Latest news with #KuantanSingingi
CBC
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
WATCH — Meet the 11-year-old behind the aura-farming boat meme
Boat race dance has caught the attention of celebrities He's only 11 years old and his aura is over 9,000. You may have seen the 'aura farming' or 'boat kid' video on social media, where a kid dances on the end of a moving raceboat. That kid's name is Rayyan Arkan Dikha. 'I came up with the dance myself,' Rayyan told BBC Indonesia on July 10. 'It was just spontaneous.' His 'spontaneous' dance has become a viral hit. Watch the video to see which celebrities are copying him. ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Some actions in this video may be risky. Don't try them on your own or without a trusted adult. Rayyan lives in Indonesia, and he participates in an annual traditional boat race called Pacu Jalur. His role is called 'tukang tari.' Each boat has a tukang tari, a dancer who stands at the front of the boat and motivates or energizes the crew. Rayyan's role in the boat race is to keep the team of rowers motivated to keep pushing. (Video credit: Even though Rayyan may seem cool, calm and collected, his role comes with some risks. 'The main concern is that he might fall,' Rayyan's mom, Rani Ridawati, told BBC Indonesia. 'Sometimes if he falls accidentally or suddenly, I worry he might get hit by the paddles.' However, Ridawati added that Rayyan is a strong swimmer, and that there's a rescue team nearby. We'll have to see if the internet's favourite aura farmer makes an appearance at the next Pacu Jalur, which is scheduled for Aug. 20 to 24 in Kuantan Singingi, Indonesia.
Arab News
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Indonesian boy's ‘aura farming' dance brings global spotlight to centuries-old tradition
JAKARTA: An Indonesian boy dancing on the front of a boat has become an Internet sensation in recent weeks, setting a global trend of 'aura farming' that has been recreated by famous athletes and thousands of others worldwide. 'Aura farming' is an Internet expression popularized in 2024, largely in reference to anime characters and celebrities. It refers to the act of consistently looking cool to build one's 'aura.' Dressed in a black traditional costume and wearing sunglasses, 11-year-old Rayyan Arkhan Dikha from Indonesia's Riau province has been dubbed 'the ultimate aura farmer' on social media for performing a series of repetitive movements calmly on the bow of a thin boat, videos of which have amassed millions of views globally. The Indonesian boy who goes by the name of Dika was participating in a local event known as 'pacu jalur,' which roughly translates to 'boat race.' A tradition that dates back to the early 17th century, the event is now held every August to commemorate the Indonesian Independence Day. 'Pacu jalur has been one of Indonesia's Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2015,' Indonesia's Culture Minister Fadli Zon said in a statement, after hosting Dika in his office in Jakarta on Wednesday. The water sport tradition originated in Riau's Kuantan Singingi regency at a time when boats were the main mode of transportation for the communities living along the local river. 'It has always been a part of life for people in (Kuantan Singingi), including to celebrate the most important Islamic holidays and also our independence day,' Fadli said. During the race, each of the long, canoe-like boats and its large crew has an 'anak coki,' a dancer who moves with rhythmic hand movements and body waves to provide inspiration for the rowers. While every anak coki brings their own charm to the race, Dika — who has participated in the races since he was 9 — has since become the face of the pacu jalur tradition. Though the original clip featuring Dika was posted to TikTok in January by a user named Lensa Rams and the event itself was held last August, the boy shot to global popularity over the past few weeks, as various creators on Instagram and TikTok have tried their own hand at Dika's dance. The list includes soccer team Paris Saint-Germain and Travis Kelce, American football star and boyfriend of pop singer Taylor Swift. When the US men's national soccer team won against Guatemala last week, American soccer player Diego Luna copied Dika's moves to celebrate a goal. The massive impact of the video garnered him special attention from the government in Riau, where the governor on Tuesday named Dika as a tourism ambassador for the province and awarded him a scholarship for 20 million rupiah (about $1,200) for his education. 'Today, almost everyone opened their eyes to the vibrant and thriving culture of Riau, especially pacu jalur. This is why I wanted to show my appreciation to Dika,' Governor Abdul Wahid said. In a statement, the local government confirmed that Dika will participate in the races next month. Speaking to reporters in Jakarta following his meeting with the culture minister, Dika said: 'I'm happy that I've gone viral globally.'
