to deter local children — who are at home after their schools were closed as part of anti-virus measures — from venturing out at night.

“We had this idea to dress up as ‘pocong’ to keep the residents in their houses as we help the government in imposing social distancing measures,” Anjar Panca, a caretaker of Al-Himmah Mosque in the hamlet, told Arab News on Saturday.

Two villagers dressed up as “pocong” guarded the hamlet’s entrance for three nights to warn people against venturing out. One also stood guard on a dark corner in the hamlet.

Panca said the aim is to remind residents of the risks from the fast-spreading outbreak and encourage them to stay at home.

However, after photographs of the “pocong” guarding the hamlet’s entrance went viral, they found themselves with a growing audience who came to see them in action, forcing them to halt the initiative.

“However, we want to keep this effort going and we will be appearing again as soon as the situation permits,” Panca said.

On Saturday, Central Java confirmed 120 coronavirus cases, out of which 18 have died, while Indonesia’s national tally reached 2,092 confirmed infections with 191 deaths.

Regional governments across Java, home to about 141 million Indonesians, are bracing for a likely spike in virus cases after the central government said on Thursday that it will not ban people in Jakarta traveling to their hometowns ahead of Ramadan and Eid.

The annual exodus of residents from major cities to celebrate Eid in their hometowns began early this year after millions of urban workers were left jobless following large-scale social restrictions.

Experts have warned that allowing people from Jakarta, the epicenter of coronavirus infections in Indonesia, to travel to their hometowns risks a massive spread of Covid-19 infections across the densely populated island.

The Indonesian Ulema Council has issued a fatwa declaring that traveling out of a virus-infested area and risking spreading the virus to locals is forbidden.
Lieut. Col. Susanto, a spokesman for Diponegoro military command, which oversees the Central  Java and Yogyakarta regions, released a video clip calling on his compatriots in Banyumasan dialect to refrain from going home during the pandemic.

“I wanted to convey the message in a way and a language that is most relatable to the people, since about a third of Javanese migrants working and living in the greater Jakarta area speaks in Banyumasan dialect,” he told Arab News.

“I have been receiving positive feedback from village heads that their residents have understood the message and have decided to stay where they are now,” he added.

But with more than 700 local dialects spoken across Indonesia, warning about the dangers of coronavirus remains a huge challenge. Japelidi, a network of digital literacy activists, has responded by translating coronavirus-related information into 43 local dialects.

Novi Kurnia, national coordinator of Japelidi, told Arab News that with 168 activists in 30 cities around the country, the network’s online and offline message has reached grassroots level with the help of local figures and authorities.

“There is a need to reach out to the wider public, especially those in remote areas, in a culturally relatable and acceptable way, and using a local dialect is a way to do that,” Kurnia said.