It began as a dance, evolved into a viral meme, and has now become a trend embraced by elite athletes.
Over recent weeks, social media platforms worldwide have been inundated with videos featuring a young boy from Indonesia, sporting sunglasses and balancing on the prow of a racing boat, performing a dance hailed by many as exceptionally cool.
This phenomenon is being interpreted as the epitome of “aura farming,” an internet term describing the act of cultivating a cool image and enhancing one’s “aura,” synonymous with charisma or “rizz.”
The dance moves, characterized by their swagger and simplicity, are now being replicated globally by prominent figures in sports, including American football player Travis Kelce, Formula 1 driver Alex Albon, and the Paris Saint-Germain football team.
The originator of this viral sensation is eleven-year-old Rayyan Arkan Dikha, who shared with the BBC that the dance moves came to him spontaneously.
“I came up with the dance myself,” he told BBC Indonesia on Thursday.
“It was just spontaneous.”
The fifth-grader, hailing from a village in Kuantan Singingi Regency, was making his debut at the national Pacu Jalur boat race. “Pacu” translates to race, while “Jalur” refers to the long, canoe-like boats used in the competition.
Dikha holds the position of Togak Luan, the dancer at the boat’s front whose role is to energize the crew.
In the widely circulated video, he is seen wearing a traditional Teluk Belanga outfit with a Malay Riau headcloth. Standing on the prow of the speeding race boat, propelled by at least 11 adults rowing, he blows kisses to each side before rhythmically moving his arms, maintaining a relatively expressionless face.
One dance sequence involves extending one hand forward at chest level while sweeping the other underneath, followed by rolling both fists like a wheel as he transitions from left to right. Another sequence shows him stretching one arm forward and the other backward, striking a balanced pose.
Videos featuring various soundtracks under hashtags such as “aura farming kid on boat” and “boat race kid aura” have amassed millions of views on TikTok since late June. Dikha has also acquired the nickname “The Reaper.”
“He’s known as ‘the reaper’ because he never loses,” reads a top-liked comment under a clip that has garnered 1.1 million likes.
“Bro taking out opps[opponents] while aura farming is crazy,” says another.
Numerous online users have attempted to emulate his moves, posting videos of themselves or their friends recreating the dance.
Sports teams have also taken notice. On July 1st, the French football club Paris Saint-Germain uploaded a TikTok clip attempting the boat racing dance, captioned: “His aura made it all the way to Paris.” The video has been viewed over 7 million times in just 10 days.
The following day, Travis Kelce, NFL player and partner of pop icon Taylor Swift, posted his own version, which has since received over 14 million views.
“Dancing at the tip of the boat is not easy,” Indonesia’s Minister of Culture Fadli Zon told reporters at an event honoring Dikha on Wednesday.
“Maintaining balance as a dancer who motivates the Pacu Jalur rowing team is truly not simple. Perhaps that’s why children are chosen instead of adults – because it’s easier for them to keep balance.”
The concern is real, Dikha’s mother, Rani Ridawati, told BBC Indonesia.
“The main concern is that he might fall,” she said, but added that he was a strong swimmer.
“Sometimes if he falls accidentally or suddenly, I worry he might get hit by the paddles.
“But if he falls, there’s already a rescue team. The rescue team is in place,” she said.
Although Dikha does not recognize any of the celebrities who have copied his dance – initially claiming to know Travis Kelce before admitting he doesn’t – he is rapidly becoming a celebrity himself, particularly in his home country.
Last week, he was named a cultural ambassador by the governor of Riau, the province he is from.
This week, he and his mother were invited to the capital, Jakarta, to meet with the country’s ministers of culture and tourism and to appear on national television.
He says he’s “happy” his dance is being noticed around the world.
“Every time my friends see me, they say ‘you’re viral’,” he says, beaming with a shy smile.
While his dream is to become a police officer, he has one tip for anyone who wants to follow in his footsteps:
“Stay healthy, friends, so you can become like me.”
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