BBC News
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'I created it myself': The boy behind the viral 'aura farming' boat racing dance
It's a dance, a viral meme, and now a trend among elite athletes. Over the last few weeks, social media feeds all over the world have been flooded with videos of a sunglass-wearing young boy in Indonesia, balancing on the tip of a long racing boat and doing what is possibly the world's coolest dance. It's being seen as the ultimate representation of "aura farming" - an internet phrase for the act of looking cool and building one's "aura" (another word for charisma, or rizz).The moves, full of swag and easy to follow, are now being copied across the world with big sporting names like American Football player Travis Kelce, F1 driver Alex Albon, the Paris Saint-Germain football team all jumping on the trend. And behind it all is eleven-year-old Rayyan Arkan Dikha, who told the BBC that the viral moves came to him on the spur of the moment. "I came up with the dance myself," he told BBC Indonesia on Thursday. "It was just spontaneous."The 5th-grader from a village in Kuantan Singingi Regency was making his debut at the national Pacu Jalur boat race. "Pacu" means race and "Jalur" refers to the long canoe-like boats that are is the Togak Luan - the dancer at the tip of the boat whose role is to energise the the widely shared video, he wears a traditional outfit known as a Teluk Belanga with a Malay Riau headcloth. Standing on the prow of the speeding race boat which is being rowed by at least 11 adults, he blows kisses to his left and right before rhythmically moving his arms - all without much facial expression. In one dance sequence, he reaches one hand forward at chest level while sweeping the other underneath, then rolls both fists like a wheel as he transitions from left to right. In another sequence, he stretches one arm forward and the other backward, striking a balanced featuring various sound tracks under hashtags like "aura farming kid on boat" and "boat race kid aura" have racked up millions of views on TikTok since late June. And Dikha himself has now been given a nickname, "The Reaper"."He's known as 'the reaper' because he never loses," reads one top-liked comment under a clip that has got 1.1 million likes."Bro taking out opps[opponents] while aura farming is crazy," says online users have been trying to copy his moves, posting videos of themselves, or their friends, recreating the teams are taking notice too. On 1 July, the French football club Paris Saint-Germain uploaded a TikTok clip attempting the boat racing dance, with the caption: "His aura made it all the way to Paris." The video has been watched more than 7 millions in just 10 next day, Travis Kelce, NFL player and boyfriend of pop icon Taylor Swift, posted his own version, which has since garnered over 14 million views. "Dancing at the tip of the boat is not easy," Indonesia's minister of culture Fadli Zon told reporters at an event meant to fete Rayyan on Wednesday. "Maintaining balance as a dancer who motivates the Pacu Jalur rowing team is truly not simple. Perhaps that's why children are chosen instead of adults - because it's easier for them to keep balance."The concern is real, Dikha's mother Rani Ridawati told BBC Indonesia. "The main concern is that he might fall," she said, but added that he was a strong swimmer."Sometimes if he falls accidentally or suddenly, I worry he might get hit by the paddles. "But if he falls, there's already a rescue team. The rescue team is in place," she said. Although Dikha doesn't recognise any of the celebrities who've copied his dance - he first says he knows Travis Kelce before admitting he doesn't -he's quickly becoming one himself - especially in his home week, he was named a cultural ambassador by the governor of Riau, the province he comes week, he and his mother were invited to the capital, Jakarta, to meet with the country's ministers of culture and tourism, and to appear on national says he's "happy" his dance is being noticed around the world. "Every time my friends see me, they say 'you're viral'," he says, beaming with a shy his dream is to become a police officer, he has one tip for anyone who wants to follow in his footsteps:"Stay healthy, friends, so you can become like me."
