Indonesian village uses ‘ghosts’ to keep people indoors

Posted by Anita Froneman on 16 April 2020

Each country and its relevant authorities are doing what they can to combat the coronavirus, and different measures seem to work for different places.

Kepuh village on Java Island, Indonesia, for example, are deploying their local ghosts to aid in the fight against the pandemic.

The initiative was organised by the head of the village’s youth group in co-ordination with local police, in which volunteers dress up as ghosts and appear in the village at night to keep people from going outside.

In Indonesian folklore, ghostly figures known as ‘pocong’ are said to represent the trapped souls of the dead.

Although some might still be superstitious, most of the residents of course, know it’s a hoax.

Anjar Panca, keeper at a local mosque, told the Jakarta Post the initiative worked because it reminded residents of the potential deadly effects of the disease.

‘Since the pocong appeared, parents and children have not left their homes,’ resident Karno Supadmo told Reuters. ‘And people will not gather or stay on the streets after evening prayers.’

Take a look at the ‘ghosts’ keeping the village safe:

Source: BBC

Image: Instagram

 






yoast-primary -
tcat - Travel news
tcat_slug - travel-news
tcat2 -
tcat2_slug -
tcat_final -