Inside Indonesia's Black Magic Tradition: The Dukun, the Ninja Killings, and the Witch Queen Rangda
Indonesia is one of the few places left where black magic isn't whispered about behind closed doors — it's practiced openly, in villages and back-alley markets, by people who've built entire careers on it. That might sound like the setup for a horror movie, and honestly, a couple of good ones have already been made about it.
This piece grew out of a rewatch of two Indonesian horror films built around occult themes — both of them full of black magic imagery, and both a pretty good sign of just how much interest there is in this subject once you look past the jump scares. That got me curious about how much of that stuff draws on things that actually happen there. Turns out: a lot. So this is a walk through the real history and folklore behind Indonesian black magic — the practitioners, the politics, the panic, and one particularly infamous witch from centuries-old legend.
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Black Magic Is Still Openly Practiced in Indonesia
The government has passed fairly strict laws over the years trying to keep people away from these practices. That's the official line, anyway. But walk into a smaller town or a local market and you'll still find people offering their services — for a price, of course, since demand never really went away.
The people who do this work are called dukun. You'll also hear them referred to as spirit mediums or spiritual healers, titles that point at what they claim to actually do: communicate with spirits on someone's behalf. Many present themselves as experts in the occult, channels between the living and whatever's on the other side.
Here's the part that's a little more complicated than it sounds. A lot of people argue that dukun originally came out of a healing tradition — folk medicine, essentially — and weren't focused on black magic at all. Over generations, though, that tradition seems to have drifted, and by now, most dukun operating today are known specifically for occult work rather than healing. Some are also just outright scam artists riding on the reputation of the real thing.
Where the Fear Comes From
There's a widespread local belief — and it is presented as belief, not verified fact — that dukun from the Banyuwangi region of East Java are especially dangerous, marked out by a distinctive look and reputation that sets them apart from dukun elsewhere. Nobody can really pin down how old this tradition is. Historical accounts suggest it stretches back a long way, and dukun have apparently occupied a strange dual position for centuries: respected and feared at the same time. One detail that stuck with me is a historical claim that as far back as the 19th century, dukun weren't even taxed — a kind of unofficial acknowledgment of the power people believed they held.
It's gotten so embedded in the culture that nearly every household has some old story tied to black magic somewhere in the family history. Whether any specific one of those stories is true is basically impossible to verify.
Genuine Healers, and the People Who Exploit Fear
Not every dukun is running a con. According to the source material, there are people who genuinely claim supernatural ability and use it to help others without asking for money or anything in return.
But there's a darker side, and it's the reason this topic isn't just quirky folklore.
- Reports describe dukun using various tricks and manipulation to frighten people into paying up.
- One case described a dukun attempting to take advantage of a woman under the pretense of performing a ritual.
- Another involved drugging someone or using hypnosis-like techniques to gain control over them.
- In a particularly disturbing case, a dukun reportedly attempted to molest a young girl, using a supposed ritual as cover — claiming the act itself was part of "purifying" her.
Worth being clear here: none of this is meant to paint an entire community or belief system as criminal. The point being made in the original material is narrower — that some individuals exploit people's emotions and use spiritual claims as a shield for genuinely heinous acts, and that this kind of exploitation isn't new or limited to Indonesia. It shows up wherever fear and faith intersect.
When Black Magic Reached the Presidential Palace
This is where it gets genuinely strange: the claims aren't confined to villages. Several prominent Indonesian political figures have reportedly sought help from black magic practitioners over the years, according to the source. The biggest name attached to this claim is Indonesia's founding president, Sukarno. Other former leaders named alongside him include President Megawati Sukarnoputri, among others. These are presented in the material as claims and rumors circulating around these figures rather than confirmed fact — there's no way to verify them independently, and that distinction matters.
The 1998 "Ninja Killings" — A National Panic
If there's one story here that sounds pulled straight from fiction, it's this one.
In 1998, in East Java, a wave of paranoia gripped local communities: a fear that mysterious figures — dressed head to toe in black, referred to locally as "ninjas" — were hunting down people believed to hold sorcerous or magical power. According to the source, somewhere between 150 and 300 people were mysteriously killed that year, several of them religious leaders. The killings were never satisfactorily explained, and the panic reached a scale that made national headlines at the time.
Locals reportedly believed these figures had real supernatural ability of their own — that they couldn't be wounded in the usual way and possessed powerful black magic tricks that made them nearly impossible to stop. That's a genuinely wild piece of modern history, and it doesn't get nearly enough attention outside of Indonesia. A moral panic that led to hundreds of real deaths, built around the belief that unseen assassins were purging suspected sorcerers — it's the kind of story you'd assume was exaggerated by internet retellings, except it isn't.
Rangda and Calon Arang: Java's Legendary Witch Queen
Now for the mythology — and this is where Indonesian black magic starts overlapping with something closer to classical folklore.
According to traditional mythology, there's a figure known as Rangda, often called the Queen of Black Magic, whose story is closely tied to — and in many retellings, treated as the same as — an ancient witch named Calon Arang. She's remembered in two conflicting ways depending on who's telling the story: in one version she's a feared witch, in another she's treated more like a protective figure tied to water and purification rituals. That contradiction alone tells you something about how folklore evolves — the same character gets reshaped into a villain or a guardian depending on which community is passing the story down.
• Are Cursed Objects Real or Just Coincidence?The legend, according to the source, is set around the tenth century. Calon Arang is described as having mastered black magic and using it against nearby communities, reportedly spreading a plague-like sickness. She had a daughter — beautiful, by most tellings — but nobody wanted to marry her out of fear of her mother's power, and that rejection is said to have fueled Calon Arang's anger even further.
