Indonesian people have strong beliefs about myths and black magic, such as spiritual spirits and ghosts. One thing that the Indonesian people still believe until now is the stealth of the Babi Ngepet. Babi Ngepet is an urban legend in Indonesian society that has been around for a long time and has been passed down from generation to generation. Many versions of the story of the Babi Ngepet story are told from both parents and grandmothers and grandfathers.Â
Babi Ngepet is a human who turns into a pig to steal, and Babi Ngepet is said to be a type of black magic in Indonesia that is used to obtain wealth, by stealing other people's property. It is believed that Babi Ngepet is stealth, namely humans who turn into pigs at night, by lighting a candle which is a medium for humans to turn into pigs. Many ancient peoples believed this, and in modern times like today, there are still those who believe. There is an interesting incident from Babi Ngepet recently in Indonesia that has stirred up social media and is it true that the Babi Ngepet incident happened in modern times?.
At the end of last April, social media platforms were filled with news about Babi Ngepet who had been arrested by residents in Bedahan village, Depok, West Java. This started when residents lost millions of Rupiah, and the residents' money was always lost on Tuesday and Saturday nights, causing residents to suspect that this was the act of a desperate pig (merdeka.com). The suspicion of this was because there was a pig in the area, so the villagers devised a plan to catch the pig. However, to catch these pigs, people have the belief that they have to be naked to be able to see and catch them. The community caught the pig with this belief and one of the residents who participated in catching the pig gave testimony if he saw people wearing black robes around the place of arrest (Merdeka.com).
The Babi Ngepet was also caught by the residents and locked in a cage so that it would not run away, but after the capture of this pig, news about Babi Ngepet began to spread and many residents came to see it. Because many residents watched, this was made into a business with the residents, namely having to pay two thousand Rupiah, to see this pig. Reporting from Merdeka.com there was a cleric in the village who stated that if it was Babi Ngepet and the victims who felt lost could meet him, if not there then the pig would be executed.Â
However, shortly after going viral, the residents decided to kill the pig and immediately buried it. Many have doubts about the truth of the Babi Ngepet because it is not the usual way of catching the pig. The local police also investigated the missing residents' belongings. After tracing it turned out that the story of the Babi Ngepet was just an act or a lie from the village cleric, the pig that was killed by the residents turned out to be an ordinary pig. the motive of this perpetrator is to increase his popularity as a religious leader in the village (Merdeka.com).
From this incident, it can be seen that the Indonesian people are easy to be deceived or ignored regarding information, especially about mystical or supernatural things. The community may not be fully blamed here but the RT head of the village should not be careless in this matter, because this matter can be investigated first through the state apparatus, namely the police. N
ot only that but the community's trust in this matter was also encouraged by the village religious leaders who were trusted by the villagers so that they immediately believed and took steps. We really cannot blame religious leaders, but we must have sensitivity or accuracy towards someone, even if they are religious leaders because they are also human beings who are not always right. Because every human being has a good or bad character and mindset even though it is a religious leader.
Indonesian people can be said to be too reckless in filtering information about something, and still believe in supernatural and mystical things. Indonesian people are accustomed to absorbing raw information and not tracing the truth and facts of information. In addition, the Indonesian people do not have an awareness of the critical importance of obtaining information, which can prevent us from various lies or untruths in the information that will later harm us.
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