There have been many funny and/or unique Indonesian names that have gone viral in recent years. We didn’t think anyone would be able to top names like Tuhan (God) and Saiton (Satan). Then, as if out of thin (and smelly) air, Kentut came along.
In case you don’t speak Indonesian, kentut literally means fart. It’s also the name one man was stuck with for 28 years.
On Monday, the Tangerang resident previously known as Kentut (who, like many Indonesians, went by one name), legally changed his name to Ihsan Hadi after receiving approval from the Tangerang District Court. The name change brought an end to a lifetime of mockery for him and his daughter.
“I changed my identity so that I wouldn’t be mocked by my friends, and especially because my daughter is often made fun of by her friends at school,” Ihsan said, as quoted by local news site BantenHits on Monday after the court session.
“My daughter often cried and locked herself in her room out of shame from being mocked. One time she didn’t want to go to school because her friends called her ‘Kentut’.”
Aside from the mockery, Ihsan said many people didn’t take him seriously while he had his old name. He said that one time a civil registry official reprimanded him because he thought the name Kentut was a joke.
Ihsan’s uncle, Rebo (whose name means Wednesday), told the media that Ihsan’s parents did not think of potential repercussions by literally naming their son fart all those years ago.
“Well that’s what village people are like, and at the time his parents picked a random name in order to complete civil administration requirements and they chose the name Kentut for their son,” he said.
Rebo added that Ihsan, who makes a living selling chicken noodle soup and teaching the Quran, rarely gets made fun of anymore.
“These days neighbors have stopped making fun of Kentut. Maybe they’re bored. Now Kentut is a respected figure because he’s a religious teacher,” he said.
Like many of you, we had a suspicion this Onion-esque story could be a cruel late April Fool’s joke by the local media. But we can assure you Kentut is, or rather was, his real name, as his court case is officially registered in the Tangerang District Court’s website under case number 350/Pdt.P/2018/PN Tng.
Check out our video below for more ordinary Indonesians with extraordinary names:
