An Indonesian social media trend originating from North Sumatra, which involves a man punching down banana trees, appears to have reached Bali’s shores with at least 10 banana trees knocked out in Kuta.
Related — How one Indonesian man punched his way — and banana trees — to viral fame
The trend is known as “Salam dari Binjai” (greetings from Binjai) in reference to the trend-starter’s catchphrase in his videos, in which he lands bare-fisted heavy jabs on banana trees until they collapse.
Even though the trend is weeks old by now, it seems to be truly alive and well in Bali with banana trees in at least four farms in Legian, Kuta affected.
“There are several [banana trees that were destroyed], there are six from one farm … in total there were 10 trees from four farms,” I Wayan Puspa Negara, an official from Legian village, said.
According to Wayan, many residents in Legian have turned to farming banana trees amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We received some reports of residents asking why their banana trees were damaged, that’s how it began. So we checked, and it turns out it’s an effect from ‘Salam dari Binjai’,” Wayan said.
The village officials suspect that outsiders have been coming to punch the banana trees, and are concerned that the trend will lead to further destruction of trees.
“We hope [young people] will do positive things, don’t follow negative content; content that has bad consequences,” Wayan added.
