Lombok, IO – Rain shaman Raden Roro Istiati Wulandari, better known as Rara, stole the public spotlight when she performed a ritual to stop heavy rain at the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia or MotoGP Mandalika 2022, Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Sunday (3/20/2022).
When the rain commenced pouring down and flooding the Mandalika Circuit, Rara was busy performing a ritual with her two assistants, imploring the sky to hold back the rain. Seeing the lashing rain and blaring thunder, she tried to enter the circuit area. At first, she was denied entrance because Dorna Sports implemented strict regulations as MotoGP management. After Rara complained, the Mandalika Grand Prix Association (MGPA) allowed her to enter the pit lane with Dorna’s approval.
Read: MotoGP celebration, cooking oil scarcity and recurring history
Rara, a Javanese born in Jayapura, October 22, 1983, moved quickly to perform the rain diversion ritual in front of tens of thousands of spectators at the circuit, including President Jokowi and MotoGP crew and riders. When performing the ritual, she took a stroll while twirling and pounding a beater on a singing or golden bowl. Now and then, she would stop and recite spells while holding her ritual instruments towards the grey sky. At times, she would shout at the sky.
Fifteen minutes after that, the rain stopped, and the Mandalika MotoGP could resume, after a delay. Rara’s unusual act took social media by storm. Both local and international media highlighted the Indonesian local wisdom that has been around for a long time.