Singaporeans, uniformed services jump on viral 'aura farming' trend

An 11-year-old boy from Indonesia displayed so much rizz during a traditional boat race recently that he sparked a whole host of copycats, or aura farmers.

No cap.

Athletes, politicians and even the military have taken to social media to mimic Rayyan Arkan Dikha, who went viral after a clip of him dancing during a pacu jalur race in the Indonesian province of Riau, was posted online in January.

Clad in an all-black traditional costume and a pair of oversized shades, the boy - known as Dika - displayed his moves at the head of a boat with much swagger, as the rest behind him paddled furiously.

The term aura was popularised by Gen Alpha, to refer to something that is cool. To aura farm is to do something to up one's cool factor.

Among the latest to jump on the aura farming trend was the Singapore Navy, which on July 16 posted a video of its sailors copying Dika and Co. on board the MSRV Protector, a maritime security and response vessel. Flexing much?

The video amassed more than 474,000 likes on Instagram and 5.3 million likes on Tiktok.

Instagram user Kerstin Ong commented: "Love it when they try to speak the Gen Z and Gen Alpha languages these days."

Not to be outdone, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) did their own version on board on Tiktok on July 20, on an SCDF boat while en route to the Marina Bay for the National Day Parade (NDP) maritime display.

That post garnered over 37,000 likes. Slay.

The Singapore Police Force, too, was vibing at a NDP rehearsal recently, and posted a recreation of the dance on their Instagram page.

"+60 points for following crowd measures," read the caption that accompanied the July 18 post. The video had over 38,000 likes as at July 21.

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu also jumped on the hype train, but for a good cause.

In an Instagram post on July 14, she partook in the trend while at an Adventist Community Services event.

"Aura farming not to impress but for a good cause," the post read.

Elsewhere, the likes of Taylor Swift's boyfriend and NFL player Travis Kelce, Formula 1 driver Alex Albon, South Korean boy band NCT and French football team Paris Saint-Germain have also bought into the trend.

The original video showed Dika during a pacu jalur race, a historic event that is part of an annual festival where children dance at the front of boats in a race to motivate the rowers.

Children are generally chosen for the position as they tend to be light enough to balance on the canoe without adding too much additional weight.

The boat race typically happens in August.

The vast fame that Dika has amassed after going viral has led to him being named as a tourism ambassador for Riau, where he lives, according to the New York Times.