Indonesian Villagers Dress As Ghosts to Force Villagers to Remain Indoors to Fight Coronavirus
Indonesia’s Kepuh village, local villagers are dressing up as the famed ‘Pocong Ghosts’ to scare the hell out of people thereby coercing them to remain indoors.
When it comes to protecting citizens from the deadly virus, governments and most citizens in several countries are willing to go to any lengths even if it means transforming into ghosts.
For instance in Indonesia’s Kepuh village, local villagers are dressing up as the famed ‘Pocong Ghosts’ to scare the hell out of people thereby coercing them to remain indoors.
In the Indonesian and Malaysian culture, Pocong ghosts are believed to be the souls of the dead trapped in shrouds. The shrouds are known as the ‘Kain Kafan’ in Indonesia and Malaysia which is the cloth used to wrap the body of the dead person.
The white cloth is tied over the head, under the feet, and on the neck. As the cloth is tied under the feet, the pocong ghosts hop like rabbits.
Many youngsters are dressing up in these white shrouds and sitting at the entrance of the village to stop villagers from going out or entering in. They would be seated from 7 pm to 9 pm.
A villager in the Kepuh village said, “The Pocong is not to scare residents; instead, we want to educate residents on the fact that coronavirus causes death. It is shock therapy, as people usually [pay more attention] to anything related to death.”
According to Reuters, the act did not work at first as the villagers began coming out of their homes to check out the ghosts for themselves. So later on, the plan of action was changed. They instead appeared only at certain times of the night by giving surprise visits and the effect was much better on the villagers.
Check it out here:
‘Ghosts’ are patrolling this Indonesian neighborhood to scare people into staying home 👻 pic.twitter.com/XUSMlXVIqk
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 13, 2020
Like its counterparts, Indonesia hasn’t opted for a lockdown. At present, there are 4,241 confirmed cases and 373 deaths. The number of active cases could reach a million according to the University of Indonesia.
There is still a lack of awareness among the villagers concerning COVID-19 as they still want to continue living normal lives according to the village head- Priyadi.
That said, the spooky and scary effect of the Pocong ghost seems to be working well. Most of them prefer to remain home after their evening prayers according to a local resident.