While it’s not fiercely protested like Valentine’s Day is by some groups in Indonesia, many people here object to Halloween on the grounds that costume and candy celebration is not a part of Indonesian culture. This year, that objection morphed into its own meme, with netizens offering up their own sarcastic, satirical and sometimes brutally honest takes on what Indonesian culture is.
All of the meme’s tweets begin with some variation on “Halloween bukan budaya kita, budaya kita” (Halloween is not our culture, our culture is….).
One of the first viral tweets to establish the meme came from Twitter user Handoko Tjung and is a refrain many Indonesian woman are used to hearing.
Halloween bukan budaya kita, budaya kita itu
Hallo, Win, maaf apa tidak sebaiknya ditutup auratnya? Sekedar mengingatkan.
— Handoko Tjung (@handokotjung) October 28, 2018
Halloween is not our culture, our culture is this
Hallo, Win, sorry but shouldn’t you cover up your aurat (Islamic term for parts of the body that should be covered for the sake of modesty). Just a reminder.
One great response:
Solusinya : Menutup aurat sambil merayakan Halloween pic.twitter.com/IfN975xMJf
— Khadija (@unwrappedlolly) October 28, 2018
Solution: Cover up your aurat while celebrating Halloween
Here are a few more of our favorite examples of the #BudayaKita meme, but there are way, way more out there.
Halloween bukan budaya kita. Nutupin patung dengan kain putih, nyensor tupai berbikini, nyalahin pakaian perempuan korban pemerkosaan, nah itu baru #BudayaKita. pic.twitter.com/yd0w5QRMkP
— Cania Citta (@cania_citta) October 30, 2018
Halloween is not our culture. Covering up statues with white cloth, censoring squirrels wearing bikinis, blaming female victims of rape because of their clothes, that’s our culture.
Halloween itu bukan budaya kita. Beranak pinak tanpa persiapan mental, emosional & finansial, nah itu baru budaya kita.
— Coach Kei (@KeiSavourie) October 30, 2018
Halloween it’s not our culture. Having children without being prepared mentally, emotionally & financially, that’s our culture.
https://twitter.com/nikennori/status/1056477223530586112
As a Javanese woman, I would like to remind that #halloween is not our culture, our culture is talking about people behind their backs.
https://twitter.com/keanneeh/status/1056326597454655488
https://twitter.com/bensiagian/status/1056561130955395077
#Halloween is not our culture.
Our culture is, if it’s raining, eating a double Indomie with egg and with rice.
Halloween bukan budaya kita, budaya kita itu pakai kostum dan topeng setiap hari sambil menghakimi kostum dan topeng orang lain.
— Koko (@ko2w) October 28, 2018
Halloween is not our culture, it’s our culture to wear costumes and masks every day while judging the mask and costumes of others.
https://twitter.com/kinugh/status/1057514171477213185
Halloween is not our culture. Right now our culture is
- Corruption
- Using religion as a commodity and/or “fuel” for politics.
Halloween bukan budaya kita. Budaya kita adalah murid-murid dipaksa menghapal pelajaran dan menjawab pertanyaan dengan jawaban yang sudah dipersiapkan, lalu BERKHAYAL bahwa mereka sebenarnya belajar. 😏
— Luka (@akuluka) November 1, 2018
Halloween is not our culture. Our culture is that pupils are forced to recite lessons and answer questions with answers that have already been prepared then FANTASIZE that they are actually learning.
Halloween Bukan Budaya Kita, LGBT dianggap Lebih Berbahaya dari perang nuklir,nah itu yang baru #BudayaKita
— tukang (@satruu) October 31, 2018
Halloween is not our culture, LGBT is considered more dangerous than nuclear war, that’s our culture.
Halloween bukan budaya kita. Bencana alam dikait-kaitkan dengan peringatan karna masyarakat sudah tidak beriman. Setelah tragedi kecelakan transportasi darat/laut/udara yang menimbulkan korban, terbitlah artikel bertema firasat anggota keluarga atau teman. Itu baru #BudayaKita. https://t.co/qxBHlb0PaQ
— Muhammad Syahreza (@pensillicin) October 31, 2018
Halloween is not our culture. Natural disasters are linked to warning about people not having enough faith. After land/sea/air transportation tragedies that cause casualties, we publish articles about “premonitions” that members of their family or friends had. That’s our culture.
Halloween bukan budaya kita. Persekusi, ngeroyok pendukung bola lawan sampe mati, bakar orang hidup-hidup, nah itu baru #BudayaKita. https://t.co/mX8g4JxSfP
— Cania Citta (@cania_citta) October 30, 2018
Halloween is not our culture. Persecution, beating the supporters of opposing football teams until they die, burning people alive, that’s our culture.
Yikes. So what do you think #BudayaKita is? Let us know in the comments.