Things escalate from there:
- She's said to have kidnapped a girl in front of a temple dedicated to the goddess Durga.
- Local authorities, hearing of this, asked their most capable minister to resolve the situation.
- The minister arranged for his own son to marry Calon Arang's daughter, hoping to get closer to the source of her power.
- Through that connection, he managed to steal her sacred text or source of power.
- A confrontation followed, and Calon Arang was eventually defeated, ending the threat she posed.
This story didn't stay confined to oral tradition. Rangda's tale has been performed for generations through wayang — traditional shadow puppet theatre — and it's also inspired at least one modern horror film, in which a woman similarly turns to black magic and begins targeting newborn babies, echoing the original legend's themes. The film's director has reportedly said the Rangda and Calon Arang legend was a direct inspiration.
• The Exorcism Temple of Rajasthan: Mehandipur BalajiThe puppets used in wayang performances are traditionally hand-crafted from buffalo leather, and the handles are shaped from buffalo horn. During a performance, a single puppeteer controls the figures while traditional music and storytelling elements are woven in around them — it's less a puppet show in the Western sense and more a full theatrical package. It's a genuinely intricate craft, and one that's now recognized as a piece of cultural heritage — the Indonesian government has apparently put real effort into preserving wayang theatre as the art form risks fading.
A Belief That Still Shapes Daily Life
So why does any of this still matter today? Because black magic isn't treated as some dusty historical curiosity in Indonesia — a meaningful part of the population still believes in it, and, directly or indirectly, still practices some version of it.
That belief cuts both ways. Witch hunts in the old sense aren't as common as they once were, but they haven't disappeared either. Nearly every year, according to the source, there's at least one case where a woman is wrongly accused based on misconception or rumor, and it escalates into mob violence — in the worst instances, resulting in someone being killed by a lynch mob. Indonesian authorities have reportedly been working on stricter laws aimed at cracking down on the fraud and exploitation that so often rides alongside these beliefs.
The honest takeaway from all this, and it's the same conclusion the source material lands on: what someone privately believes in is really up to them. But actively supporting or participating in practices that cause harm to another person is a different matter entirely, and that line shouldn't get blurred just because a belief is old or widespread.
• Top 5 Cursed Books of All TimeThere are plenty of incidents worldwide that defy easy explanation, and it's often easiest to file them under the banner of black magic rather than dig for a rational answer. People turn to it for all kinds of reasons, according to the source — wanting sudden wealth, wanting to control another person, wanting power over a situation they can't otherwise influence. That's true in Indonesia and pretty much everywhere else. Whether or not you personally believe any of it, the crime that sometimes hides behind it is worth staying far away from.
What do you think — is this closer to genuine spiritual tradition, or does it end up doing more harm than good once fear and money get involved?
People Also Ask
A dukun is a traditional Indonesian spiritual practitioner — sometimes described as a spirit medium or spiritual healer — who is believed to communicate with spirits and perform supernatural practices such as santet, or black magic, for clients. Dukun traditions have roots in older Indonesian folk-healing and spiritual practices, although the term is now often associated with occult practices.
Indonesia has laws that can be used against fraudulent or harmful practices associated with claims of supernatural powers. However, traditional spiritual practitioners known as dukun continue to operate in some communities. The legal situation surrounding black magic itself can be complicated because practices may overlap with fraud, threats, or other criminal conduct.
The "ninja killings" were a series of mysterious murders in East Java in 1998. Estimates of the number of victims vary, with many victims reportedly suspected of practicing sorcery, along with religious figures. Witnesses described unidentified attackers wearing black clothing, leading to the nickname "ninja killings." The events remain controversial and were never completely explained.
Rangda is a powerful supernatural figure in Balinese mythology, commonly portrayed as a terrifying witch or queen associated with black magic. She is strongly connected with the legend of Calon Arang, although the relationship between the two figures varies among traditions and interpretations. Rangda also plays an important role in Balinese ritual performances and the symbolic struggle between opposing forces.
Calon Arang is a famous Javanese legend about a powerful widow who was feared for practicing magic. According to the traditional story, she became enraged after her daughter struggled to find a husband and used supernatural powers against the kingdom. Her actions were eventually challenged by a holy man, and the legend became an important part of Indonesian folklore and traditional performances.
Various stories and rumors have linked Indonesian political figures, including former presidents, with supernatural beliefs or traditional spiritual practices. However, such claims are often difficult to independently verify and should be treated as allegations or folklore rather than established facts.
Sources & Further Reading
1. U.S. Department of State report documenting the 1998 killings of people suspected of practicing black magic in Indonesia.
Read Here2. Human Rights Watch's review of Indonesia in 1998, including the killings of suspected black-magic practitioners in East Java.
Read Here3. Academic research from UIN Antasari examining santet, Indonesian supernatural beliefs, rituals, and religious anthropology.
Read Here4. Universitas Udayana legal research examining santet and its treatment under Indonesian criminal-law reform.
Read Here5. Academic analysis of Article 252 and the legal treatment of santet under Indonesia's Law No. 1 of 2023.
Read Here6. Universitas Gadjah Mada research examining the regulation of santet under Indonesia's National Criminal Code.
Read Here7. Universitas Udayana research discussing criminal policy toward santet under Law No. 1 of 2023.
Read Here8. Recent academic research analyzing santet and Article 252 of Indonesia's Law No. 1 of 2023.
Read Here9. Academic research examining the legal construction and regulation of witchcraft practices in Indonesia.
Read Here