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Spirit doll craze: Just a trend, or something else?
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Happy 'family': Furi Harun poses with several dolls from her collection. The collector is said to have fuelled the spirit doll craze among Indonesian celebrities. (Courtesy of Instagram/Furi Harun) (Instagram/Courtesy of Furi Harun)
T
he sudden boom in collecting spirit dolls among local celebrities may confound many, but two experts offer their scientific insights on what could be behind the trend.
The trend in collecting spirit dolls was apparently started by collector Furi Harun, who has more than 300 such dolls in her collection, a trend that has recently grown into a craze among Indonesian celebrities. The self-proclaimed “indigo child” also sells the dolls under her Instagram handle @bonekafuriharun.
While definitions vary, spirit dolls are said to embody a spirit or supernatural power, or a vessel that channels them. They are also known as medicine dolls or healing dolls, and are part of many ancient world cultures. On the other end of the spectrum, they are said to be possessed, like Annabelle, made infamous in horror flicks like The Conjuring and her own namesake feature movie.
Furi is also reportedly the one who supplied spirit dolls to fashion designer Ivan "Igun" Gunawan and other celebrities.
Ivan faced online scrutiny after he introduced two dolls, named “Miracle Putra Gunawan” and “Marvelous Putra Gunawan”, as his “baby boys” to his friend Boy William in an episode of Boy’s popular YouTube talk show.
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