Village in Indonesia Assigns Ghosts for Night Patrols

A village in Indonesia sought to keep the residents in their homes safe amid the outbreak of the Coronavirus, so it turned to ghosts! Kepuh village, on Java Island has become haunted by objects completely dressed up in white, jump to surprise passers-by and then disappear under the full moon.

"We wanted to be different and make a deterrent effect because 'Bokong' is frightening and terrifying," said Anjar Panganengtias, leader of the village youth team who coordinated with the police over the unconventional initiative.

Bokong is the ghost of the shroud and is completely worn in white and his face is pale thanks to white powders while black darkening surrounds his eyes. In Indonesian folk culture, this ghost represents the souls of the dead.

But when those ghosts started appearing this month, they led to the opposite effect. Instead of keeping people in their homes, it took out some of those curious to see this rare "appearance".

The organizers have since changed their style and made "Bokong" patrols surprising. Village volunteers play the role of ghosts.

"The residents still lack awareness of the ways to curb the spread of Covid-19 ... They want to live as usual and therefore it is very difficult for them to obey orders to stay at home," said village chief Priyadi.

The "supernatural" strategy seemed to be working, as the villagers ran in panic as they saw the ghosts.

"Since the beginning of Bokong, parents and children have not left their homes ... and people do not gather or stay on the streets until after the evening prayer," said Carno Subadmo, a resident.

Indonesia has the highest death rate in Asia outside China. On Sunday, Indonesia reported 399 new cases of the coronavirus, its biggest daily jump so far. There were 316 new cases on Monday, raising the total number of confirmed infections in the country of 270 million to 4,557, with 399 deaths.

"The covid-19 cases are surging in Indonesia because people have yet to be “disciplined and stay at home,” said health ministry disease control and prevention director general Achmad Yurianto.