In Indonesia, paranormal activity banned as shamans clash in search for missing children
- After three children disappeared in North Sumatra on October 18, shamans from across Indonesia flocked to their village to perform rituals to find them
- But their presence has angered the police, community and local shamans, who say spirits in the area are not cooperating because they’re unhappy
Police Sub-Inspector Sukadi, head of the intelligence team coordinating the search for the children, told This Week in Asia that paranormal investigators from all over Indonesia had descended on the village of Naman Jahe in Langkat.
“We had three weeks of rituals, none of which produced results. The parents of the children were at risk of further psychological trauma as the shamans often recorded the events and uploaded them to their YouTube channels,” he said.
The three children – Alfisah Zahra, 7, Yoghi Tri Herlambang, 8, and Nizam Aufar Reza, 7 – went missing on October 18 after playing near their homes.
At around noon, their mothers started looking for them. “I went to get them so that they could come home and have a bath before lunch,” said Masdiani, the mother of Zahra.