Dozens of people jumped into a river to catch "prohibited" fish after a fishing ban was lifted in Sijunjung Regency, West Sumatra Province, Indonesia. The clip was filmed today (June 30).

The event is called "Ikan larangan" and it takes place every two years. Once caught, fish is brought home and consumed.

This year, around 1,000 people joined the event.

According to local mythology, this fish cannot be caught or consumed during specific times of the year. Locals believe that those who do not comply with these rules will fall ill or suffer a disaster. Bans are issued by local authorities to prevent the fishing of these animals, which are usually tilapia and goldfish.

Syahbuddin, the head of the local village, said: "This tradition is an entertaining event for tourists and people who are on holiday celebrating Eid al-Adha".

A resident said: "I am very happy to follow this tradition as we can build friendships with other people".

After being given the signal, thousands of people from Sijunjung Regency, West Sumatra Province, Indonesia threw themselves into the river to try to catch fish, Friday (30 June 2023).

using fishing gear such as fishing nets, both men and women from small to adults are happy to swim the river to get fish. This enthusiasm was formed because catching fish is a regional tradition called catching forbidden fish.


The prohibited fish is, there is a mystical content in how to raise fish in the river which is forbidden to take during the specified time. when the forbidden fish is taken or stolen, the person who stole will experience pain.

the unique thing is that these fish will not swim anywhere because they are believed to be fenced off with mystical readings which make the fish only able to play with a specified distance.

The tradition of taking prohibited fish is carried out every 2 years where the fish is considered large and suitable for consumption.

the head of the local village, syahbuddin said "the tradition of taking fish is carried out as an entertainment event for the people who are currently on vacation or on leave together to celebrate Eid al-Adha 1444 hijriyah in Indonesia, with a distance of 1 KM the river is believed to have tens of thousands of fish that can be caught ".

syahbuddin added "every community is free to catch fish with whatever use and take fish as big and as much,".

one of the residents of purwanto said "I am very happy to follow this tradition of catching forbidden fish, apart from getting fish, we can establish friendship with other people because we can joke around,".